Android

Samsung is building its own Android platform

Samsung is building its own Android platform for the enterprise

As RIM tries to reinvent itself with BlackBerry 10 and Microsoft tries to gain a secure foothold in the smartphone market with Windows Phone, we’re often told that one of those two platforms will emerge as the eventual third platform that might rival the marketshare of iOS and Android. Often an appeal to business and enterprise users is seen as part of the lure that will carry one of these platforms forward.

While it’s reasonable to debate which of these platforms might that mythical third platform, that debate stems from a false assumption that the mobile space is currently dominated by just two platforms (iOS and Android). I’m not saying that there’s some hidden platform out there. Rather, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to consider Android as a single platform.

The open nature of Android has caused it to diversify across an incredible range of devices. With so much diversity, some forks of Android can credibly considered to be their own platform. The Kindle Fire and Nook tablets are Android-based, meaning that Android is doing the heavy lifting, but their interfaces, app markets,and setup processes have been tailored so much that for practical purposes, most people don’t consider them to be Android devices.

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A new kind of Android fork

Another company is beginning to develop its own platform based on Android as well. In this case, however, it isn’t differentiating itself based on its interface or app/content stores. Instead, this new Android-based platform is being built around the ability to secure, manage, and integrate with key enterprise systems in ways that go beyond what Google builds into the stock versions of Android.

The company building this new platform is Samsung and that platform is the company’s SAFE (Samsung Approved For Enterprise) program.

Samsung is the biggest Android manufacturer on the planet and it offers a very complete range of Android devices, many of them designed for the consumer market. With Apple’s iOS devices take the mobile enterprise crown from RIM and the BlackBerry, Samsung developed its own strategy for getting its own slice of the enterprise pie.

In order to compete against Apple in the business and enterprise market, Samsung chose to address a core Android issue: the platform’s fragmentation. Fragmentation is a general Android headache with dozens of manufacturers making hundreds of different devices, many of which get tweaked by manufacturers and carriers. That diversity means that not every device will support the same security and management features.

It also means that the Android update cycle for existing devices is long and complex, meaning there’s rarely a clear timeline for when a given update will reach a given device on a given carrier. All to often, there are devices that simply stop getting major Android updates or even smaller patches.

Fragmentation of this type or on this scale simply doesn’t happen with iOS because Apple develops the OS, builds the hardware, and prevents carriers from tweaking either. Apple also releases a new major iOS update every year that, on average, supports the past two generations of hardware. The bulk of important security and management capabilities were baked into iOS 4. iOS 5 and 6 included just a handful of additional mobile management policies. That means the vast majority of iOS devices ever made can be a pretty good fit for enterprises. In many ways, Apple’s model isn’t that far off from the model that allowed RIM to be so successful for many years.

Samsung’s SAFE program, developed with some of the top mobile management vendors and carriers creates a uniform baseline standard that meets key enterprise needs including deep integration with Exchange, on device encryption, broad VPN support, and mobile device management (MDM) with a broad range of supported policies.

Samsung creates the hardware for the program and integrates a wide range of MDM policy capabilities into the Android OS that will run on that hardware. In doing so, the company puts in far more MDM capabilities than are found on other Android devices including its own security APIs. In certifying devices, MDM suites, and other enterprise vendors like networking giants Juniper and Cisco, Samsung has create a secure and enterprise-grade Android ecosystem.

Walking the middle ground

In many ways, the SAFE program is a blend of the approaches that RIM and Apple have taken towards business sector. RIM delivered a product that could be managed and secured with over 500 policies using the company’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). That delivered a very secure environment, one that IT and security professionals welcomed. It also positioned RIM as a single vendor for smartphones and related management infrastructure.

Apple, on the other hand, took a very different approach when it introduced true enterprise mobile management in iOS 4. The company created a framework that covered the majority of critical needs like passcode policy enforcement, remote wipe, Wi-Fi and VPN configuration, and the ability to restrict access to various iOS and device features, but far fewer policies than RIM offered. Apple didn’t initially set out to provide its own MDM server. Instead, the company invited third-party companies to provide over the air management solutions (more recently, Apple has introduced the tethered deployment and management tool Apple Configurator and an over the air Profile Manager feature for its OS X Server platform, which is aimed at small businesses and workgroups).

Samsung’s decision to build the policy framework in a way that is much broader and granular than Apple’s — the company offers over 330 policy options — positions SAFE certified devices as more flexible enterprise-oriented options compared to Apple’s iOS devices. At the same time, the company has followed Apple’s example in opening that framework up to other vendors. That key move ensures that most enterprises will be able to take advantage of the security, management, and integration features of SAFE devices using an existing mobile management console — not to mention one that can also manage iOS devices and non-SAFE Android devices as well.

Top devices

Samsung has focused on certifying some of its most popular products for SAFE. The Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II both carry SAFE branding. While not the first devices to certified as SAFE devices — previous generations of the lines including the original Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II — these are the first to be branded and marketed as SAFE certified solutions. To encourage adoption of these devices in general as well as the brand awareness of the SAFE program, Samsung has instituted a trade-up program for both businesses and individuals to upgrade to SAFE devices.

Incorporating SAFE into its mainstream products is important. While IT and security professionals see the device as a unique and secure platform that happens to be Android-based, consumers simply see the devices as cutting edge Android devices.

Can SAFE succeed?

Viewed as a separate platform from other Android devices, SAFE offers administrators much of the feature set and management capabilities of the BlackBerry. More important, it offers a similar mindset towards policies. That makes it a very attractive platform.

It also leads to a crucial question: Can SAFE succeed as a platform in a sea of other Android devices, including some from Samsung itself that aren’t SAFE certified?

Certainly for those companies that still issue corporate devices to users, SAFE is an attractive platform. It allows BlackBerry-style management and device lockdown. The problem is that the world has changed, and locked-down corporate devices are typically used in tandem with unmanaged personal devices. Simply put, the locked down corporate device is becoming rarer with each passing day.

Many enterprises who aren’t jumping on the BYOD bandwagon are instead embracing the COPE (corporate owned, personally enabled) strategy. Companies using this approach provide corporate devices — often ones that are popular in the broader consumer market — that are pre-configured to work with enterprise systems, but are generally not subject to harsh management policies. Users are encouraged to use the devices as their own, and some companies even offer users the option to purchase their COPE device at a pro-rated cost if the employee leaves the company.

SAFE is a perfect fit for COPE.

BYOD, however, is quickly becoming the norm when it comes to enterprise mobility. Samsung may be building an excellent management platform on its top devices, but there’s no guarantee every user will pick a device that’s SAFE-certified.

Even within the BYOD paradigm, however, there are some ways that IT departments can make a push for SAFE devices.

BYOD policies are often drafted around the security potential of each device or platform. Platforms that support broader security and management options are generally granted greater access to enterprise resources. If a company establishes SAFE devices from Samsung as a separate tier of devices compared to Android as a whole, it can encourage users to purchase those devices if they want expanded access.

IT departments that are more engaged with their users stand an even better chance of encouraging users to select these types of devices. That can mean an informational email detailing the added features and network access of SAFE devices or it can be even more proactive. Some mobile-first companies have established mobile support centers based around the Genius Bar model of Apple’s retail stores — a resource where employees can learn about mobile technologies, play with devices, share tips and information, and get technical support. That sort of environment is a perfect one for encouraging a specific platform or devices. Of course, organizations that offer cost-sharing options as part of a BYOD program stand the best chance of encouraging a specific platform or device since they tend to offer users a menu of available options, effectively making them very similar to COPE programs.

SAFE vs. Android

While SAFE is a more secure Android platform hiding in plain site, it’s important to remember that the recent releases of Android do have some significant enterprise capabilities in and of themselves. This PDF brochure from Zenprise compares the major capabilities of Android Jelly Bean to SAFE. Samsung’s own brochure highlights some as well.

The truth is that Android security has generally improved to the point where current releases have begun to level much of the playing field with iOS. SAFE takes those capabilities a bit further. Even with older Android releases, however, most MDM vendors provide an on-device agent that can deliver better security across a range of devices.

SAFE and IT

Is it something IT should embrace? Absolutely. IT should embrace every opportunity to add security and to grant the broadest feasible access to users. If you on an MDM product that is SAFE certified, then definitely embrace the program and certified devices. If you are selecting an MDM vendor, SAFE certification can be a way to narrow down your choices. From and IT and security point of view, SAFE is something that adds and enhances security and enterprise integration without requiring much effort — why not embrace it?

That doesn’t mean that IT should feel that SAFE offers a license to dictate device decisions and set restrictive policies that were standard practices in the BlackBerry era. Those days are gone. SAFE offers some of that functionality back as well as some Android-specific capabilities, but it isn’t going to turn back the clock on how users interact with technology. If anything, SAFE and the fact that user choice is as integral to the program’s success as IT involvement, illustrates the partnership that modern mobility is all about.

Original Page: http://pocket.co/sGqiE

iOS Jailbreak

New Service allow pirated iOS app installs without jailbreaking on iPhone, iPad

Late last year, the closure of the uber-popular Installous marked the finish of the promiscuous era inside iOS application piracy. Now, many modern services are found on the rise which are filling the gap plus providing effortless installation of pirated apps, even about equipment which have not been jailbroken.

Screen Shot 2013-01-01 at 11.39.30 PM

Updated with statement from Zeusmos’ developer below.

The 2 which have risen to the forefront are Zeusmos plus Kuaiyong. While the past has been about for a some months, it has gained substantial steam because the leave of Installous. The latter has appeared apparently from nowhere over the previous couple of weeks.

Both of these services are hazardous for application programmers considering they provide easy, one-tap installs of pirated apps plus never need which equipment have been jailbroken inside purchase to do thus. This really is a massive issue, because it opens up the arena for their utilize within the reasonably tiny fraction of consumers with jailbroken equipment — because was the case with Installous — to any unscrupulous consumers of iPhones plus iPads.

If you’re seeking to take apps from programmers — lets not kid ourselves regarding what’s happening here — it really is today easier than ever to do thus.

Zeusmos is a service available for free about jailbroken equipment plus for a fee about equipment which have not been jailbroken — yes, that’s right, it’s charging consumers to download pirated apps. It charges this fee for a ‘cloud plan’ to install ‘cracked’ apps plus to supply consumers with a license plus provisioning profile which enables those to install these pirated apps. The 15-year-0ld creator of Zeusmos, provides it because a method to ‘try before we buy‘. However equally appears unapologetic regarding the nature of what the application does: allow piracy.

Screen Shot 2013 01 01 at 10.35.51 AM New services bypass Apple DRM to allow pirated iOS app installs without jailbreaking on iPhone, iPadScreen Shot 2013 01 01 at 10.35.25 AM New services bypass Apple DRM to allow pirated iOS app installs without jailbreaking on iPhone, iPad

There appears to be a connection between Zeusmos as well as the reseller of developer testing slots UDIDRegistrations.com. Selling developer device testing slots is anything explicitly forbidden by Apple, that has been cracking down about these resellers for the previous many months.

Here’s how the site’s FAQ describes the young developer’s 2 treatments including Zeusmos as well as the Mac-only InstaSign:

Both InstaSign and Zeusmos are applications that allow you to install cracked applications on your iDevice without jailbreaking. InstaSign requires a Mac as it signs iPAs on your computer. Zeusmos requires no computer at all as it signs iPAs directly on to the device (like Installous for jailbroken iDevices) Because of this, both Mac and Windows users can use Zeusmos.

It’s unclear how Zeusmos achieves its objective, nevertheless judging within the pricing as well as the correlation between UDIDRegistrations, it appears to make use of a developer licensing certificate to install ‘cracked’ apps that have had their DRM (copy protection) stripped.

Additionally to users installing damaged apps themselves, the tool enables those to ‘share’ them with their ‘friends’ that are alternative Zeusmos consumers by e-mail or a link about Twitter.

The Chinese website Kuaiyong is moreover providing a synonymous service: permitting we to install apps for free, from a device, without paying for them. However it goes regarding it inside a different technique plus is completely free.

IMG 1107 New services bypass Apple DRM to allow pirated iOS app installs without jailbreaking on iPhone, iPadIMG 1105 New services bypass Apple DRM to allow pirated iOS app installs without jailbreaking on iPhone, iPad

There are 2 components to the tool, 1 that enables installation of apps straight from the iOS device as well as the alternative that is a desktop application which enables install over a cabled connection. Once you employ either, iTunes syncing ceases to function, nevertheless which hasn’t proven to be too much of the deterrent.

The apps appear to have been bought below an Apple enterprise license, that enables installation to several equipment. There may moreover be a bundle of small developer accounts being utilized, that max out at 100 ‘slots’. These are typically then being re-distributed to additional consumers from the 2 tools. There are several indications, still, which the issues go further than a single enterprise license.

We’ve been inside contact with programmers whom have offered you with logs showing pirated installs of their apps. Many of the logs are showing thousands of consumers installing the ‘same’ copy of the application. Not the same application, notice we, however, the same copy. This indicates which the same actual copy has been distributed with all the same set of (encrypted) credentials.

The apps being installed through Kuaiyong can be using bulk enterprise licensing, where the ones distributed by Zeusmos (or additional copycat services, that are absolutely springing up) are showing a range of IDs, every of that is being installed several occasions.

So we’ve got 2 items going about. Services like Zeusmos have figured out how to ease the procedure of buying the developer slot plus utilizing its certificate to install ‘cracked’ apps, that are commonly accessible online. And ones like Kuaiyong are somehow bypassing Apple’s licensing rules to redistribute the same copy of a application over plus over.

Security researcher Stefan Esser has been speculating regarding the Kuaiyong service about Twitter, noting it might be an good method for those to distribute malware to iOS equipment. Though the apps themselves are limited inside what they could access due to sandboxing, specialized malware can be developed for certain prevalent apps which accumulated info plus logged activity about a device. And there’s a sturdy likelihood which any they’re doing is utilizing illegally obtained licenses at the minimum, plus credit-card scam at the worst.

Note: Because publishing, safety researcher Melissa Elliott has continued to look into how the Kuaiyong service plus others like it plus has issued a alert not to utilize them because they’re possibly dangerous.

The end happen is the same in almost any case: persons with a low moral threshold are cheating programmers from revenue plus, inside the case of Twitter apps, forever removing a amount of their potential revenue.

Drawing attention to these apps plus services presents somewhat of a ethical quandary. By composing about them, we are going to definitely draw more attention for them plus consequently more works of piracy from individuals whom merely don’t care. But, hopefully, we’ll equally see action taken by Apple to curtail these practices.

Create no mistake, these goods are absolutely being utilized generally, with thousands of stolen apps inside the last some weeks alone. Twitter searches present endless results for individuals sharing information on them plus interested in aid inside getting the hacked websites to function.

And these two are really a couple amidst a dozen high-profile choices for consumers seeking to take apps. The seedy underbelly is there, plus ignoring it doesn’t do anybody any favors.

We have reached out to Apple found on the problem, however, due to the getaway, there might probably be a delay before any answer is upcoming.

Update: The developer of the Zuesmos application responded to the request to acquire more information. He says that his aim was not to motivate piracy of apps. Though the advertising copy of the service’s site leaves which available to interpretation. In a statement, he states which there is changes created to the application to eliminate the ability to share apps through hyperlinks or repositories of apps:

The intent of Zeusmos will be to SOLELY code sign applications. We will not be supporting or encouraging any form of piracy through the link providers or even via search (although they were based off the iTunes API).

The intents [sic] because I have reported [was] to let open development for programmers. Recently I’ve had the time to incorporate this feature into Zeusmos called the “Exclusive Apps” section where programmers that got their application denied inside the App Store were capable to post their application about here for free plus share their application to a big audience of consumers. Such applications even included Grooveshark plus several others.

He states which the cause of Zeusmos was to permit for programmers to code-sign apps for distribution because betas or to viewers outside the App Store. “I desired this thing initially to be self-sutainable. Many of my applications are largely free otherwise talking, like CarrierEditor…my newest launch.”

He additionally claims which the upcoming adaptation of Zeusmos is ‘harshly discouraged’ from installing or obtaining apps except they’ve created it or own it. If these changes are prepared, it would assist to curtail a few of the rampant sharing of apps through hyperlinks plus repositories of hyperlinks, yet it wouldn’t avoid the installation of damaged apps about un-jailbroken equipment.

Image Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Original Page: http://thenextweb.com/apple/2013/01/01/low-down-dirty-iphone-app-pirates/

Blog

Facebook Launch Messenger For iPad

Facebook Is Able To Launch Messenger on Tuesday

Very good news for iPad customers who wish to get Facebook Messenger application on iPad, you might have heard that Facebook has released invites for any media event due next Tuesday to “come and find out what [they are] building”. People knowledgable claim this news conference is a nice large deal as Facebook could announce a completely new mobile operating-system, a so-known as Facebook Phone of some kind. And today, another source has walked forward with understanding the social media giant will even launch an iPad form of its mobile Messenger application, which inside a recent update has acquired Voice over internet protocol capabilities…

Today we’ve got a brand new report in the folks at TechCrunch Sunday mid-day that Messenger for iPad might be Facebook’s “one more thing” surprise next Tuesday, The month of january 15.

Particularly I’m hearing that Messenger for iPad, replete with the Messenger features we’ve arrived at love like emoticons, photosharing, read receipts, location marking, group texting, and also the new voice-recorded texting feature, is prepared for that public eye. And essentially, it’s what is available around the iPad however in a larger format.

Alexia Tsotsis from TechCrunch heard additionally that Messenger mind Peter Deng was “cranking” a few days ago. Another indication: Microsoft, which partners with Facebook on search and advertisements, is killing its Messenger service “exactly per month after anything has been announced”.

iPad customers happen to be searching for an entirely remodeled Facebook Messenger application to savor utilizing it.

May 1, 2012, 9to5Mac reported that Facebook was focusing on an iPad build referred to to be much like its apple iphone counterpart. The publication’s Mark Gurman had an opportunity to have a look in an early build and reported that Skype video calling was at the whole shebang, with performance being “smooth the majority of the time”.

It is not all in December 2011, iPhoneItalia stated that video calling via Skype was visiting Messenger for apple iphone, a totally free download in the Application Store.

That never found be, but bear in mind that Facebook most likely didn’t scrap Skype integration plans. Quite the contrary, it’s now in all likelihood the project simply hit unpredicted roadblocks, leading to delays.

Between Facebook’s cooperation with Microsoft and it is subsidiary Skype and also the last Messenger update that has enabled Voice over internet protocol calling (initially restricted to Canada), video talking may be the next logical step.

Facebook could be foolish to not exploit its social graph and also the 1 billion users list to the advantage, especially as others vie for the attention within the fragmented texting space. I’ve without doubt that soon Messenger will grow being possibly the most crucial mobile property in the stable.

In the end, that’s what lots of people use Facebook for more often than not, to talk using their buddies.

I’m able to totally picture Facebook’s Messenger software being a unified texting solution which marries standard texting features to Voice over internet protocol and video calling. All of your buddies happen to be on Facebook so it seems sensible to consolidate the different texting contexts in a single application to rule all of them.

So far I truly have no idea what’s Facebook doing, the final time Facebook launched a ‘Useless’ application known as Facebook Poke, and that’s my opinion…

What exactly do you consider ?

Original Page: http://ijailbreaknow.com/apple/facebook-is-totally-ready-to-launch-messenger-for-ipad-on-tuesday/

iOS Jailbreak

The Best iOS To PC File Browsers

iOS To PC File Browsers for you personally

The down-side of iTools can there be also doesn’t appear to become in whatever way to change user permissions with the software.

We’d say iTools was the most popular program from the bunch, when we weren’t somewhat paranoid that the organization behind iTools might be collecting information restricted to our “name, gender, age, birth date, identity card number, street address, education level, company situation, industry, and hobbies.” It’s likely a typical website TOU statement for an organization drained of Shenzhen, however it helps make the hair on the rear of my neck get up on finish.

iFunbox (Home windows/Mac)

iFunbox program that i’m using so far, probably the most factor you will like it you are welcomed with may be the Find More Applications page, that is a browser filled with advertisements and backed links. Should you open the iFunbox Classic tab, you have use of programs, ring tones, media, and also the raw system file of the device. There’s even an Application Inspection button which describes which applications might leak your private data, based on the APIs they plug into, that is always handy to understand.

In comparison to iTools, iFunbox’s interface isn’t as nice. It lacks the cutting corners for instantly posting messages, also it shows advertisements whenever you open this program. Both iFunbox and iTools are closed source programs, and can include features targeted to pirates, that you ‘t be confident with.

But when you would like my estimation, I’d tell you to employ iFunbox.. What exactly do you consider ? Which are you currently using ?

Original Page: http://pocket.co/sGJ1A

Blog

New iPad 5 Mockups Hit The Web, Like an iPad mini

New iPad 5 Mockups Hit The Net, Thinner, Lighter

Each time a rumor develops that Apple will launch something new, someone inevitably constitutes a mockup from it. Whether computer-produced, or perhaps a physical model, mockups make all of us giddy readily. This time around, 9to5Mac discovered a mockup from Martin uit Utrecht (Also known as: Martin Hejak) for his design from the purported approaching fifth-generation iPad.

According to gossips that Utrecht put together from various sources, his mockup is essentially a bigger form of the iPad small. His specs, as in comparison to the present iPad model are the following:

  • 4mm shorter tall
  • 17mm more compact wide
  • 2mm thinner

Some notable changes in the 4th-generation iPad for Utrecht’s model include two loudspeakers rather than one. They’re pressed out toward the perimeters a lot more than I believe they’ll be. I believe the loudspeakers is going to be situated as near to the Lightning connector as you possibly can.

The amount control buttons within the mockup look just like the iPad small. To be sure with this particular design change. I believe the brand new iPad will exchange the only toggle button for that two-button design.

Utrecht shows the whitened model sporting a whitened backside. I doubt that Apple will stray in the aluminum backing the iPad small has.

You can buy a Ultra violet-planned type of this mockup, filled with detailed bump-maps and simulated dust and fingerprints for $25. I suppose you may create your personal three dimensional model using the files and trick your buddies into thinking you will find the fifth-generation iPad.

Browse the gallery of photos

Blog

How to Remote Control Your PC Using Your Phone

Handheld Remote Control Your Computer Making Use Of Your Phone

Ever wondered what it’d end up like to manage media applications and processes of the Home windows PC making use of your phone? Wouldn’t it’s great should you could just pause VLC on your computer making use of your phone? If you are keen on “wireless-ness” and wanted you could control nearly every aspect your computer using just your Android phone, this is how that you can do just that!

Unified Remote is among the most features filled PC remote. It creates any Android tool and Home windows Phone. We’d expect so that it is readily available for iOS device too, but remarkably not. This handy application has controls for nearly every possible media application available within an average person’s computer. Whether it is Home windows Media Player, VLC, Spotify, YouTube or perhaps Google Chrome, you’ll have not a problem remote controlling it.

Usage

1. Connect your phone and PC on a single network.

2. Download Unified Remote’s Home windows application, do the installation on your computer and launch it.

3. Install Unified Remote application in the Google Play Store or even the Home windows Phone application.

4. Launch Unified Remote in your phone, visit “Servers” and then click “Add -> Automatic“.

If things are setup correctly, you need to call at your PC’s title display in the list. Choose it and mind to “Remote controls“.

Just in case you do not call at your PC’s title pop on the server list, make certain both your computer and also the phone is attached to the same wireless network as well as your firewall isn’t obstructing the Unified Remote application.

How about Linux and Mac?

Just just in case you aren’t a Home windows user, it appears the designers are focusing on a Linux and Mac version, so you ought to be seeing it soon. The apple iphone version can also be planned to produce soon.

Stuff I Wager You Didn’t Know

Other when compared to a media player, are you aware that Unified Remote can control almost any digital camera including bulbs and fans (yes, I’m serious), provided you’ve arrange it properly? They’ve got designed hardware (TellStick) that conveys with electronic products over an IR transmitter and receiver. No kidding. read this connect to discover more.

Free?

Unified Remote is free of charge, it has a premium version ($3.99) that’s full of more features for example browser navigation remote for Chrome, Opera, Opera and IE, supports The planet pandora, Hulu, Boxee, YouTube, NetFlix, Picasa, Home windows Photo Viewer and Ms powerpoint and switch for turning the computer monitor display off or on, system standby etc.

Conclusion

Unified Remote is among the most effective handheld remote control application we have ever run into. If you work with your computer like a media center, this really is surely one application you will need to own.

Original Page: http://maketecheasier.com/how-to-remote-control-your-pc-using-your-phone-androidwindows/2012/12/21


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