Microsoft is a large company, and while we may just think of them as making Windows and failing at making Windows Phone success that is now all they do. They have a lot of apps that are available for Android. Some of these apps are cross platform, but if you wanted to know which Microsoft apps available on Android are best, check out this video. Ronald talks about the apps and gives demonstrations of their features. There are all sorts of cool and interesting apps that you probably have never heard of on the XDA forum “The Best Apps You’ve Never Heard of”.
Be sure to check out other great XDA TV Videos.
Best Apps You’ve Never Heard of Forum Link
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You’ve probably heard of Baidu before. Known somewhat as China’s Google (though that may change if Google finally decides to re-enter the market this year), the mammoth search engine giant/advertising platform/online encyclopedia has dabbled in developing numerous applications designed around its service ecosystem for both Android and Windows (much like Google).
These apps have millions of users, most of whom are located in China, but as evidenced by the install count of Baidu Browser and other apps on the Play Store, there are a lot of users outside of China as well. Which makes a recent report from Toronto’s Citizen Lab all the more worrying. According to the group, Baidu Browser has been caught leaking sensitive personal information from its users.
Baidu Not Track
Man-in-the-middle attack on Baidu Browser’s Updater
The firm has summarized its research of Baidu Browser’s security failings into several key findings:
If you’ve installed the browser, or any application that was developed using the Baidu SDK (such as ES File Explorer), then it’s possible some of your personal data may have been compromised. The security leakage found in applications developed using Baidu’s SDK is massive, and the fact that the data was transmitted unencrypted (or with easily decryptable encryption) shows how little effort Baidu took in securing your personal data. Was it all transmitted to the Chinese government? While we can’t confirm either way, Baidu denies any such allegation according to a statement made to Citizen Lab.
Baidu’s and Don’ts
To be fair to Baidu, they have patched some of the security holes leading to leaked sensitive data. Keyword “some.” After Citizen Lab performed its due diligence and reported the security issues to the company, Baidu updated its application. Citizen Lab re-tested Baidu’s browser, and found the following for the Android version:
And for the Windows version:
So in short, most of the critical security compromises allowing malicious attackers from taking over your browser have been patched, and your data is now safe from leakage (albeit still being transmitted to Baidu’s servers itself). If you’re worried about third-parties from getting a look at your personal data, then you’re safe for now. But if you’re worried about the Chinese government or Baidu selling your data, well, then you’ll remain skeptical of the app. We hope such a security issue doesn’t turn you off of applications made by Chinese developers, but rather makes you more critical of what apps you’re installing and what permissions they request.
Ever used Baidu? If so, let us know in the comments!
The LG G5 now allows you to detach the bottom chin of the otherwise-unibody design in order to remove the battery and also expand the phone’s functionality through its “friends”… little hardware modules that can add camera controls, better sound through a special DAC, a bigger battery and more. The feature also allows LG to create even more modules later on, expanding the functionality and perhaps the lifespan of the device.
But would you use the modules? Is this an actually-good selling point?
For some module ideas and discussion, head over to this thread!
ASUS says they will be updating the following devices to Android 6.0 Marshmallow in the 2nd quarter of this year: PadFone S (PF500KL), ZenFone 2 (ZE550ML, ZE551ML), ZenFone 2 Deluxe (ZE551ML), ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition (ZE551ML), ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KG, ZE500KL, ZE550KL, ZE551KL, ZE600KL, ZE601KL), ZenFone Selfie (ZD551KL), ZenFone Max (ZC550KL) and the ZenFone Zoom (ZX551ML).
