text:
Is there an alarm clock app that takes account of personal and/or public holidays?
On my current and previous Android phones (HTC Magic with stock Android 1.6, and Samsung Galaxy S with 2.1 and TouchWiz) there have been pretty good alarm clock apps that allow you to set a a variety of alarms with a variety of timing and days. This gives you the handy ability to set different alarms for weekends and weekdays, for instance. Unfortunately, I often have the experience of looking forward to a nice lie-in on a holiday but getting blasted awake too early, because I forgot to switch off the alarm.
What I'd like is an app that either adjusts the built-in alarm clock to automatically set the weekend alarm when a personal or public holiday falls on a weekday, or one that replaces the built-in alarm clock and offers this facility.
I guess it could pull info on public holidays for my country from a public feed (pretty sure Google Calendar publish one for most countries) whereas for my holidays it could pick up specific all-day appointments with certain text in from a nominated Google Calendar.

Try this - it pulls from calendar plus you can add custom days - I had used it long back or pick from Izzy's list of Holiday aware clocks. The clock recommended first is also on Izzy's list

Anybody who wants to make an answer drawing on above suggestion and try for the bounty, please feel free to do so. I won't be posting since I don't have time / inclination to make a bounty worthy answer. Thanks

There is Sleep As Android that reads google calendar to turn alarm off on statutory holidays and your personal days off if you put #holiday into a full day event title.
Some statutory holidays may not apply to you. For example in Alberta Medical Aide Day is October 18, 2018 but my workplace (like most places) is not giving it as a paid day off. As such I can put #notholiday into the title of an all day event in Google Calendar for October 18, 2018.
To read more see: Sleep as Android: Sleep cycle tracker, smart alarm

It's hard to imagine no one has come up with the ability to turn off the regular Monday to Friday Google Android Alarm Clock based on Google Android Calendar stat holidays plus any vacation days and personal days you add to the calendar.

The link states:

Ever been roused from a good, deep sleep on a public holiday because the alarm clock wasn't turned off? AMdroid knows the public holidays
for your country; alarms won’t go off on these days (optional).

I'm not sure what "optional" means. Plus there is no mention of your days off (vacation, personal days, summer floats, winter floats, birthday, etc.)


text:
Are there any command line SSH clients available for rooted Android phones?
I of course have ConnectBot, but I'm looking for something I can script.
Edit: To clarify here, I'm not interested in running scripts from a terminal. What I want to do is run an SSH command in an automated/scheduled manner. Tasker and Locale Execute are the equivalent of cron, all I need is the 'ssh' command to run from the script.

For scriptability, I'm intending to use Tasker, either directly or via Locale Execute Plug-In http://www.appbrain.com/app/de.elmicha.app.LocaleExecute

You can install the Terminal Emulator from google. Alternatively there is the Better Terminal Emulator Pro. I tried the Terminal Emulator on a non-rooted phone and it seemed to work fine.
Better Terminal Emulator Pro includes the dropbear ssh client, which can be launched from the command line or via a launcher. More info from the authors.

Terminal Emulator force-closes consistently on my device, and apparently on lots of other peoples' devices. I also don't see any indication that it can be run from Tasker, or from the command line.

Turns out that Better Terminal Emulator Pro does include the dropbear client binary. Update your answer to include that info, and I'll accept it.

Ideally, you should never use closed source software like Better Terminal Emulator Pro for anything cryptography related.  I'd recommend building dropbear ssh directly from source using the Cyanogen people's instructions, that's probably all BTEP did.

There are various open source android applications that install their own dropbear ssh client copy too, simply adding a symlink makes it work under Google's Terminal Emulator.

your link for terminal emulator from google  http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-android-term-jpAz.aspx   says  "This application seems to be removed from the Android Market"  I see no 'terminal emulator' by google in google play store. The first result in the google play store is Android terminal emulator by jack palevich but it has no ssh.

Since my original question was about an ssh binary, and there is an answer for that, I'll accept that answer. However, there is another way to do what I wanted to do, kinda, that might be interesting to someone some day.
Tasker + ConnectBot can be used to execute arbitrary remote (or local, I guess, but Locale Execute is better for that) commands on a schedule.
Step 1: Set up your connection in ConnectBot.

You can have duplicate connections in ConnectBot as long as they have different aliases. You have to rename one first (away from user@host) in order to create the second. Long Press and select "Edit Host" to perform these changes.
You probably want to set up an ssh key without a password so that you can use this for automation.
Once the connection actually works, you can use "Post-login automation" to add the remote commands you would like to run. Make sure there is a blank line at the end so that enter is sent after your last command. Use enter or ; to separate commands. I suggest using something like "echo hello" as a test until you are sure things are working, and "exit" at the end if you don't want to leave the connection open.
Test this in isolation.

Step 2: Create a Tasker Task to call connectbot.

Create a new Task in Tasker.
Add an Action. From Misc, select "Action Intent"
The fields are:

Action: android.intent.action.VIEW
Cat: Default
Data: ssh url, in the form of "ssh://user@host/#alias" (without the quotes). The alias, user and host here must match the alias you set up in Step 1.
Target: Activity
Click Test. Connectbot should open and your commands should execute on the remote host.

Step 3: Use this Task in Tasker however you would normally.

Is there a way to define the connection programatically, i.e., via Tasker and calling intents?

I'm not sure about that. I don't recall exactly how I found the above Intent information, but it's basically a standard ssh URL. There are tools that can investigate Intents for apps, but I haven't used those.

I can add that if you remove the defaults for ConnectBot and have another ssh client installed (BTEP, for example) then ssh URLs will prompt for which app to use. This underscores that the above is something of a standard, both "VIEW" and the ssh format. The only thing specific to ConnectBot in this case is the #alias on the end.

I know it's an old thread but wanted to +1 the comment about BTEP
I'm also using BTEP's ssh binary though I just call it from it's path instead of linking it
/data/data/com.magicandroidapps.bettertermpro/bin/ssh root@192.168.1.1
or generate a pair of keys and use public key authentication
/data/data/com.magicandroidapps.bettertermpro/bin/ssh -i /data/data/com.magicandroidapps.bettertermpro/home/.ssh/id_rsa -l root 192.168.1.1
I use the above command from SL4A r4 in various scripts and it works fine :)
before I could do this I needed to chmod a+x /data/data/com.magicandroidapps.bettertermpro/home/.ssh
once this is done and you backup/restore BTEP with TitaniumBackup the permissions are kept this means if you flash a new rom you can just restore the apps and all your scripts will work again

I have successfully used BotBrew Basil Experimental when running Android 4.4. BotBrew Basil Experimental is based on apt-get so after installing APK and bootstraping I just did apt-get install dropbear in a root shell to install SSH client (and server).

Install terminal emulator and quickssh. Quickssh also includes dropbear. Does not cost you money, which it should not because this is surpassingly simple and it's based on dropbear.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=berserker.android.apps.sshdroid
find -name ssh user@host
Problem solved

looking at that program(sshdroid by beserker) I see only an ssh server gui. I then tried terminal emulator by jack, but see no ssh command added.   And looking for quickssh, in the play store, I don't see it. I see only quicksshd(by teslacoil) which has a small price and no doubt isn't an ssh client.

Terminal Emulator absolutely supports scripts*. Don't believe the nay-sayers. You will need to learn BASH shell scripting, if you're not already familiar with it. Write a script and save it on your SD card. Run it with "sh filename" from Term.
If you clarify what it is you want to "script" having to do with SSH, I can likely give you a better recommendation.
*(It's actually the Android OS that supports BASH scripts, Terminal Emulator just grants you access to the Android shell, therefore scripting is inherently possible)

Updated the question. I don't want to call scripts with ssh, I want to call ssh from a script.

Exactly what I was getting at. Again, if you want to give some specifics I may be of more assistance.

Botbrew is a package manager for Android, in the likes of okpg for BSD or more recently, like APT for Debian. Pretty nice. It doesn't have an ssh client as a package, but it doesn't look too hard to put in if you're used to building your own packages. And it could be useful as a toolchain for when you want to build other C/C++/etc binaries and libraries.
So albeit this isn't a direct answer, it may be useful for some people to know about.

Nice. It's also in the play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inportb.botbrew

Sadly, it looks like botbrew.com is down, which blocks installation.

That's weird, because I think the packages are hosted on github.

Now there is a terminal called Termux that you can apt install openssh in. Available on Google Play Store, F-Droid, and Github.

please link the app from Google play

Use an ssh plugin for Tasker? Don't need root or ssh binary then.

Name one? Your answer could be helpful then :)

There is "SSH Plugin Paid" for Tasker, but it is old and not anymore developed. The error handling is nearly not existing, so it is just ssh and not much more. But it works.

AndFTP can connect over any port you configure so I'm sure it could connect over SSH. But I'm not sure how easy it is to script usage of it. I use the app myself all the time for my hosting server and it works great.
Not sure if you can SSH with Terminal Emulator, but you could try it too. I use that app frequently for doing things I'm too lazy to do with ADB.

AndFTP is great. Is Terminal Emulator scriptable?

I don't think so, not without another app. As you mention above, Tasker is probably the way to go with this.

If the simple ssh client is interesting to you, I made under Android-NDK Bionic library drobpear-ssh-client-only.
ftp://ftp.simtreas.ru/pub/my/dropbear/dropbear-ssh-only.tgz
sourse and ftp://ftp.simtreas.ru/pub/my/dropbear/ssh binary

This is not a generic answer sadly and will work only on one of x86/ARM/MIPS, probably ARM. Also the linked content will most probably disappear at some time. Most custom ROMs already include a working pure cmdline ssh client.

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text:
Carbon backup discovery issues with Nexus 7
I have made a backup of my Nexus 7 before its bootloader was unlocked with Carbon and the companion Windows app; I then took the Carbon folder from internal storage to my computer disk.
An unlock, root, flash, etc., later, I placed the Carbon folder where it was:
 /storage/emulated/0/carbon

I installed an additional application and backed it up to confirm that Carbon stores new backups there:

Yet, no joy.

I've also copied the backup data to Google Drive. Carbon also fails to find the data there.
You might guess it'd be a permissions issue. As far as I can see, it's not.

This person (thread link) has had similar issues with a Nexus 7 but not a Nexus 4. They've emailed the developers one month ago and didn't report back. I emailed them too , but I'm not holding my breath honestly. and actually got a reply. I'm not posting the full text of the email, since that'd be a breach of privacy, but here's the meat of it.

You manually moved the backup, which is an unsupported scenario in Carbon. This is why you cannot see the backups. There is no fix, or workaround for this.

What can I do about this?

I notice the Adobe Reader folder contains 4 items, while the others only have 3. I don't use Carbon, so I don't know if that is meaningful, but it seems suspect. Did something important in the backups get lost along the way, perhaps?

As to the support: I've emailed the dev as well, about 2 months ago, with a problem, including all necessary debug details (logcat etc). 3 mails so far. No reply. While Koush is busy developing a lot of good stuff, he seems not to reply to support requests unfortunately :(

@eldarerathis The extra file is "com.adobe.reader.json": {"enabled":true,"system":false,"flags":10010180,"packageName":"com.adobe.reader","versionCode":73784,"label":"Adobe Reader","versionName":"10.5.2","locked":false,"date":1367072517125,"apk":false,"backup":true}

That's Carbon's control file to identify a backup, including the data it needs to display for restore. If there are no such .json files in the other directories, Carbon cannot identify them. You could try to "fake" such files for the other apps (create them with the corresponding data) -- but I have no idea what should be put for "flags" and "versionCode".

@Izzy ...then why didn't Carbon create those files to begin with?

According to Koush's post on G+, even the Betas already had it: Each backup has 3 files (json, ab, png). So it should be 3 files, not 4. Maybe you can give an example of an item with the 3 and the item with the 4 files (each directory, do a ls -l)?

@Izzy All folders have three files; for TuneIn Radio e.g. it's .nomedia (empty), .tunein.player.png, tunein.player.ab.

So you've lost all the .json files (the .nomedia is just for the MediaScanner service, so it doesn't pick up the .png. I might have an idea -- maybe we meet in the main chat room? If it works out, I can sum it up later for an answer here. Just ping me once you're in chat.

As it turned out, all the other apps had their corresponding .json file missing. Not a big deal: As badp's answer shows, one can simply use adb restore to restore the backups. But as not everybody might have the SDK (or even a minimal ADB) installed (or even a computer available -- one might be on a journey), my answer will take a different approach.
What we need
First, you will need to make a backup of some app, to get a working .json file. As the question states, there was such one from the Adobe Reader. To visualize it for you, this is what the corresponding file (com.adobe.reader.json) looks like:
{
  "enabled":true,"system":false,"flags":10010180,"packageName":"com.adobe.reader",
  "versionCode":73784,"label":"Adobe Reader","versionName":"10.5.2","locked":false,
  "date":1367072517125,"apk":false,"backup":true
}

You will also need:

a file manager
an editor

Of course, you could also perform the steps below from your Linux computer; using a different OS, take care for the file's encoding and line breaks.
What we do
I pick an example app here: Kindle for Android. In the question's screenshots, it's listed close to the Adobe Reader as com.amazon.kindle. For your apps, just pick the corresponding values based on this example:

copy com.adobe.reader/com.adobe.reader.json to com.amazon.kindle/com.amazon.kindle.json
open com.amazon.kindle/com.amazon.kindle.json with an editor

replace com.adobe.reader by com.amazon.kindle for packageName
replace Adobe Reader by Kindle for Android for label (actually, you can put anything here -- but might prefer to know what you've got :)
optionally, replace the versionName accordingly (it will work without)
save the file

I'm not sure what versionCode or flags stand for, so we better don't touch those. We also can safely ignore the rest:

"enabled"="true" should mean "this app is enabled (i.e. not frozen)"
"system"="false": It's no system app (matches: Kindle is no system app)
"locked"="false": This app is not "protected"
"date" obviously holds a Unix timestamp (most likely that of the backup)
"apk"="false": Ah, data only (Cabon's default is to not include the .apk with the backup, to speed things up)
"backup"="true": Is this a joke? What else could it be?

Now, first let's see whether Carbon accepts our trick. If it correctly lists up Kindle for Android as being available for a restore, you might want to repeat above steps for your other backups as well.

I had the same problem and managed to get it working.
After reinstalling the applications I backed up (Angry Birds in my case), I deleted the carbon folder from the phone (keeping a copy on the PC).  I then backed up Angry Birds so that the carbon folder on the phone is recreated etc.  I then replaced the new AB file with the one I originally backed up.  When I restored, I could see the application and was able to restore.

I'm currently having the same problem, but I found the fix..
I have Nexus 7 2013, before updating to Android 5.0 I copied carbon folder to my PC, after updating to 5.0 I moved carbon folder back to main nexus folder and it didn't show anything, but after long research I found the fix:

Open Windows PowerShell
Paste into it this code:

$subfolders = Get-ChildItem -Path 'Link to your PC carbon folder\*'
foreach ($f in $subfolders){
    if($f.Attributes.ToString() -eq "Directory") {
        $filecont="{`"enabled`":true,`"packageName`":`""+$f.name+"`",`"label`":`"" + $f.Name + "`",`"locked`":false,`"date`":1375398819080,`"apk`":true,`"backup`":true}"
        $fname= $f.FullName + "\" + $f.Name + ".json"
        [System.IO.File]::WriteAllText($fname, $filecont)
    }
}

This code will add .json files inside every app's folder and it's working, now all my applications are showing in carbon's restore tab.

Click image for larger version

It's a kludge, but Carbon uses the standard adb debugbackend for its operation. This means that the .ab format is not proprietary and each of the individual backups can be restored from the adb command line:
adb restore C:\whatever\Carbon\things.the.all\things.the.all.ab

...or through a graphic tool such as Droid Explorer.

Izzy's answer is a good start: check that you have a .json file for the app.
If you don't have this file, before you go copying and editing another app's .json file, just back up your app's .ab file somewhere, then backup the app again using Carbon.
It should save a .json file this time.  You can then replace the new backup's .ab file with the one you need to restore, and the app will be detected by Carbon.
(If it still does not save a .json file, use Izzy's method.)

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text:
Any fix for audio stuttering (incoming and outgoing) when making Skype calls?
I have an HTC hero with Android 2.1, and the latest Skype available in android marketplace (december 2010) stutters badly on wifi.
(I did not even try to make a skype call over 3g data, i think that would be silly, and in my market where data charges are exorbitant, a waste of money.)
I believe it's a performance problem with my phone.  I have tried to uninstall some other apps, and not very much seems to be open and running on my phone (just skype, the phone main UI panel).
Audio coming to my headphones stutters terribly and is full of clicks.  The audio going out is reported to be bad when I tested it with human callers, but when I used the echo123 skype service, my audio came back to me mostly perfectly.
It looks like Skype's website lists the following as compatible android handsets:
"Android devices: DROID by Motorola, DROID ERIS by HTC, Motorola DEVOUR™, HTC Droid Incredible, LG Ally, Samsung Fascinate™, Motorola Droid X, Motorola Droid 2, Samsung CONTINUUM, Motorola Ciena, Motorola Droid 2 Global."
[Note that HTC hero is not in that list]

not unique to HTC Hero, I think, I had this as well on Spica. Incidentally, it also turned my phone into a pocket warmer.

P Were you on wifi or using 3G?

I was using wifi.  3g would be so slow I wouldn't be surprised if the audio stuttered. Plus who pays data rates (3g) for voice on Skype?  Silly...

@Warren: That actually makes sense when you have a flat rate 3G subscription.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the HTC Hero doesn't have enough CPU to handle the audio codecs.
You may have some success rooting it and overclocking the CPU, but it'll shorten the life of your hardware and void your warranty.

I also have come to this conclusion.  600 mhz, or whatever the Hero is, isn't 1 ghz, which is the what the newer handsets run at.  Whatever profiling and testing the developers of Skype for Android did, the Hero's cpu wasn't their acceptance test criteria, certainly.

My guess is that this is a carrier problem.  When the Amazon Mp3 app recently updated it had a warning message to contact Sprint if there was any stuttering with the music since Sprint's network doesn't work well with streaming audio.  I haven't had an issue yet so I removed the notice otherwise I'd post it here for you to see.  It's only a guess though so since I'm basing this completely on what I read in that notice from Amazon.

No, because I was using Wifi.

This would be related to your data network speed rather than the application. Try to test it with a wifi connection and see if that gets you better audio.

I was using WIFI not the data network.  I wouldn't dare try it with the data network.  My guess is that the CPU in my Hero isn't up to running skype.

Okay that is strange. I guess you checked signal strength?


text:
Admin profile locked on Android 4.4 KitKat tablet
My daughter has locked my admin profile on my our tablet and there's only her user profile open but I can't reset from there. tried the volume up button and power on to reset my tablet but nothing seems to work is there another way? Please help

I am assuming she either set a new pin/password for you by mistake or you already had a pin/password before she locked it that you cannot remember. Either way you need to reset the pic/password. Here are the instructions for Android 4.4 which you are using:
"Older versions of Android — Android 4.4 KitKat and older — have an integrated way to bypass your pattern, PIN, or other password if you forget it."
"To find this feature, first enter an incorrect pattern or PIN five times at the lock screen. You’ll see a “Forgot pattern,” “forgot PIN,” or “forgot password” button appear. Tap it. You’ll be prompted to enter the username and password of the Google account associated with your Android device."
http://www.howtogeek.com/226942/what-to-do-if-you-forget-your-android-phone%E2%80%99s-pin-pattern-or-password/
If you cannot remember the password to your Google account then complete this process first:
https://www.google.com/accounts/recovery/
If you have still access to the number you used when creating the Google account, recovery will be easy, otherwise you will need to answer some security questions first.
Once you recover your account you can go back to the pin/password reset instructions for your tablet above.

Some models had modified their Android images to remove that little feature even on 4.4 :D :D :D . Thank you, Alcatel Pop C9. Absolutely no way provided to recover from a forgotten credential on that one. Only way (without finding an exploit) is to build an automatic input machine and let it try all the 10^6 (or 10^7; I can't remember) possibilities :D.

Nah, just make sure when she opens it backup and recovery is on and then do a hard reset
If not download mobizon screen recorder and then in about phone enable developers options and enable see screen tap so you could see the pass word easily
If its samsung sign in your account in find my phone Samsung and unlock ur device


text:
Is it possible to prevent the screen from locking while connected to the USB
Generally when there is a USB cable attached to the phone it's not in my pocket, so the screen lock isn't doing anything usefull for me and I'd like to disable it.

it's actually a desire z, but there is no tag for that and I don't have enough rep to make tags

Tag updated for you!

The question can be phone agnostic. The answer works on any android device.

If you go into Settings > Applications > Development there is a setting for Stay Wake which is described as "Screen will never sleep while charging".
Give that a try :)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


text:
GPS optimization, is really necessary?
Some android users are experiencing GPS problems; are applications like this really useful and safe for all devices?
http://www.appbrain.com/app/gps-optimisation/com.gps.opt
What do you recommend for a 2.2 device?

It would depend on the device. Some devices have/had some real serious issues with their GPS. The Galaxy S is one of them. It can take 10 seconds for it to get a GPS lock or it could take a minute (or even more).
If you never have any issues with your device, then I wouldn't recommend running an application like this. If you can get a GPS lock within a few seconds or so and it is accurate, then I would say just leave it alone.

This may be due to their cellular network. GPS is jump-started by the cellular network - the rough location and time provided helps the chip determine which satellites are likely in view. If someone is testing on a device with only wifi it would easily take +3 minutes to get a GPS connection

I've had other android devices, on this network (T-Mobile), that had 0 issues with getting a GPS Lock. Samsung has said publicly that there are/were issues with the GPS chip/software on the Galaxy S devices. They have release an app that is supposed to correct it, but it never helped me, which is why I run a non-Samsung ROM, my GPS works "better" now...

No idea what that app does.
If your GPS isn't locking as fast as you like, one option is to redownload the GPS assistance data. An app like "GPS Status" can do this for you. Here's a QR code for it.


text:
How do you get Android OS bugs fixed?
I recently got an HTC Shift from Sprint. Within days of getting it, I noticed very bad issues with the phone losing sync to 4g, 3g, and wifi; it would not reacquire data connections unless I manually turned 4g on and off. Their tech support people immediately reset the phone to defaults, blamed my problems on an app, and declared victory.
I don't call this a victory. They treated symptoms, but the real problem (assuming it was an application issue) is that the Android OS allowed an application to routinely get their networking stack in a foobar'd state.
Assuming I can reproduce this problem, what is the best way to resolve it?

It's a huge mistake thinking that Sprint (or any other carrier for that matter) actually cares for your user experience. Their interest in your user experience ends when you hand over your credit card number and sign a 2-year contract.
I would not bother with the carrier, and submit the issue directly to your handset's manufacturer instead.

@Chahk, that's why I'm doing all this within my 30-day right of refusal.  They have another three weeks to resolve issues, or I consider other alternatives.

Practically speaking, if you want turnaround on bug reports through to actual deployment of updates on your device, you're going to need to run an unofficial rom where you can if necessary make the fix yourself.

I assume from your posting that resetting the phone fixed the problem (temporarily).
If you want the problem fixed for good, you can help by trying to narrow down the problem further. This will allow you to address the right people with a very specific request of what needs to be fixed. You should:

Try to reproduce the problem. Install the apps you previously had on your phone one by one until the problem re-occurs.
If you can't reproduce it, there is not much chance of getting this anywhere further. If you can reproduce it:
Try the offending application on a different type and brand of phone.
If the problem exists on all phones, contact the author of the application about the problem and consider raising an issue with Google on their Issue tracker.
Otherwise try the offending application on a different phone of the same model and brand. If the problem occurs there too, contact HTC telling them which application has that effect and on which phone is does have that effect. Also consider filing and issue with Google as above.
Otherwise, if only your phone is affected, it's probably save to assume it's a hardware defect with your phone. Return it for repairs.

As I see it you have some options. I dont know if they will work though.

Return your phone if it has an internal error, demand your money back and get another phone.
Android OS is build by Google. HTC etc. only patches the OpenSource version of the OS from Google. So if you want something in Android fixed, I think Google would be the place to "place your demands" - not that I think it will matter much, but they do have a forum for Android too.
If you know its an application that made the phone faulty, then dont install that application?

Thats what I know/think - dunno if its of much help, but its my answer.

so "what is the best way to get in touch with someone who can drive (the Android bug) to resolution?"

hard to say, it depends on the situation. I cant tell you the answer, as I dont know. I just gave you what I would choose from in your situation.


text:
Full encryption with Android?
I have an LG GT540 Optimus with Android.
How can I encrypt all my filesystems to ensure that if it gets stolen, no one will get my passwords, contacts, etc.. :\ ?
Thank you!

See these previous questions, which look like they cover the same ground as your question http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1940/secure-encrypt-sd-card-data-transparent-to-apps http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4567/encrypt-the-phones-internal-storage

From my post to the link GAThrawn called out; Encrypt the phone's internal storage
Android 3 (Honeycomb) offers full system encryption natively. However, as it's only for tablets at this point I will post some other avenues.
There was some work done on this for the G1 using LUKS and Cryptsetup. I think I've seen this on a moto droid rom too, but you'll definitely need root. It is not trivial to do, and there isn't too much interest so popular roms like Cyanogenmod don't provide for this natively.
There are some apps in the market that support encrypted file stores (check out Lock Files. I have no idea how transparent that is on the system however.
To your italicized point on remote wipe. There are MANY solutions for this. If you're using Exchange you can push this with ActiveSync, if not apps like Lookout, and more provide remote wipe and other functions. There are even manual ways w/ dyndns and a listening SSH server.

Apologies if this was bad form, I would have noted in a comment rather then repasting the answer but I'm lacking the reputation.  New user to stackexchange.


text:
Plugging phones into tablets
I have an android tablet (1) and phone (2). Using the phone as a wireless hotspot drains the battery almost as fast as having the phone screen on. I'd like to be able to use it as a tethered hotspot and charge the phone from the larger battery in the tablet (3) but I have two problems - micro usb to micro usb cables don't seem to exist and i'm not sure that a micro to usb converter + a micro usb to usb cable is worth setting up - does it do anything useful?

motorola xoom - answer may be honeycomb specific
nexus one
Copying files would be nice but is a plus.

You would need to enable USB host mode on your xoom. Google this for some more details on this - you will need a rooted xoom; there will also be links to USB OTG (on the go) cables that will let you use this (most of them seem to be micro-USB to USB female, into which you would then need to plug your normal USB cable).
I don't know if this USB OTG configuration would actually charge your phone - some USB OTG don't provide power at all.
Copying files would work on this really easily (I think that's what it's generally been done for), but network may be a little trickier - it would rely on the xoom having the usb network drivers for your N1, which it might not (in that case you'd need to compile the drivers/kernel modules for your xoom, where it starts to get messy :-/ )

Sorry for dropping off the radar. It certainly sounds sensible, but as it happens I've upgraded to a galaxy nexus so I've not tested your answer as my xoom is mostly just sitting in my bag looking forlorn.


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How can I get Google's two-step verification to work?
On my Android phone, I can't seem to use my Google Account because I have the 2-step verification enabled. Can I log into Google without disabling the 2-step verification system?
Here is a link to Google's 2-step verification system:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/advanced-sign-in-security-for-your.html
Logging into my Google account is not a problem using the 2-step verification on a standard PC/Laptop, i.e. on a Microsoft/Mac OS, I just can't seem to use the 2-step verification system  on Android 2.2.2.

Here is the link to your answer.

The answer is that you have to use a standard computer, log into your google account 2-step verified google account, go to authorise applications and sites, and set up your android device.  Google have said that 2-step verification will not work yet on android, so they have provided this work around for now.
Here is the link where you create a password to authorize your device:
https://accounts.google.com/IssuedAuthSubTokens
They will then give you a password which you can enter into your phone, allowing you to keep 2-step verification enabled.

You can do this from the browser on your phone if you are patient and don't have a handy desktop.  I activated my account on a new phone while I was still at the mall that way.

The page seems to have been moved. Go to https://www.google.com/settings/security and click "App passwords: Settings", add name and click "Generate password"

Thank you so much for this.  I remain flabbergasted that this process was so opaque.  I went down this path on my own but when I got to the drop down list for creating a new mail password for  and Android was not on the list, I was sure it couldn't be the right answer to just fill in the blank and make up my own value for Android.  Thanks for nothing Google!

Good answer, but this was still confusing to me, because it wouldn't let me enter the app-specific password for Google's Play Store.
Final Solution:

Create an app-specific password for Google Play at https://accounts.google.com/IssuedAuthSubTokens
(E.g., name it "Android Phone Play Store").
On the phone, add a 2nd Google account (All Settings > Accounts & sync).
Launch Google's Play Store.
Go to Menu > Accounts.
Switch account; then, switch back.
When it asks for a password, enter the app-specific password you've created.

Finally I found the answer for this problem. following url has the answer
http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ctx=ch_b%2F0%2FSmsAuthConfig&answer=185833
Create a application specific password.
Enter that as password.


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How do I disable the backlighting for the menu and back buttons on a Galaxy SIII?
Does anyone know how to disable the lights of the buttons at the bottom of my phone?
They are really annoying and I can reach them without the lights on.
I've tried several apps but none of them worked.
I have a custom ROM and I'm rooted. This ROM doesn't show any option for my issue. I don't want to change my ROM because I really fell in love with it.

Please tell us what ROM you're using.

Im using Nameless 5.0

GravityBox module for Xposed Framework can do it. Xposed requires root, but from reading your question, it looks like you have root.

Download KitKat
Download Jellybean

From the XDA Thread:

Button backlight modes (default, disabled, always on while screen is on)

I already tried that, but xposed framework couldn't be installed due to SDK issue or something.

Maybe because I have lollipop

If you have lollipop, you cannot use Xposed. Xposed is not yet supported on lollipop.


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How to close all background apps at once in Android 5.0 (lollipop)?
I noticed that I can press the square button on the bottom right to show all background apps, and then swipe from left to right with my finger to stop them manually.
But sometimes, I find that I have twenty or more apps in the background, so I want to stop them all at once.
I did a simple search on Google, but didn't find an answer.
Is it possible to do that?

This bothers me to no end because of the UX issue - with 20+ apps to scroll through, it is very difficult to find the one you want.  I don't care if memory management is efficient - having 20+ apps (made worse by each chrome tab showing up) makes navigating awful.

am kill-all command  can do it, though it requires root access.

As far as I know : no you can't.
TL;DR :
Closing all background apps is a bad practice. You should close apps that you don't use often or apps you specifically want to close for X reason. IMO, the only good reason to close all recent apps is that you feel like there are too many of them and you can't find an app any more because of the mess it creates.
--
The recent apps feature in Lollipop appears to behave differently from previous versions. First of all, as you noticed, the button to clear all recent apps is gone. Moreover, the recent apps persist through reboot (read on Android Police : The Recent Apps List Now Persists Through Reboot).
Now, you still can clear them by swiping all the cards, which I agree is tedious. But as the top comment on the AP post I quoted above explains :

Clearing out all of the apps in recents just puts more work on CPU and
  thus your battery because you're essentially having to start from
  scratch the next time you load it. If something stays in your recents
  list and is in RAM, it loads instantly with virtually no battery or
  processing penalty minus refreshing the content via the network
  connection.

Basically, all the Android users (including me a while ago) who frequently clear their recent apps, use task killers, etc. are using their Android device the wrong way.
You can read more about Why you shouldn't use a task killer on Android (a post by cybervibin on XDA), which is roughly the same as killing the apps yourself. In short, unused RAM is useless RAM. If a large amount of RAM is required by an app, the system will stop recent apps by itself to provide the newly launched app the needed resources. No need to stop them yourself, it's the OS's job.
I also recommend the read of this question on Android Enthusiasts about What happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list.
--
To conclude, to this day and as far as I know, you can't clear your recent apps all at once on Android Lollipop 5.0. But you shouldn't have to do that anyway, which is surely why Google's teams removed the button.

I don't know if this is a CyanogenMod 12 only option, but I have a little button to clear them all.

@RyanConrad it's CM option only. At least I can confirm that there is no option on stock Android Lollipop. Probably you could expand that as alternative answer? :)

@MathieuMaree Are there other optimisations that I'm not aware of in Lollipop? I understand that Windows Metro apps will tombstone (freeze when not focused, and only with permission, run in the background); however, Android has no such permission system. It seems that apps in Android are able to run in the background, taking up CPU cycles. Closing the background app (recents) stops these programs from using CPU (GPS, etc.), hence helps with battery life. In the long run it seems that closing recents can be better for battery life than having to restart apps. Can you comment?

I'm looking for this ability, not for the purpose of clearing memory, but because the recent apps/overview is pretty useless when it has over 10 cards in it (I currently have ~40), and I can only actually view about 3.5 cards at a time.

Also, it makes me uneasy to share the device because it has weeks of history snapshots. It shows emails, google searches, etc from weeks ago.

I agree with @wisbucky, having more than 50 tabs open at a time makes that feature useless. Also, if it is really bad for system resources, why is CM always offering a clear all button? Do they have different views about how Android works? Anyway, recent apps should be different from app in the RAM. Recent apps should show a shortcut to let say the latest 10 apps you opened, regardless they are still cached or not. How apps are managed in memory by Android should be left to Android only, not the user.

Your comments are, for the most part, correct, but devle into opinion and straight up dogma.  I think you could keep the judgementalism to yourself and understand that there are certain use cases that do merit a "close all" function.  An out-of-control application CAN eat system resources to the extent that it affects the responsiveness of the entire device.  And now, to find said application within the cluttered recent app list is an utter pain.  I don't give a good gosh dern if android is going to have to reload an app i launched 2 days ago.  I want to click once to solve the problem.

@barneco Hmm, I don't see where I've been "judgementalist" in my answer, but since you look offended : I apologize.

For the desperate (and rooted...) lads here, Chainfire released an app, Recently, that gives you more control on the recent apps overview. Among other things, it adds a 'Clear All'  button and allows you to limit the number of entries shown.

I'm aware of the way android manages background apps,  but anecdotally I find I run out of memory when lots of background apps are open,  especially games and on my old v1 nexus 7, now running lollipop.  Closing them always seems to help.  Is this actually true?  I didn't want to ask a new question as it would basically be the same as this one.

I'm not sure if this has recently changed or if it's something you have just not considered but as Matthew Read suggested it is very much possible by switching the card view to grid view.

It seems that this CyanogenMod 12 only option, as Andrew T. states he does not have this option in stock Android Lollipop, but I have a little button to clear them all.
(Click image to enlarge)

It also works with Lollipop 5.0.2 on HTC One M7 with Sense 6

By double-tapping Home button
Tap the 3 dots on upper right corner
Go to Settings and change from Card View to Grid View

When you double tap the Home button again you will now see an 'X' button to close all recent apps that are open.

With some chance, a Xposed module that adds the clear all button might be available in the near future.

Maybe once Xposed is somewhat stable and works on more than ARMv7+ but I would not suggest Xposed to anyone on Android 5, really, at this one

Yeah, it's still a work in progress in my opinion. Did you have issues with it? It seems to work mostly fine on my device, although a lot of modules are still incompatible.

Not with Xposed itself. But my device is an ARMv7, Not all devices are. The modules not being compatible is a big issue. And it's not just your opinion, it is a work in progress. The developer even said it is in ALPHA at the moment.

This answer was suggested as an anonymous edit:

In the task manager settings, change the view from "cards" to "grid". The close all button remains at the top, as it used to.

The simple solution!


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How do I get my Samsung Note 3 to be recognized by my PC?
When I plug my phone into my PC (which is running Windows 7 OS) only charging takes place. When I view my phone in Device Manager, it says that Samsung Android files are not installed. But I installed those and also tried with Samsung Kies 3 but it's still not getting connected.

First, what you want to do ? Transfer files to the phone or make something with ADB and stuff.
Good that you have Kies 3 installed.
If transfer files. Check this: when you connect the phone there is a popup on the upper bar, sometimes you need to click it and change it to 'transfer files' - then the phone will go into MTP mode which allows you to view it in "My computer"
If make something with ADB: first try to install maybe Naked Drivers (it worked for me note 1 on win7):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/development/adb-fb-apx-driver-universal-naked-t2513339
, then enable debug in settings. When debug is enabled when u connect the phone it should ask for driver.
Also in bootloader and fastboot there is another driver needed but it sgould be in Naked or Kies drivers, also Android SDK have drivers.

You have to install the drivers for your phone. Go to the Samsung support site, which should let you download a driver for your PC that will recognize your phone.
If that does not work, scroll down your menu bar on your phone then click USB (phone should recognize it, if plugged in) then click media transfer. You can choose USB 3.0 I believe.

related: Google OEM USB Drivers List

Trying turning phone off, take battery out. Wait 15 seconds.  Reinsert battery, turn on.  Then try connecting to PC again.  Hopefully it'll recognise the device when you do this.

My Windows10 Toshiba Kira notebook had ignored my USB connected Samsung Note3 for a long time. After many attempts I solved this as follows.
I noticed my phone was recognised in "Printers and Devices" but had an error because of a metered (wireless) connection (because I needed to control usage when hotspotting), and one of the properties suggested it was looking for Bluetooth. I may have deleted this device (as I recall I didnt), but I removed and inserted the USB cable a couple of times before/during/after this whole process.
I also enabled Developer mode several times with USB debugging finally toggled OFF, then turned OFF the wireless hotsopt on the Note3. At this point, after reconnecting the USB cable I got half of an audio connection acknowledgement.
I disconnected/reconnected again and finally finally finally got the full audio connection sound!!!
I then coerced the network connection in Windows Explorer by typing in the already configured \PhoneNetworkName into the location. I made the network private and discoverable when I got the pop-up, then it all worked.
The Phone also appeared in Device Manager under Portable Devices and I had a notification "Connected as a media device" on the phone. Pressing this took me to the "USB PC connection" App offering to connect as Media device(MTP) and/or Camera(PTP) - of course MTP was already checked. This App is not found by a search in phone "Settings". I think if you could find out how to bring this App up manually it would probably solve the issue, because this setting (MTP) is all I ever had to do before with my Galaxy S2, and Ericsson M750.
Had all of the symptoms described by others, nothing else worked.
Turned on hotspotting and the connection still works, but turning it off while USB connected might have triggered something????
So, good luck. I hope this helps.


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Can't log into Google Play Store or my Google account
Through a series of mishaps, I deleted Google Play Services, Google+ and probably many other apps. I did a factory reset, but it did not bring back my missing apps. My phone was rooted and I used Titanium to delete them, not knowing services was needed. Now whenever I hit Google store and need to log in I can't because it says:

Couldn't sign it. There was a problem communicating with Google servers. Try again later.

I am really confused as to what to do. I cannot download from online directly because it still wants me to put my Google account and I get the same message.
Any help or is my phone just done at this point? I have an android LGMS323.

Well, that sure looks like you have messed your device really well, I would suggest the better option would be downloading the stock ROM and flashing it over your device anyway there's also another option which you can use like get the apk file of the apps from sites like Android Police.
Google PlayStore,
Google PlayServices,
Google+
Install then over your device and I guess rest of the app can be easily downloaded over the Google PlayStore.

I would just recommend installing the zip file of the google apps usually called gapps.zip. You can find the corresponding files for download at goo.im; make sure to pick the one matching your device's Android version. Then copy it to your device's SD card, boot into recovery, chose to "install from zip", select the file – and once it's flashed you should be done, simply reboot.

Can you edit this and add a link to the gapps package for the OP, and note there is a version of gapps for each Andriod release.

I know this is an older post, but thanks to the bot bringing it back up, figured I would post incase others have this issue.
Assuming you have a custom recovery(since the device is rooted), open up settings > about device > And find out what version of android you are running, then head over to https://basketbuild.com/gapps and download the package for your version of android. Then flash via recovery. It will add the google apps for ya, then you should be able to get back in to the play store.
Edit: Goo.im closed since this post was last posted. Just and FYI for those looking at this


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How can I view and examine the Android log?
There is a lot of interesting stuff in the Android system log, that is helpful in many ways

find root causes of problems
identify misbehaving apps

How can I view and examine the Android log?

Android 4.1 and newer
The preferred way is to download the SDK and use adb logcat (requires to activate "developer options" on device).
There are apps available for viewing the full system log, however they only work on rooted devices or require issuing a manual command via adb to make them work. For more information view see this question.
Android 4.0 and older
You can either download the SDK and use adb logcat or get Logcat Extrem from the Google Play Store, which shows the log directly on your phone.

Alternatively, you can use Terminal Emulator with command "logcat > /sdcard/log.txt" for continuous writing of the log to a file on the SD Card.  This can help figure out issues with random reboots.

Good point. Some phones tend to spam the log full of trivial information, so if you wish to minimize the filesize and data to go through check out the section "Filtering Log Output" on http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/adb.html#logcat

LogCat Apps doesn't work anymory with JellyBean. Google changed the Android API, apps don't have the permission anymore to read logs from other apps than their own.

I have created a simple utility to collect logs from a PC: https://gist.github.com/hrj/5983971

Log-File locations
There are several directories where logs (including those from crashes) might appear -- not all of them are standardized (i.e. some may be ROM-specific).

/data/anr: Some trace files seem to get here (Dalvik writes stack traces here on ANR, i.e. "Application Not Responding" aka "Force-Close"; see e.g. log excerpts here)
/data/dontpanic seems to be a standard location (AOSP), and contains some crash logs including traces (see e.g. viaForensics and StackOverflow)
/data/kernelpanics is another location -- not having had any "kernel panic" on my Android devices, I saw no content there yet.
the /data/panic/panic_daemon.config may point to other locations configured -- on my Droid 2 it mentions /sdcard/panic_data/
mentioned Droid 2 also has a /data/panicreports directory (empty here)
/data/tombstones may hold several tombstone_nn files (with nn being a serial, increased with every new file). As tombstones are placed for the dead, it is done here for "processes died by accident" (i.e. crashed) -- and it is what is referred to as "core dumps" on Linux/Unix systems. However, not all apps create tombstones; this must be explicitly enabled by the developer (see Debugging Android Core Dumps).

There may be some more locations which escaped me; but as most logging is done on tmpfs, these data are lost with a reboot, and would not match the OPs question.
Log commands to use with a terminal app (or adb)
Several commands can get you tons of information. For most of them, it is to recommend to re-direct them to a file (> filename.ext) or pipe them through a filter (| grep search-for-this):
Kernel log
The following works without root:
$ dmesg
<6>[82839.126586] PM: Syncing filesystems ... done.
<7>[82839.189056] PM: Preparing system for mem sleep
<4>[82839.189361] Freezing user space processes ... (elapsed 0.05 seconds) done.
<4>[82839.240661] Freezing remaining freezable tasks ... (elapsed 0.00 seconds) done.
<snip>

Logcat
Here you can e.g. specify what area you are interested in -- radio, events...
# logcat -b events
I/am_create_service( 3457): [1085416560,nitro.phonestats/.widget.WidgetProvider4x1$WidgetUpdateService4x1,,3721]
I/am_destroy_service( 3457): [1085416560,nitro.phonestats/.widget.WidgetProvider4x1$WidgetUpdateService4x1,3721]
I/notification_cancel( 3457): [nitro.phonestats,4,0]
<snip>

Getting device info
And tons of it: Device specifics, account information, services...
$ dumpsys
Currently running services:
  LocationProxyService
  SurfaceFlinger
  accessibility
  account
  activity
<snip>
DUMP OF SERVICE account:
Accounts:
  1 Account {name=xxxxxxx@googlemail.com, type=com.google}
<snip>

$ dumpstate
========================================================
== dumpstate: 2012-08-18 23:39:53
========================================================

Build: Gingerbread GWK74 - CyanogenMilestone2
Bootloader: 0x0000
Radio: unknown
<snip>
------ MEMORY INFO (/proc/meminfo) ------
MemTotal: 487344 kB
MemFree: 10436 kB
<snip>

All-in-One
Make a big ball with everything together, from logcat to dumpstate:
$ bugreport > /mnt/sdcard/bugreport.txt

I'm pretty sure you really want to redirect that last command... xD
Something about permissions
P.S.: Naturally, access to those information may require root, as most of the sources are located on internal storage.

To get some more insights into adb logcat commands see here.

Or just check our logging tag-wiki @testing – that has even more references :)

For anyone else like me who is new to Android, in order to run the above commands you need to first run $ adb shell to connect to the device via a terminal. (Of course, ensure your device is connected to your computer and that USB debugging has been turned on.)

A method without root, that works even with new Android versions:
Prerequisites:

Linux, Windows or Mac
USB cable for your device
Android Device

Instructions:

Install your device driver for using adb. Everything you need will you find here
Download adb executable for your OS. It is part of the Android SDK, but you might be able to find the adb executable individually.
Connect your android device.
Enable the developer options.
Enable USB debugging.
Open a command promt (windows) or terminal (linux / mac). How to do it: On Windows: windows + r > enter "cmd" (without quotes) > click enter | On Linux: You don't know how to open a terminal? LOL | On Mac: Type Terminal into Spotlight and open it
CD to the directory where the adb executable is located. On Windows: Go to the directory where you downloaded the adb executable, Shift+Right Click and select "Open Console" (or similar) | On Linux / Mac: Rightclick in the directory and select "Open Terminal here" (or simply CD into the directory)
Type in your cmd/terminal: adb devices to verify your device is properly connected.
If your device is properly selected, type in adb logcat to show the mighty and magic logcat aka stacktrace.
Reproduce your error (or whatever) on your device.
Right after, paste the whole cmd / terminal window into a paste-service like http://pastebin.com/ and send it to us.

(Mostly copied from Leandros)

ADB can be downloaded from here: https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools

It is located in /sdcard/bugreports.

I've never had such a folder on my phone ... is this specific to a manufacturer or device?

From Logcat - CyanogenMod Wiki: You can use a magic key combination to create a bugreport file in /sdcard/bugreports. So this seems to be a) a bit specific (probably to CM), and b) not the answer to the question, as the OP looks for "automatically generated" ones.


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How to check version of OR update the flashplayer on HTC Android phones?
Is there a way to check the version of the installed flashplayer?
And how do you update the flashplayer? Is it automagically updated?

You can install/update the flashplayer from the market. Just search for "flash player" and the one from Adobe should show up first.
To find out version go to: Settings > Applications > Manage applications > All > Adobe Flash Player. In there it should list the full version.

Beat me to it. The latest is version 10.1.

I have the htc flash player 1.0.1000.... and anything but a flash player shows up in the market. Dozens of flashlite apps e.g.

What version of Android? Adobe Flash player requires 2.2.

It's an android 2.1 based htc wildfire, still waiting for the froyo update. I'd rather keep the htc flashplayer app than use the "vanilla" adobe flash player. I don't even know if the htc app is adobe based and is therefore prone to the latest security bug. The information on the net is ...hm, ambiguous.


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Get original xperia play content back on device after removing it
I've rooted my phone a while ago, deleted random apps I didn't really need that were pre installed. But now there's a potential buyer so I'd like to restore to the way it was the second I've brought it from the shop. Default factory reset didn't help as I've deleted games and stuff. So, is there a way to get everything back?

I'm assuming you didn't make a backup immediately after you rooted? If no, then you need to find an original image for the device and flash it using clockworkmod recovery

You can use their official update software, it has been called "PC Companion" the last time I used it:

Boot your phone to flashmode (See also  How do I turn on flashmode in Sony Ericsson Ray?)
Update/restore it with PC Companion

This is mostly for modding, so it won't be that useful to you:
You can also flash a .ftf file of your choice (official or a custom mod) with FlashTool, note however that you need to unlock the bootloader before your phone will boot a mod with an unoriginal kernel. I have however no idea where to find an original firmware image for your Xperia Play/R800i, you might need to google for that yourself.


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Is it possible to set CPU speed with Tasker?
For example: I would like to set my CPU to higher end for when running a specific application, such as psx4droid.  Is this possible with Tasker?
Or if not Tasker... any other app?  SetCPU doesn't have the option.

It seems to me that you could get there by having tasker either directly set the system variables necessary to overclock or to access the commands that setCPU uses.  To do that you can use the "Execute" plugin that executes commands like you would in the terminal emulator.  A lot of this is over my head but you probably understand terminal commands and such better and may be able to make sense of my ramblings:

Install the Locale Execute Plugin
Create a new profile for when you run psx4droid
Add a task to set the CPU
Add an action and choose Plugin/Execute
Execute the command necessary to reset(overclock) the CPU.  Here's a link to explain how to format the commands. Unfortunately I don't know what command does this.

Theoretically, when you open psx4droid it should run that profile you created, changing the CPU settings.

Google search on "Locale Execute Setcpu" turned up this result from Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/comments/ea7cq/overunderclocking_setcpu/

Ha! Perfect! Let me know if it works.  I didn't realize there was a Tasker devoted subreddit.

Try this thread on XDA Tasker CPU Control Profiles

And what will one find when they follow that link? Answers of nothing but a link to another site are generally not useful. What happens if that link stops working?


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Motorola Droid 3 many random reboots
I am having the feared random reboots in my recently acquired Droid 3.
It is rebooting more than 10 times a day randomly, both when idle and when doing anything in the phone.
The only pattern I've been to able to catch is that around 30 seconds before a reboot, I lose phone signal (the signal strength meter is empty and showing a cross). WiFi keeps working until the reboot.
I am located in Spain and using the phone in GSM/UMTS mode, with CDMA disabled. Some times when I lose the signal prior to a reboot, I get a pop-up asking if I want to put the phone in "global" mode for it to search for CDMA signal.
I am using rooted Steel Droid 3 with OTA 5.6.890, but it happened with Verizon's stock ROM as well.
I have googled extensively for the last couple of days and did everything I have found about possible solutions:

Factory reset and disabling Google restoring features on initial config (to prevent restoring WiFi hotspot data, alleged to cause reboots)
Manually wiping all WiFi hotspot info
Disable WiFi
Running with no apps installed
Formatting sd card
Wiping user data and cache from Recovery
Checking if the battery is loose, wedge a piece of paper to lock it in place

None of this have prevented or even alleviated the random reboots.
I'm fearing my phone might be a total lemon, but unfortunately as I am in Spain I can't return it and get a replacement. Anyway I have been reading that people have returned their Droids four or five times and still get random reboots in every new or refurbished Droid they get.
Other than that the phone works perfectly well, and I really love it. But having reboots when you are in the middle of something is going to get more and more annoying and I fear I will throw it out of the window sooner or later. I really need to solve this.
I run adb logcat in hopes of finding what is causing it, but it didn't see anything revelatory. Here are the tails of my last 3 logs before a crash:
12-06 22:39:43.764   512  3986 W Smack/Packet: notify conn break (IOEx), close connection12-06 22:39:43.764   512  3986 D Smack   : [XMPPConn] close connection, notifyClosed=false
12-06 22:39:43.921   512   608 I GTalkService: [GTalkConnection.18] connectionClosed: connId=28343, error=CONNECTION FAILED
12-06 22:39:43.921   317   323 D ConnectivityService: reportNetworkCondition(1,0)
12-06 22:39:43.929   317   370 D ConnectivityService: Inet connectivity change,net=1, condition=0,mActiveDefaultNetwork=1
12-06 22:39:43.929   317   370 D ConnectivityService: starting a change hold12-06 22:39:43.936   512   608 I GTalkService: [GTalkConnection.18] (WORKER THREAD) update account status
12-06 22:39:43.999   512   608 I GTalkService: [GTalkConnection.18] (WORKER THREAD) update account status - done, took 58 ms
12-06 22:39:46.944   400   400 D StatusBarPolicy: the netConditon of netType 1 is updated as 0 by android.net.conn.INET_CONDITION_ACTION,icon color should be white.
12-06 22:39:46.944   400   400 V StatusBarPolicy: NetworkInfo: NetworkInfo: type: WIFI[], state: CONNECTED/CONNECTED, reason: (unspecified), extra: (none), roaming: false, failover: false, isAvailable: true, inetCondition=     0
12-06 22:39:46.944   400   400 V StatusBarPolicy: mModemIsResetting=false
12-06 22:39:46.944   317   370 D ConnectivityService: Inet hold end, net=1, condition =0, published condition =100
12-06 22:39:59.702   195   237 D libmdmctrl: file /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb2/power/control, buff = auto
12-06 22:39:59.702   195   237 D libmdmctrl:
12-06 22:39:59.702   195   237 D libmdmctrl: file /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb2/power/control opened in write only mode
12-06 22:39:59.702   195   237 D libmdmctrl:

Log 2:
12-06 23:12:14.951   533  1016 I EventLogService: Aggregate from 1323209010096 (log), 1323207734851 (data)
12-06 23:12:16.654   317   382 D dalvikvm: GC_EXPLICIT freed 143K, 38% free 8201K/13063K, external 5433K/6784K, paused 158ms
12-06 23:12:21.990   195   237 D libmdmctrl: file /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb2/power/control, buff = auto
12-06 23:12:21.990   195   237 D libmdmctrl:
12-06 23:12:21.990   195   237 D libmdmctrl: file /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb2/power/control opened in write only mode
12-06 23:12:21.990   195   237 D libmdmctrl:
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics: Problem with socket or streams.
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics: java.net.ConnectException: www.google-analytics.com/127.0.0.1:80 - Connection refused
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at org.apache.harmony.luni.net.PlainSocketImpl.connect(PlainSocketImpl.java:207)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at org.apache.harmony.luni.net.PlainSocketImpl.connect(PlainSocketImpl.java:437)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at java.net.Socket.connect(Socket.java:983)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at org.apache.http.conn.scheme.PlainSocketFactory.connectSocket(PlainSocketFactory.java:119)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at com.google.android.apps.analytics.PipelinedRequester.maybeOpenConnection(Unknown Source)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at com.google.android.apps.analytics.PipelinedRequester.addRequest(Unknown Source)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at com.google.android.apps.analytics.NetworkDispatcher$DispatcherThread$AsyncDispatchTask.dispatchSomePendingEvents(Unknown Source)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at com.google.android.apps.analytics.NetworkDispatcher$DispatcherThread$AsyncDispatchTask.run(Unknown Source)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:587)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:92)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
12-06 23:12:24.591  4743  4754 W googleanalytics:       at android.os.HandlerThread.run(HandlerThread.java:60)
12-06 23:12:24.849   445   467 D dalvikvm: GC_CONCURRENT freed 1098K, 49% free 4008K/7815K, external 2692K/3351K, paused 2ms+2ms
12-06 23:12:24.896   445   445 W KeyCharacterMap: Can't open keycharmap file
12-06 23:12:24.896   445   445 W KeyCharacterMap: Error loading keycharmap file'/data/usr/keychars/omap-keypad.kcm.bin'. hw.keyboards.0.devname='omap-keypad'

Log 3:
12-06 23:46:26.576   677  1930 W IdleConnectionHandler: Removing a connection that never existed!12-06 23:46:26.576   677  1930 D News Processor:  SAVED http://www.meneame.net/rss2.php
12-06 23:46:26.584   677  1932 D News Processor:  PROCESSING source: 20 http://www.meneame.net/rss2.php
12-06 23:46:26.646   677  1932 D News Processor:  HAS NEW: false - http://www.meneame.net/rss2.php
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics: Problem with socket or streams.
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics: java.net.ConnectException: www.google-analytics.com/127.0.0.1:80 - Connection refused
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at org.apache.harmony.luni.net.PlainSocketImpl.connect(PlainSocketImpl.java:207)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at org.apache.harmony.luni.net.PlainSocketImpl.connect(PlainSocketImpl.java:437)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at java.net.Socket.connect(Socket.java:983)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at org.apache.http.conn.scheme.PlainSocketFactory.connectSocket(PlainSocketFactory.java:119)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at com.google.android.apps.analytics.PipelinedRequester.maybeOpenConnection(Unknown Source)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at com.google.android.apps.analytics.PipelinedRequester.addRequest(Unknown Source)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at com.google.android.apps.analytics.NetworkDispatcher$DispatcherThread$AsyncDispatchTask.dispatchSomePendingEvents(Unknown Source)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at com.google.android.apps.analytics.NetworkDispatcher$DispatcherThread$AsyncDispatchTask.run(Unknown Source)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:587)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:92)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
12-06 23:46:33.584  1480  1491 W googleanalytics:       at android.os.HandlerThread.run(HandlerThread.java:60)
12-06 23:46:36.334   195   237 D libmdmctrl: file /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb2/power/control, buff = auto
12-06 23:46:36.334   195   237 D libmdmctrl:
12-06 23:46:36.334   195   237 D libmdmctrl: file /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb2/power/control opened in write only mode
12-06 23:46:36.334   195   237 D libmdmctrl:

I have seen that the most common before-reboot output is
12-06 22:39:59.702   195   237 D libmdmctrl: file /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb2/power/control, buff = auto
12-06 22:39:59.702   195   237 D libmdmctrl:
12-06 22:39:59.702   195   237 D libmdmctrl: file /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb2/power/control opened in write only mode
12-06 22:39:59.702   195   237 D libmdmctrl:

But I have googled for libmdmctrl and there is only 1 result that has nothing to do with anything.
I am really in the dark, thanks for any help!

I tried a different approach, seeing the problem was with radio / telephony...
I put in another SIM from a different carrier, and so far I am having no reboots!
What is the difference? My main carrier is a "virtual carrier", a company that rents other company's network to offer their service, usually with more competitive prices.
The SIM I'm using now is from a traditional carrier that owns the network directly.
What I think happens is that when using a virtual carrier, you are having a sort of permanent roaming: the phone has to first get into the network owning carrier and then join the virtual network of the virtual carrier. Somehow this is making the Droid 3 crazy.
The signal strength meter was indeed showing a small "R" indicating I was in roaming. I assumed this was because being an US phone, it took any non-US network as roaming, but now that I am using the regular carrier SIM, the signal strength bar is not showing "R" anymore.
Seems I will have to change my carrier to a network owner, which unfortunately have much less competitive prices. But at least I found a way of using the Droid 3 without constant reboots!!
For future reference to other Spanish users: I am having the reboots using a Simyo SIM (which runs on the Orange network), but with a Movistar SIM there are no reboots.

It sounds to me it could a hardware issue and not a software issue.
Things I would try

Flashing even more ROMs. Try CM7 if it is available for Droid 3. If it keeps rebooting with other ROMs, you most likely have a hardware problem
Hardware suggestions: try a new/different battery.  Also, since you are using GSM and it deals with losing your signal, perhaps it is an issue with your SIM card?
Otherwise: contact customer support and tell them of your hardware issue of reboots. They might have some additional info or procedures to help you. Or a new refurb phone. (But since you're in Spain, that sounds like a problem).

Thanks, your remark about a possible problem with the SIM card made me try another one and find the solution :)


text:
SSH internet through Connect bot
Is it possible to forward all traffic from internet app over connect bot forwarded port?

It sure is possible if the app you want to send through the tunnel allows you to specify the host and port to connect to.
e.g. if you use a remote desktop client you could use connectbot to ssh into your home server, set up a tunnel on the appropriate port, and then use the rdp client to connect to localhost in order to use that tunnel.
Cyanogenmod does have a proxy setting available under Settings > Wireless & Network > Proxy Settings. So if you were to run a proxy server on your target computer, you could indeed set it up to proxy through the tunnel.
So let's say I've got an ssh server at example.com. Internally I installed Squidcache (a proxy server) on 192.168.0.101.
In connectbot I'd set up a tunnel like this:
Nickname: HTTP Proxy
Type: Local
Source Port: 3128
Destination: 192.168.0.101:3128

Then in cyanogenmod's proxy settings I'd set it up like this:
Hostname: localhost
Port: 3128
Enable Proxy on wifi: Yes (Or no, whatever you prefer)


text:
How do I make Adobe Flash work with Firefox?
I have Adobe Flash Player 10.3 and Firefox 5.0 installed on Android 2.2. However Flash animations seem not to work in Firefox, although they do in the Android default browser.
How can I fix it?

Flash support was added in Firefox 14.0. Versions of Firefox Mobile earlier than 14 do not support Flash content at all.


text:
Configure email notification with Calendar app
If I create an appointment in the Android* calendar application, I can add a reminder that will pop-up on my phone at the configured time.  It will automatically synchronise the event with Google Calendar (which is great!).
If I create the appointment with Google Calendar, I can add a reminder that will either be sent as an email, be sent as a text message or appear as a web-browser pop-up.  Again, the event will be synchronised with the phone.  I really like the Google Calendar email notifications as they appear in Gmail Manager as well as on the phone, so I'm much more likely to notice the reminders when I'm at work and have my phone on silent.
Is there any way to create an appointment in the Android calendar application and at the same time set up a reminder to come by email rather than as a calendar reminder notification?
Thanks in advance for the help.
* HTC Desire, CyanogenMod 7.1.0, Android 2.3.7

Go Calendar
Tap the event you want to add a reminder for (or create a new event)
Tap Add reminder
To the right of the time drop down you should see Notification as a drop down tap this.
Select email

Tried on Android 4.1, Google Nexus 5.
Hope this is what you're looking for.

It is possible to create default event reminds by accessing your calender through the Google Calendar website.

Access your settings

Wrench Icon > Setting

Access your calendar's specific settings

Calendars tab > Click on your calendar

Add a default reminder

Notifications tab > Add a reminder

Most mobile devices with calendar applications support pop-up reminders and may chime and show a an alert to notify you of the event.  I prefer this method so that I can specify a special sound for calendar notifications vs normal emails, but this is where you would create an email notification.
It seems you want to remove the pop-up notifications, and add an email notification.
You can create a new calendar and adjust it's notifications if you don't want to receive an email for every event/only want email notifications for specific events.

Thank you for the detailed answer. But OP wants to use calendar app.

This is using the calendar app.

But you've said in the beginning of the post that it can be done by using calendar website. Correct me if I'm wrong or misunderstood you.

It's a one time process that may require login to the website.  I am unsure as to whether these detailed options are available within the calendar app itself, but are definitely available and only need to be set up a single time within the web interface.

@earthmeLon, You're suggestion doesn't work anyway.

@HappyNomad Works great for me.  Any part in particular you're getting stuck on?  What Android device are you using?

I'm using Samsung Galaxy S2.  I'm wondering if it's because the calendar is not in the device's primary account, but I have no way to test this.


text:
Initiate voice recording via Bluetooth dialling in car
I drive a car with a built-in hands-free interface to a Bluetooth phone (it's a Volkswagen Passat).  From the "on-board computer" interface in the dashboard, I can select an entry from my contact list and dial that number to talk to them.
I often find that, as I am driving along, I have a thought that I would like to remember by recording a voice memo to myself.  The only way I know of doing this is to unlock my Android phone, start a voice recording application and hit the record button.  By the time I've typed my pin number into my Android phone to unlock it, this is already very unsafe while I'm driving along, so I don't want to do this!
Is there anyway I can set up my phone such that if I dial some "special" number (#*#*# or whatever) that, when I call it will just record my voice rather than actually dialling an external number?  I could then program this number in to my contacts list and access it via the buttons on the steering wheel of my car.
Ideally, when I hang up the call I'd like it to email me the recording, but that may be going too far...
This would also be useful on the motorbike where the phone is in my pocket, but I can dial numbers (when safe to do so) via the Garmin Zumo 660 GPS.  If I stop at some traffic lights, I can quickly dial a number on the GPS, but I certainly wouldn't have time to take my gloves off, unzip my jacket, take my phone out and run a voice recording application!

Set up Google voicemail. Call that number and record a message.

Sadly I can't: Google Voice is only available in the US.


text:
How can I connect to a number with a conference-call code via Google Voice?
I have a phone number for a conference-call service. Under ordinary use, I call the number, and when the automated system answers, I enter a 10-digit code for the conference I wish to join, and then press #. I have the number assigned to a contact like this: 800-555-1234,1234567890#.
When I call that contact without Google Voice enabled (either "do not use Google Voice to make any calls" or "ask every time I make a call" and then answer no), it connects fine, but when I enable GV for outgoing calls, a dialog box appears saying "Google Voice could not connect," and it gives me options of retrying with GV or to call without GV. Retrying fails in the same manner, and the latter choice allows the call to connect, but it waits for me to enter the conference code myself. It's as though GV isn't providing the conference code.
As a workaround, I can use Voice Plus; I have it set to use GV for all contacts except for those in the "No Google Voice" group, which includes the conference contact. I'd prefer not to have to do that, though, because I'd like my conference calls to show up in my GV call history, and I'd also like as few exceptions as possible to my dialing rules.
How can I get my phone to call the number through Google Voice and enter the conference code automatically?

Evidently, the Google Voice app doesn't support conference codes or other extensions. (At least not yet.)
To call an extended number through the Google Voice service, dial as though the GV app weren't installed, or as if you were calling from something other than a smartphone:

Dial your own Google Voice phone number.
If voicemail access isn't enabled for the number you're calling from, press * to access the GV menu.
Enter your PIN, if required.
Press 2 (to tell the GV service you wish to place a call).
Enter the conference phone number, and press #. GV will connect you.
Proceed as normal for calling the desired number (i.e., enter the extension, the conference-room number, the passcode, etc.).

So, the contact is programmed with a number like this: 612-555-4321,[PIN,]2,800-555-1234#,,1234567890#. (As I understand it, this is a limited application of the process Flex Dialer uses.)
If you have the GV app installed, then use another app like Voice Plus or Voice Choice to exclude this contact from GV. (This is a consolation to what was originally asked for, which requested fewer exceptions to the phone's GV dialing rules. Shouldn't be a big problem, though.)
If you have your GV number associated with a contact for yourself or your voice mail, then that's the contact that will appear in your phone's call history. However, the "real" contact will show in your Google Voice call history.

Good job finding that.

In a Google Voice support thread, some people are indicating that 'p' in the phone number field will add a 1 second pause. However, someone else (in the "accepted answer") says that Google Voice doesn't currently support pause or wait characters.
I don't think Android will let you put numbers in a phone number field, but it might be worth a try.
On a slightly different tack, have you tried a semi-colon instead of a comma?

Thanks. Android offers a "pause" button on the *#( page of the keypad; it enters a comma in the phone-number field. There's no way to enter a semicolon or a p on my phone, but Google Contacts on the Web will let me enter whatever text I want, and the phone will sync to it. (Semicolon failed the same as comma; P made GV think it was making an international call, and then failed.) This led me to some more ideas on how to get what I want; see my answer.


text:
SD card directory is "split" on new phone
I moved from a Samsung Mesmerize (Galaxy S, Android 2.2) to a Motorola Electrify (Android 2.3) and the Electrify is reading my SD card differently. My old data is now stored in /mnt/sdcard-ext instead of /mnt/sdcard/. All my phone's old data (which I want to keep) is in that directory.
Why did my SD card path change and what should I do to "merge" the two?

On the Electrify, the external SD card is mounted at /mnt/sdcard-ext/ while the internal is at /mnt/sdcard/.  The two are logically separate and cannot / should not be merged.
On the Mesmerize, the external SD card is mounted at /mnt/sdcard/external-sd/ as if it were a subfolder of the internal SD storage, which is also mounted at /mnt/sdcard/ like the Electrify.  The two are just as separate as on the Electrify, however, and the subfolder isn't "real".  If you connect your phone to your PC you will see two separate drives for them, and the "external-sd" folder on the internal storage will show up as empty — since it is!
I think what's happening here is that you want your data — downloads, possibly pictures and music, etc. — from your Mesmerize's internal SD, and you thought it was all on the external SD.  (I don't blame you, this system of having two areas both called SD is confusing.)  What I would do is:

Power off both phones
Remove any external SD cards from both phones to avoid confusion
Power on both phones
Connect both phones to your PC and mount the internal storages on both to your PC
Copy the content of the Mesmerise's internal storage over to the Electrify's internal storage
Properly dismount both phones from the PC
Power off both phones
Re-insert your external SD card(s)
Power on the Electrify and go happily on your way

I was mostly concerned because my app paths were wrong, which has made a couple apps mess up/show no data, probably because I copied them over via Titanium Backup (which also had this problem) and they're looking for the /mnt/sdcard/external-sd/ directories from my last phone.

As a side note do you happen to know if the Electrify's internal SD card is faster than the external? I've heard WP7 has amazingly fast internal SD cards and it's why they're not removable cards. The Electrify's storage is enough for my stuff so I will use the internal storage if it's faster.

@Ben That's another point of confusion -- they're not actually SD cards even though they've been called that.  It's probably no different from the rest of the phone storage, though I'm not sure.  I wouldn't be surprised if a Class 10 SD card was faster, but you could always do a rough speed test by seeing how long it takes to copy a large file from your PC to internal vs external.  I think there are some apps to test this on-device as well but I haven't used them.

Huh, I was wondering if it was actually an sdcard or not too. rather annoying they complicate it as such.
BTW, the Mesmerize doesn't have a /mnt/sdcard/external/ folder at all, the /mnt/sdcard/ is the only storage point you can actually use to store personal data, which is why I was confused. All my actual stored (and accessible) data from my Mesmerize was on the /mnt/sdcard/ dir which was why I wanted to move it, now I know what to do though.


text:
Is this red star icon malware? How to get rid of it?
Every now and then a red star icon appears on my brother's notification bar, as shown below.  The message related to this notification is some advert like "Turbo Boost Your Battery". He has been installing software from doubtful places, so my guess it is some sort of malware he accidentally installed.
I'm not very familiar with Android, but my guess was to identify the process responsible for the notification. So I checked the process list, but nothing out of the ordinary was shown. I tried force-closing all processes (some returned although all of them originated from HTC or his carrier), but nothing made the star disappear. How can the malware be detected and removed?
Notification icon:

Notification message:

Time to hunt down the app, can be troublesome as they often appear a few days after you've installed it. Checking the comments of an app in the market is normally a good way to see if an app as Airpush, people give it hell!

See also Is there a reliable way to detect the app responsible for an Airpush ad?

Definitely looks like a case of AirPush. This is a particularly invasive form of in-app advertising that uses the notification bar, even if the app utilizing it is not actively running.  Technicaly it's not malware but adware, although the way it manifests itself certainly blurs the line between the two.  The only way to stop these ads from appearing in your notification bar is to uninstall the application that came bundled with AirPush.
There are several apps on the Market that can help you detect which app uses the AirPush, so that you can uninstall them.
[Edit]
Apparently AirPush gave in to the public outcry and are now providing ways to opt out of their invasive ads: http://www.airpush.com/optout  You can either download their "opt-out" app, or manually enter your device's unique IMEI/ESN/MEID on their site.  Personally, I'd still uninstall the bundled app, since both opt-out methods would most likely use bandwidth for connecting to AirPush servers to authenticate against their databases.

This seems to have done the trick, many thanks from my brother!

Find the "evil app"
There are several Detectors available:

Airpush Detector
Airblocker - Airpush blok
Addons Detector
TrustGo Ad-Detektor
Lookout Ad Network Detector

So what to do when the evil app is identified?

Leave a comment on the Playstore: rate very low, and point out: "ATTENTION! Invasive ads (Airpush)!!!"
Report to Google: As the playstore guidelines changed, these apps should be banned
Speaking about banned: Even if a pay-version exists, this app should be dead to you
Same applies for the dev of the app (maybe add this to your comment in 1.) -- I wouldn't use any of the dev's apps anymore, and say so loudly, giving them bad rep for bad deed. Hopefully, they learn from that
Uninstall the app, of course

How to protect you for future "attacks"?
You can scan apps in advance (before installing them), using e.g. AppBrain Ad Detector. This app can be combined with AppBrain App Market -- a slim and fast replacement for the over-loaded playstore, especially on small devices (do not fear: It is simply another front-end for the Playstore). You can search the market oops, playstore with this app, and have the other scan your findings before you install any other app. So you know what to avoid before you get annoyed...

Try to run Addons Detector (by denper, on the market). It detects agents included in apps.

The best app to find what is giving these ads is Airpush Detector. It's free and tells you what apps have Airpush.

Haven't checked to see if it worked long term but i uninstalled the last few live wallpapers and they went away without me even clearing them..

Maybe you have Android Battery Doctor Free? I'm not going to install and test it, but it seems they have this "Turbo Boost your battery" feature, whatever this means.
Of course, it all depends on what your definition of "malware" is -- it might be just a feature of another application that uses the bar for advertisements, even if you and I don't agree such behaviour is acceptable. Here are some generic instructions on how to go about removing an undesired application:

First, check what apps are installed -- go to Settings->Applications->Manage applications->All and see what kind of stuff is installed there. No guarantee that the offending app will be there, but you might be able to pinpoint some suspicious apps that might have brought this onboard. Kill them with impunity and check whether the notification goes away (careful with system apps!). The offending app will most likely restart soon, but at least you have found the culprit. Try to uninstall it, and if it works, you are done.
If you can't find the problem in this way, then you need to bring out the heavy guns: root1 your device, install Titanium Backup (even the free version should work), go through the list of apps and freeze the ones that you do not recognize. Freezing the app will terminate it and not allow it to start again, which is pretty much as removing it completely -- it still does take space on the device, though.
See the Titanium Backup wiki for more information how to use the application.
While you are at it, you can also freeze/remove some vendor applications, if they get in your way.
1 Standard disclaimer about voiding your warranty.

With Google Play's new Developer Program Policies any app must not display ads through system level notifications:

System Interference:

Apps and their ads must not modify or add browser settings or bookmarks, add homescreen shortcuts, or icons on the user’s device as a service to third parties or for advertising purposes.

Apps and their ads must not display advertisements through system level notifications on the user’s device, unless the notifications derive from an integral feature provided by the installed app (e.g., an airline app that notifies users of special deals, or a game that notifies users of in-game promotions).

If you find any app doing so you can report them from play store. You can see which app sent the notification by holding on the notification and selecting App info. You can even disable particular app's notifications by unchecking Show notification in App info.


text:
Problem with Samsung Galaxy S2 Driver on Windows
I updated Kies today and my Samsung Galaxy S2 phone doesn't connect to my pc via Debug Mode any more.
Below is the screen shot

When I uninstall that and try to reconnect I get an error saying driver install failed.

try uninstalling the drivers before reinstalling the new drivers.

That looks like Windows 7.  Are you running 32 bit or 64 bit edition?

64 bit version..

Right-click on that "SAMSUNG_Android" and select Uninstall.  Then make sure the Delete the driver... option is checked, and click the OK button.  This should clear out the old drivers from the system.  Now unplug the phone and try uninstalling and re-installing Kies.  Reboot the PC and try plugging the phone in again.
If you are on Windows 7 64-bit, you may be able to bypass Kies software by installing this driver (remove the "SAMSUNG_Android" from Device Manager again before installing the driver.)

What do you do if there is no option to remove the files?


text:
Does Sony always check if the bootloader has been unlocked when repairing the phone?
I'd like to unlock my Xperia Neo V's bootloader, but on the other hand I don't want to lose my warranty. Obviously, that isn't possible. So my question is: Do Sony Ericsson's repair centres always actually check -- or care -- if the bootloader has been unlocked and if so, how often do they?

Impossible to predict what their techs would do. Theoretically they certainly can deny repair service on bootloader-unlocked phones, since it clearly says that you are voiding your warranty when unlocking the device:

Important information
  Please note that you may void the warranty of
  your phone and/or any warranty from your operator if you unlock the
  boot loader. Sony Ericsson can then no longer guarantee the full
  functionality of your phone, and will not be responsible for any
  unsigned custom software being flashed to the phone after the boot
  loader is unlocked. ...

However, unlike the carriers (who 100% always check the bootloader status,) manufacturers have been known to turn a blind eye on this from time to time.  For example, I've sent my Atrix 4G to Motorola for repairs twice after unlocking its bootloader.  Both times their techs repaired the device, and even re-locked the bootloader for me.  HTC is also known to be lenient towards repairing unlocked handsets.
You can always try calling Sony's support department and anonymously ask where they stand on repairs for bootloader-unlocked handsets.  You may not like their answer though.


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HTC Cha Cha hard reset - stored phone numbers
My HTC Cha Cha won't turn on, so I want to hard reset it to factory settings. Is there a possibility of losing contacts stored on the phone? (They are very important to me).

You need to differentiate between a "hard reset" (hover the mouse over that tag: a forced reboot/shutdown by removing power (take out the battery, usually)) and a "factory reset" (again, mouse-over: A factory reset results in a full reset of an Android device to the original settings of the currently-installed ROM.).

hard-reset: here it's unlikely (though not absolutely impossible) to lose your stored contacts
factory-reset: here it's very sure they are deleted, as all data and all user-installed apps are deleted from the device

However, you can make a backup of your contacts. In the contacts app itself, when pressing the menu key, you should find a menu item for "export/import". Select to "export", and have it save the data to your SDCard. To be absolutely safe, before doing a factory reset copy all the SDCard's contents to e.g. your PC. After the factory-reset, you can use the very same item in the contacts app to re-import the data.
Btw: contacts export uses a common file format, which is understood by many other programs as well (*.vcf which means VCard File). It can be read e.g. by GMail (even the Web interface) or Outlook as well.
If you have your contacts synced with Google, they should be restored automatically once you configured your Google account on the device after the factory reset.

Um I think in Android hard-rest and factory-reset are synonymous

That's like with "virus" and "malware" I guess. Some use one word for all, some distinguish. And as "malware" is not necessarily a virus, a "hard-reset" not necessarily refers to a "factory-reset" -- which is why we have two separate tags (otherwise one of them would be a synonym, and you couldn't select both for the same question ;) Hint: look at "hard-reset" as opposed to "soft-reset"; the latter is used for a clean shutdown of the device using "hardware keys" if the power menu is no longer reachable (which might happen in a force-close-loop).


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Press android version thrice took me to another screen which shows big Jellybean logo!
When i pressed settings> About phone >Android version thrice quickly, it took me to another screen which displays Android version with Red  Logo. I wonder this behavior is common in all Android Flavors. I have galaxy Nexus with Jellybean 4.2.2

See also: What are the Android 4.0.x Ice Cream Sandwich Easter Eggs?, and Android 4.2: How to get the Easter Egg, a new daydream, and Developer options?

Its called Easter egg. All android versions contain same feature. You just hold that screen for 2 sec, and some more will be displayed.

JellyBean

Ice cream Sandwich

Honeycomb

Gingerbread


text:
Audio players read "Chromatics" as "The Chromatics" from ID3v2 MP3 tags
I've got an album by the band Chromatics in MP3 format with ID3v2 tags. On my computer the band's name appears as "Chromatics" in any audio player (foobar2000, VLC, MP3Tag). On Android, Shuttle Music Player and the default music player display this artist's name as "The Chromatics". Either Android is guessing that it should add the "The" prefix automatically, or there are hidden, incorrect tags somewhere in my files.
The files initially contained ID3v1 tags as well but I've deleted them. I don't know if the error comes from my files or from a database stored by Android. Most importantly I don't know how to fix it. I've already tried deleting the audio files and rebooting, and clearing the data of the "media storage" app and rebooting, but none of this worked.

Try the answer provided for your other question. It should solve this problem as well.

Tag editing applications will show "Chromatics". I suspect these apps look at the actual file while the audio players look at some media library from the OS...

As suggested there, take the file to your PC and check file properties for "The Chromatics"

As I said I've checked the tags with three different programs on my PC (plus the file properties in Windows Explorer). Everywhere the tags just read "Chromatics".

Then you can try converting that mp3 file using some basic audio converter, without copying the tags. Then copy the converted file to the phone and see if THE comes. If yes, we are looking for an app in your device that changes tags and if not, THE has beed added in a read only mannar to your mp3.

How did it go..?

Thanks for asking. I've found the problem; I had just one track by this artist in another album, and it was tagged "The Chromatics". "Chromatics" and "The Chromatics" were probably (rightfully) considered as the same artist, but Android didn't pick the right one out of the two.

I've found the problem; I had just one track by this artist in another album, and it was tagged "The Chromatics". "Chromatics" and "The Chromatics" were probably (rightfully) considered as the same artist, but Android didn't pick the right one out of the two to display. I've edited this track's artist tag and now every track by this artist appears correctly tagged.