So Today we find that Android has a new fiend in the world. This one will record your calls and listen to your fantasy baseball talk; this should be nothing new for Android users – a Trojan that is – we have had several the past 6 months… With users travelling the back area of the world of Android Markets could easily catch this.

It has not been reported in the wild yet, and may not max your credit cards out but significant others, and corporate users might want to use this on suspicious people. So basically keep your eyes and ears open on what you download and what it does.

So PPCGeeks, keep yourself aware, watch what you do and if you install risky programs be prepared for the costs. What do you all think on these mobile phone Trojans, and malware? Tell me below!

Source: Engadget

As PPCGeek tries to protect it’s users I bring you this important message for Android users. It seems that a company has found over 26 more mal-ware programs in the Android Marketplace. It is suspected of infecting over 100,000 Android users. Lookout Mobile Security made the discovery over the weekend, and believes that the rogue software was likely created by the same persons who created the ‘DroidDream’ malware that was discovered in dozens of Android apps a couple of months back.

The security firm followed tips from legitimate developers who noticed that their apps were being redistributed with modified code. This discovery lead to a new stripped-down version of the original ‘DroidDream” malware, the new name is ‘Droid Dream Light’

Google has been notified and  has already resulted in the offending apps being withdrawn from the Market.

According to Lookout, once installed on a user’s device, the user doesn’t even have to open the apps for their device to be at risk; the code can be activated by an external triggering event, such as an incoming voice call, which then prompts the device to send data to a remote server, such as the IMEI number and information about installed programs.

Google now may be forced with using that “app kill switch” to remove it from hundreds of thousands of users devices. But considering the alternative – I would rather have it removed than have it stay on my phone spreading who knows what to where!

The list of infected apps includes:

Magic Photo Studio

• Sexy Girls: Hot Japanese
• Sexy Legs
• HOT Girls 4
• Beauty Breasts
• Sex Sound
• Sex Sound: Japanese
• HOT Girls 1
• HOT Girls 2
• HOT Girls 3

Mango Studio

• Floating Image Free
• System Monitor
• Super StopWatch and Timer
• System Info Manager

E.T. Tean

• Call End Vibrate

BeeGoo

• Quick Photo Grid
• Delete Contacts
• Quick Uninstaller
• Contact Master
• Brightness Settings
• Volume Manager
• Super Photo Enhance
• Super Color Flashlight
• Paint Master

DroidPlus

• Quick Cleaner
• Super App Manager
• Quick SMS Backup

source: neowin.net

AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson recently expressed his frustration with the Apple application store saying he thinks customers should be able to buy an application once and have it work across many different devices including iPhone, Windows Phone 7 and Android. Where did this come from? There weren’t any complaints before when the iPhone was exclusive to them, or none that we heard of.

If you think about it, what he’s asking for is for every application to be available on all devices. This would in return bring both companies more money for applications that are paid, hence everyone would be downloading them on every device available. Although it’s a bit difficult to write software that will work on every platform with no bugs, you never know what may happen.

Stephenson explained the way to do this of course is by building them as HTML5 apps and selling them through every available carrier’s Wholesale Applications Community (WAC). He explains it as though it’s an easy process, but according to developers each phone is different in size, resolution and many more factors that make this process very difficult.

Some of us think it would be nice to have the same application, scores and stats on each device we pick up instead of having to maintain two profiles on the same game but different devices. This is what Stephenson is aiming for. Would you like to see this happen? Let us know what you think in the comments box below.

Source: USAToday

So here we are at the end of a year, Microsoft has released their new flagship OS, Windows Phone 7…Love it or Hate it – you have to agree it is a fresh start.  With a fresh start we find ourselves asking what applications are out for my phone. Well let’s just start by saying that in the short life that the Windows Marketplace has been up and working it has reached 5,000 applications. Now please don’t take it as a HUGE deal, and such but it is for Microsoft that less than 3 months ago had absolutely no app store support.

Now to the for the fun stuff, what apps should you get if you just got the WP7 device of your Christmas Dreams…

1. History Here

History Here is a location-based app developed by the History Channel. The app displays historical points of interest and adds content from the History Channel including essays, photos, and videos. Filtering is built into the app so you can view specific points of interests. An exploration mode is also included if you want to see historical sites anywhere in the U.S. While I would not use this app everyday, it would be great for trips to areas like Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.

2. OnTrack

OnTrack is a time-tracking tool for those that need to keep track of the time you spend on projects, Ideally suited for contractors or freelancers, the app logs your time on a project and per task basis. You can also use a specialized reports view to see how time you have spent on a project or task on a specific day, week, month, or year. The time log can be exported via email and are sent in an Excel-friendly format. The app is timer-based and wont let you manually enter times. To set a custom time, you must start the timer, stop the timer and then edit those values. A bit of a work around but this is first generation software, so some rough edges are to be expected.

3. Fake Call

Fake Call does exactly what its name suggests. It lets you set up a fake call so you can exit your meeting, leave your date or remove yourself from other uncomfortable situations. It provides you with a delay setting so you can have a simulated incoming call alert you in x number of minutes. Unfortunately, the app does not let you grab a caller out of your contact list, you have to create a contact manually or use the default contact.

The app has its own personalized lock screen, an incoming call screen, and a default home screen to make it look authentic. Admittedly, the app is not perfect. The time on the fake lock screen does not change which could raise some suspicion if someone was looking closely at your phone. It also will not work if your phone is locked, so you will have to set the app and put your phone down. Do not lock it using the power button or else it will not work. If you can work around these limitations, Fake Call is great app for faking an incoming call.

4. Where Was I ?

Where Was I? is a basic location-based application that lets you track your movement via GPS co-ordinates. It works great for when you are hiking and are no longer in an area with cell coverage. You save each checkpoint as a GPS co-ordinate and then map your trek when you return to an area with cell coverage. It is a basic app with an interesting premise and excellent performance.

5. Cardstar

CardStar is an application to save and retrieve loyalty, reward and club membership cards. The app supports both custom card entries, libraries, membership associations, and information from national and regional merchants including CVS, Best Buy, PetSmart, and more. The card information is stored on your handset and can be retrieved or scanned while shopping. The scanning aspect was hit or miss at retailers, but part of the scanning problem may be due to the touchscreen display and is seen on other membership card apps. If you are not bothered by having to enter your card information manually on occasion, then CardStar is an excellent option for those who wish to lighten their wallet.

6. Wooter

This one is a must-have for Wooters. This app brings Woot to your Windows Phone handset and looks great with the Metro UI. The app lets you view the daily deals and make purchases from all the Woot websites including woot.com, shirts.woot.com, wine.woot.com, kids.woot.com, and sellot.woot.com. It also supports Woot Offs so you can get in on the buying frenzy right from your phone.

7. Max & The Magic Marker

Max & The Magic Marker is an excellent game that merges a classic, side scrolling platformer with crayon physics to create a whole new experience. The gameplay is fun as you follow Max around his cartoonish world and draw objects with your marker that he can use. If you are unsure about dropping $7 on a game that you have never played, then check out the demo, If you like brain-busting, puzzle-style games then you will enjoy Max & The Magic Marker.

8. iheartradio

iheartradio was one of the launch applications for Windows Phone and it brings with 750 channels of radio listening pleasure. The application lets you listen to radio stations from by Clear’s network of stations. You can even create custom channels with your favorite stations. iheartradio also integrates with Facebook, the Music and Video Hub, and the Zune marketplace so you can share your music and buy new tracks via Zune. The biggest drawback to this app is the fact that it cannot run in the background. This inability is not the fault of the app, but of Windows Phone. Windows Phone does not have multi-tasking so the app must be at the forefront to play.

9. Colorize

Colorize is a nifty coloring application that converts a photo to black & white and lets you colorize sections of the image that you want to highlight. You can choose different brush sizes and pinch to zoom to color your image.The app is integrated into the pictures hub so your newly created images have a prominent home on your phone. It also supports unlimited undo and lets you save a project at any point in the creative process. Controls are a bit awkward at times, but it is meant for you to have fun with your images, not turn them into a Picasso.

10. Seesmic

The quintessential Twitter application is revamped to support the Metro UI of Windows Phone. It is available for free in the MarketPlace and should be included on your phone as the app for showing off the rich UI of Windows Phone. It launches with a Hub interface that The app does have some kinks to work out as the login for Facebook fails for many people. It also segregates your different twitter and Facebook accounts into different spaces/timelines. There is no central news feed for all of your accounts, so some people may not like Seesmic because of its organizational style.

So there you have it PPCGeeks, the top 10 Applications for your phone. Now not all of these are free, some do offer a free trial. For various reasons I see potential for many applications to make the list, and look forward to a recap next year on the top 10 programs to have for WP7. So what do you think PPCGeeker’s, what is the application you would like to have on WP7? Let us here about it below in our comment section!

Source: intomobile.com

Google’s efforts to market the Android OS platform to software developers appears to be working.  A strong open source community combined with developer events and free developer phones have lead to droves of applications popping up in the official android marketplace.  It’s no wonder Steve Jobs and Apple have recently been in the news seemingly trying to hurt Android in any way they can.  Patent Lawsuits against HTC which target their Android phones; changes to the iPhone App Store policy that specifically block the porting of apps to and from their platform; and Steve Job’s public statements that Android is for porn, even though the iPhone is just as capable of browsing the red light district of the the interwebs.

In the last few days Adobe announced that they’ve stopped working on iPhone software and have now focused on the Android platform.  Beta testing for Adobe Air has been very positive with some developers at the Adobe Air blog saying that they’ve ported software over to Android in as little as ten minutes.  This is huge news as there are literally hundreds of thousands of existing applications that could potentially be ported to the Android from Flash.  The reasons for Apple’s stance on Flash have been eluded to on many blogs and news sites: in short Apple has locked down their app store by only approving apps built using their proprietory development tools.  Also, Steve Jobs has no qualms with publicly bashing the Adobe Flash software as non-secure and unstable.

To further the anticipation about the Android Market, the recently leaked snapshots of the next Android release “Froyo” show some much needed enhancements to the Marketplace interface.  Hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg because as the Marketplace grows, it’s becoming harder and harder to browse for applications.  The screen shots show a new option to “update application automatically” which resolves a common gripe for many Android users.  The next step is for Google to capitalize on it’s core strength and make searching and navigating the Marketplace easier.

Androlib.com is also reporting that the Android Marketplace is growing by almost 10,000 applications per month.  At present Androlib.com has the Android Marketplace surpassing 50,000 applications.  When the Motorola Droid was launched less than six months ago there were just shy of 10,000 apps.  Thats a 500% increase in less than half a year.

When you take into account the developer focused environment built by Google, the anticipated volume of flash applications about to be ported, upcoming improvements to the Marketplace in the next generation of Android’s OS, and Androlib.com statistics showing huge growth, even conservative estimates show that the Android Marketplace will surpass the number of applications of the Apple App Store by this time next year.  These are exciting times for Android fans.

Apps, apps, apps! With Google’s recent announcement that the Android Market has reached 38,000 applications, I decided to find out how many applications are in each of the major smartphone app stores. Remember that these figures are only for the number of applications in the official application store and do not include the total number of applications for a platform.

With no surprise, Apple leads the count with just shy of 160,000 applications at last count, while the aforementioned Android Market has 38,000. Claming a distant third in this size-only contest is Blackberry’s App World, which has 6531. Symbian is fourth with just over 3400 apps while following behind in fifth is the Palm App Catalog with 2169 applications. Falling dead last is Windows Marketplace For Mobile, with only 840 approved applications. For posterity sakes, the morbid Palm OS App Store has 2393 applications.

If the non-approved applications were to be included, my best estimate is that Apple would still be leading, with Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian vying for second place, and the rest of the field falling well back. It will be interesting to see if Apple can maintain this gargantuan lead as Android’s growth has been absolutely torrid. Also, will the paltry number of 840 increase to several thousand with the looming Windows Phone 7 launch later this year? Only time will tell!

Please note that for the Microsoft, Blackberry and Palm OS figures, I used a calculator to add up the total as they each give a break down of how many applications are in each genre, but not the total amount of approved applications. Also, as these stats are not officially given by the various companies, they are what I have found to be the most reliable count.

Special thanks to Mr. X, Mikee4fun, and psycho_maniac for helping with this post. Image from thewebsquad.com.

Microsoft has offered some clarification on this issue:

Quote:

In the vast majority of instances where an application is removed from Windows Marketplace for Mobile, users of this application will continue to be able to use these applications on their phones. In the rare event an application from Marketplace exhibits harmful behavior or has unforeseen effects, Marketplace has the capability to remotely uninstall these applications. While we hope to avoid this scenario, we will make refunds available in such cases.

As part of their upcoming launch of Marketplace for Mobile, Microsoft will be including a kill switch. However, unlike Apple, who has a similar tool for their App Store, Microsoft is removing the application from the phone if the application becomes unapproved in the Market.

In the past, any application downloaded to a Windows Mobile phone would continue to be there, regardless of the application. It was possible for the creator to kill the application if they so chose, but it was common knowledge that the user who downloaded that application still had the rights to use it.

While any user or developer who goes through Marketplace will agree to such a feature when they accept the EULA, this will create some serious questions when a paid-for app is wiped clean. Will a user who paid for an app receive a refund if their application is wiped clean? Will the developer or Microsoft be responsible for the refund?

Source: Geekzone.co.nz via msmobiles.com