I've created on my desktop a shortcut to a project folder on my SD card. Can anyone recommend an app that will let me set up a password for that folder?
I'm not looking to encrypt all the data in the folder, I just want password-restricted access to it. I can't find anything suitable in The Market.
Thanks.
If it's not encrypted, then its not protected.
Really, seriously, utterly, there is no way at all that you can "protect" a folder on an SD card other than encrypting the contents. Other apps, will always be able to access it, and, equally, anyone could take the card out and stick it in a PC card reader.
I appreciate that, and that's fine! I'm not looking for total protection from access, either through SD card reading or via apps. I'm just looking for password-restricted access when accessed through the desktop shortcut.
SmartLock will let you lock your photos/videos, as well as apps and such but I don't think it does folders. The best you could probably do would be to hide the folders using SmartLock or a similar app along those lines.
Yes, I have discovered SmartLock, thanks. But I have to say I'm not a fan at all of the whole mentality with mobile phones that data is split into storage of photos, videos, "music", etc, in separate locations and treated separately.
The folder in question contains mp3, pdf, jpg, xls and doc files.
Hiding the folder would be completely against what I'm trying to do, which is to have a clearly visible, easily accessible desktop shortcut. I guess basically I'm looking for the Android equivalent of a zip file with password.
AidanBell said:
I've created on my desktop a shortcut to a project folder on my SD card.
. . .
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When you write desktop, do you mean homescreen or as a network shortcut on your PC? If the latter you can use the desktop's OS to protect the link.
AidanBell said:
. . . I guess basically I'm looking for the Android equivalent of a zip file with password.
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Click to collapse
Wouldn't the Android equivalent be a zip file with a password? ES File Explorer is free and supports password protected archives.
Sorry, terminology!
Yes, I mean the home screen on my Streak (or strictly speaking one of them!).
I already have and use ES File Explorer, that's how I created the Homescreen shortcut!
So if it turns out that what I'm looking for is already a feature of that program, then how's that for irony!
Glad you've found a solution that works for you, but... you do know that password protected zipfiles are encrypted,
jim-bo said:
Glad you've found a solution that works for you...
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Thank you, but regrettably I haven't.
When you zip a folder it of course creates a copy of that folder, zipped, which is not what I want at all. I'm amazed that what I do want doesn't seem to be readily available; in order to open a folder you have to enter a simple password, and then you're in the folder. Simple as that ...
AidanBell said:
Thank you, but regrettably I haven't.
When you zip a folder it of course creates a copy of that folder, zipped, which is not what I want at all. I'm amazed that what I do want doesn't seem to be readily available; in order to open a folder you have to enter a simple password, and then you're in the folder. Simple as that ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, part of the reason that nobody makes such an app / feature, is that it is pretty much the equivalent of selling a security system for your house that consists of a door that doesn't lock, with a sign on it saying "no unauthorized entry". It really offers no actual protection at all.
That being said, what you're trying to achieve sounds more like you want to protect an app / shortcut on your launcher screen, rather than protecting the folder itself
Take a look at something like https://market.android.com/details?id=com.sp.protector.free&feature=search_result (I searched for password any app, if you want to see other options). It may let you achieve what you're after.
Thanks for your thoughts. To use your analogy, yes; I do indeed want the sign that says "no unauthorized entry" but I don't want the door to be locked. Precisely!
Perhaps I should explain my situation more closely. I'm taking my Streak in to meetings with colleagues who will also make use of it. All I want is to prevent casual non-malicious access of the folder by other people. I neither need nor want encryption or strong security, I just want that tiny bit of difficulty, the little hint that says "you're not supposed to be doing this".
Thanks for your thoughts.
Using your own analogy; yes, that's exactly what I do want; the sign says, "no unauthorized entry", but the door remains unlocked!
Let me explain. I take my Streak in to meetings where it is also used by other people. What I want to prevent is non-malicious, accidental access by others. I want a gentle hint, not a 100% secure lock-out or data encryption, just a little kick that says "you're not supposed to be doing this".
Smart App Protector would be ideal if it would protect a folder. It's exactly what I want, but I need it for for folders, not apps.
You said that you wanted the prompt to come up when you hit an icon on your desktop - that would be app-protection, or shortcut protection, since it is the launch of the app / shortcut that causes the password prompt.
If you are saying that you are already in a file browser, and you want the prompt to pop up when you choose a certain folder to enter, then you are going to need to find a file browser that supports protecting or "hiding" folders, since it will have to be a direct function of the file browser app itself. I'm afraid that I don't know of any that offer anything like that feature.
To be absolutely clear, there are no features or functions in an SD card filesystem that will allow this sort of security flagging, and to do it at the OS level would involve some relatively low level dalvik / libc / kernel patching, which would require root, a custom ROM, and quite possibly end up being device specific, which explains why you can't find anything in the market.
I seem to manage to make a habit of this: There are literally tens of thousands of available apps that do everything under the sun. Yet the simple, not unique or unusual, function that I'm after isn't available! Oh well, many thanks for your kind help nevertheless.
AidanBell said:
I seem to manage to make a habit of this: There are literally tens of thousands of available apps that do everything under the sun. Yet the simple, not unique or unusual, function that I'm after isn't available! Oh well, many thanks for your kind help nevertheless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, this one isn't simple (you are asking for a low-level redesign of the security model), and while it may not be uniquem it is something that not many people would want - referring back to the previous metaphor, how many people would buy a front door with no lock, just a keep out sign, really? Especially once they learned that burglars can't always read...
But if I ever do come across anything that might help, I'll definitely let you know
AidanBell said:
Thank you, but regrettably I haven't.
When you zip a folder it of course creates a copy of that folder, zipped, which is not what I want at all. I'm amazed that what I do want doesn't seem to be readily available; in order to open a folder you have to enter a simple password, and then you're in the folder. Simple as that ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't you then delete the folder and use the zip. When you tap on the zip you can see the file names, but to open a file you need the PW. Not ideal since ES Fie Explorer doesn't support copying directly to a zip file, but it is as close as you can get, I think.
Edit: I don't usually put shortcuts to things I don't want others peeking at on the homescreen.
I'm looking for an app that will allow me to encrypt folders (preferably without having to go through a third-party file manager) on my Galaxy Note 2 and Nexus 7, while possibly being able to also decrypt and view the folder/files on a Windows or Mac machine.
BoxCryptor is one that I've looked into but I'm not sure if it will allow me to encrypt folders within folders.
A little bit of background for what I need this for... I'm a medical health professional and there are times when I have sensitive data about some of my patients that I need to access via my phone/tablet/home/work computer. I don't necessarily need the folder of patient data to sync across all devices but if that could be done (say via DropBox or WebDAV, encrypted), that would be a bonus.
There are some apps on Google Play that seem like they might work:
Encryption Manager
Safe+
DroidCrypt
If anyone has any feedback on any of the above, or can recommend an app that I've missed (or a link to another xda post that I missed in my searches), that would be much appreciated. I'd rather not have to pay for each one to see if it fits my criteria.
Thanks in advance!
cdnmaplechick said:
I'm looking for an app that will allow me to encrypt folders (preferably without having to go through a third-party file manager) on my Galaxy Note 2 and Nexus 7, while possibly being able to also decrypt and view the folder/files on a Windows or Mac machine.
...
A little bit of background for what I need this for... I'm a medical health professional and there are times when I have sensitive data about some of my patients that I need to access via my phone/tablet/home/work computer. I don't necessarily need the folder of patient data to sync across all devices but if that could be done (say via DropBox or WebDAV, encrypted), that would be a bonus.
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Click to collapse
@cdnmaplechick, did you have any luck with all this? EDS is another one you could try, but I'm not sure if it can do what you want without rooting your device. If you are comfortable rooting your device Cryptonite is an additional option.
If I understand you correctly I am also looking for something similar (which is how I ended up finding your post). I'd like an app that can encrypt specified folders such that other apps can interact with the contained encrypted files without any trouble (this would be very analogous to how TrueCrypt works for Windows computers). I know there is full device encryption available for Android, but that has its drawbacks. I think what you and I are both wanting is something like full device encryption, but being able to limit it to a few designated folders.
I'd love to hear anything you're willing to share about your experiences (positive or negative) with pursuing all this!
Edit: Forgot to mention a secure syncing service you might be interested in: SpiderOak. I have not yet used their Android app, but I use SpiderOak for Windows all the time to securely sync sensitive data between multiple Windows computers (the data is stored in TrueCrypt volumes on each computer).
Apparently this works with Truecrypt so it will work when you transfer it to a Mac or PC
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sovworks.eds.android
Droidcrypt should do entire folders, but has a lot of neg reviews. Personally I wouldn't use any closed source encryption app you have no idea if they're actually generating true random numbers or if it's junk software.
LUKS is free and open source, if your phone is rooted
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nemesis2.luksmanager you can just copy folders into the virtual encrypted folder it creates.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mrpdaemon.android.encdroid is open source, free and works with dropbox
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup Carbon now uses encrypted backup
There's also APG http://thialfihar.org/projects/apg/
You can use PGP to encrypt/decrypt files (perhaps folders?) for transferring to another computer. Or if both your Nexus and your PC/Mac is using full disc encryption then you can just transfer the folders to each other in the clear with USB.
derpsec said:
Droidcrypt should do entire folders, but has a lot of neg reviews. Personally I wouldn't use any closed source encryption app you have no idea if they're actually generating true random numbers or if it's junk software.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I've felt ambivalent about Droidcrypt. It should do what I want but they feel like such an unknown; they don't even have a website (not that that would make them automatically safer, but I'd at least be able to get a little more of sense of who I'm trusting my data to).
derpsec said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mrpdaemon.android.encdroid is open source, free and works with dropbox
Click to expand...
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Thanks for those additional links, and especially for Encdroid! I'm a fan of open source, and it looks like the author's on the XDA forums:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1917665
I definitely want to check that one out further.
How about Cryptonite? https://code.google.com/p/cryptonite/ It says it uses TrueCrypt.
Yes cryptonite seems to be a good solution.
Check-->
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=csh.cryptonite&hl=el
Hello friends
Is an application for Android that folders can be encrypted and password-access to that folder wherever necessary, same encryption on the kms 9(Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 v9.4.96 – S60v3)
I have a Stratos with 2.3.7.0 stock rom. In this release you can save locations from the watch to can navigate to them later. I like to do geocaching and I want to create a location from its gps coordinates in order to navigate to it from my stratos. Anybody knows how can I do it?
cesareogallego said:
I have a Stratos with 2.3.7.0 stock rom. In this release you can save locations from the watch to can navigate to them later. I like to do geocaching and I want to create a location from its gps coordinates in order to navigate to it from my stratos. Anybody knows how can I do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possible, but not easy.
You would need root and some knowledge of Andriod file system & SQLite database.
anox said:
Possible, but not easy.
You would need root and some knowledge of Andriod file system & SQLite database.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope some developer takes this feature as his personal project.....
There is an internal app called locations. It lets you navigate to previously saved locations. You can manipulate those location which are saved in the database under
/data/data/com.huami.watch.location/databases/location.db
Some users claim to have got net.psyberia.offlinemaps running on the device. This theoretically allows to create and navigate to saved locations too (if a keyboard app is installed too). I found it very difficult to handle and really consider devices with bigger screen more useful to geocaching. The only advantage of using this watch for geocaching is: no field logs possible which gives the owner of the cache a chance to receive a proper log created on a sufficient device.
Edit:
This ist the relevant thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/smartwatch/amazfit/apk-maps-amazfit-watch-offline-gps-t3629809
I got the actual version from January working on my pace.
Here is a link with some pics from somebody using it as golf rangefinde, which is like geocaching for little holes in the ground:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76320990&postcount=2
It's very interesting what you say. I'm going to investigate if I can modify that db with any external tool to add new points from coordinates.
nhedgehog said:
There is an internal app called locations. It lets you navigate to previously saved locations. You can manipulate those location which are saved in the database under
/data/data/com.huami.watch.location/databases/location.db
Some users claim to have got net.psyberia.offlinemaps running on the device. This theoretically allows to create and navigate to saved locations too (if a keyboard app is installed too). I found it very difficult to handle and really consider devices with bigger screen more useful to geocaching. The only advantage of using this watch for geocaching is: no field logs possible which gives the owner of the cache a chance to receive a proper log created on a sufficient device.
Edit:
This ist the relevant thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/smartwatch/amazfit/apk-maps-amazfit-watch-offline-gps-t3629809
I got the actual version from January working on my pace.
Here is a link with some pics from somebody using it as golf rangefinde, which is like geocaching for little holes in the ground:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76320990&postcount=2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi all, when I attach an image in my web browser, (doesn't seem to matter which browser) or where I previously attached an image from, when I select browse, from the but that says "select image" it always opens the same folder, is there anyway to set it to default from the top level where you choose whether Pixel 6, recent, attached cloud accounts, etc please? It's a pain keep having you navigate back from the same folder every time.
pretty sure android 12 restricts where you can read/save things from apps.
its a "security" feature.
so no more custom download folders outside of the oem "download" dir.
some much old apps still dont follow the rules for android 12 and that's allowed it seems.( for the time being)
but no updated apps should encourage you read/save things anywhere you like.
i could be wrong but that was how it was explained to me
nutzfreelance said:
pretty sure android 12 restricts where you can read/save things from apps.
its a "security" feature.
so no more custom download folders outside of the oem "download" dir.
some much old apps still dont follow the rules for android 12 and that's allowed it seems.( for the time being)
but no updated apps should encourage you read/save things anywhere you like.
i could be wrong but that was how it was explained to me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isn't to download, this folder is the one which opens when I want to upload a file, for example I use Facebook in the browser rather than the app and it always opens this folder when I want to upload a photo and I don't want it to be this one.
3dd1 said:
This isn't to download, this folder is the one which opens when I want to upload a file, for example I use Facebook in the browser rather than the app and it always opens this folder when I want to upload a photo and I don't want it to be this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
up or down newer android wants to restrict where apps read or write.
where you start out is where they want you to put stuff for that app.
nutzfreelance said:
up or down newer android wants to restrict where apps read or write.
where you start out is where they want you to put stuff for that app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But this folder it chooses is on my OneDrive account, lol
3dd1 said:
But this folder it chooses is on my OneDrive account, lol
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Click to collapse
is it Microsoft software? or affiliated?
It's the Microsoft OneDrive app I use, it defaults to opening from there.
Hi there.
Do any of you guys know of a 'search my phone app?
Some android phones have a magnifying glass app that searches for images, contacts, apps, documents, etc. A quick way of finding files on your phone?
My p20 pro doesn't have that for some reason...
Depends on what you're searching for, e.g., any "app drawer" app will search the phone for installed APKs, and you can always install an App Manager app which is always far more powerful.
For arbitrary files, I generally search my phone using Windows search tools because they have all sorts of options (e.g., find duplicates) but also since adb can access the root file system of non-rooted phones.
The entire Android phone is simply displayed on my PC (20 inches tall!) and also mounted as a drive letter onto Windows over Wi-Fi, which allows Windows & Android to be treated the same. (see screenshot)
However, even without Windows, I am pretty sure almost all Android file managers have a search option, don't they?
Starting simple, I'd suggest the OP try out the Simple Mobile Tools free file manager first, and then work his way up to the more complex file manager search engines such as Cx File Explorer or as with X-plore freeware from Lonely-cat.
Thank you GalaxyA325G for your suggestions, I'll try them out.