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Zoho Docs

Category: Cloud Storage

Market Link: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.zoho.docs

Description:

Zoho offers, among other things, 5GBs of cloud storage for your webmail and documents.

There are now several free Office compatible options available for Android. Few of them however, offer online access. Of course there is Google docs, but many people are becoming much more anxious about the amount of information and power we have granted both Microsoft and Google in our lives. For those who prefer an alternative therefore, Zoho is an excellent option.

Zoho Docs is an Office compatible word processor, spreadsheet and presentation suite. However, it's much more than that. With it's Zoho Writer app, it also offers synchronization with Zoho Docs online storage, Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive. They use two-factor authentication using the SMS and Google Authenticator and if you so wish, you could still connect it to your Facebook and/or Google accounts. Although, that would likely defeat the purpose of getting away from those services.

There's more, too. They offer a free and powerful webmail service, calendar, notebook, wiki, chat, groups, live meetings and much more. Their main focus is to provide a one stop shop for businesses, but by offering the free components to the public, they get to expand their exposure. From what I've seen so far, it's a very impressive set of offerings. They even have a Zoho Mail app with the integrated calendar service.

KeePass2Android Password Safe

Category: Administration

Market Link: https://market.android.com/details?id=keepass2android.keepass2android

Description:

I use KeePass to maintain my password database. I store the key file locally and my database on a private FTP location. At work and home, I synchronize the database every time I make changes. With this app, I can access the file directly from the FTP server, never storing the file on my phone and update it, as required.

Additionally, the password is never copied to the clipboard as is done with so many other password managers. Instead, you use the KP2A keyboard to quickly enter the login information. This is a fantastic solution for the security conscious!

Mobiwol NoRoot Firewall

Category: Administration

Market Link: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.netspark.firewall

Description:

For the less paranoid in the crowd, those who can't or are afraid to root their devices, this is a helpful alternative. The one drawback to this app is that you have to manually turn it on after every reboot.

The way Mobiwol works without requiring root access is that it manages all traffic at the connection level, through a VPN. You allow or deny each application access based on connection type, or only allow communication when it is the foreground application.

So, while this won't stop software from acquiring accurate information about you or your device if you do allow it to connect, you can at least limit if and/or when each app is able to do so. Let me give you a few examples:

Game 1: block all communications with the Internet, in order to block the application from spying on you, altogether
Game 2 (Live): block all communications EXCEPT when it's a foreground app, in order to stop background spying
App 1: block all communication through cellular (only allow WiFi communication), in order to save bandwidth
App 2: allow always trusted applications

While this isn't perfect, it's a considerably better alternative than the default.

Finally, Mobiwol maintains connection logs, so you can see exactly what tried to communicate with the Internet and when. You can see what was allowed and what was blocked as well as the destination address. This additional information can help you decide if you want to continue to allow the app to have access, or perhaps if you want to delete it, altogether. You can even adjust an app's permission right from the connection logs, by clicking on the entry and adjusting the settings.