I've talked previously about Android startup management and the proper way to do it, but the face of Android is quickly changing. One of the programs I've thoroughly enjoyed since it's release is LBE Privacy Guard. However, that program has changed dramatically, since I first used it. In fact, it has had two major overhauls in about the same number of years.
- LBE Privacy Guard
- LBE Privacy Guard (2nd version)
- LBE Security Master (Current)
- XPosed Framework (2014+)
The original program offered the most important features, which were the ability to block apps from accessing your private information, such as:
- SMS Sending
- Phone Calls
- Phone State
- Call Monitoring
- SMS Records
- Contact Records
- Call History
- Location Services
- Phone ID
- Block access to Mobile/WiFi networks on a per app basis
This was mainly an interface redesign, with the same level of access as the original, but included the following additional features:
- Event logging to track what was allowed or blocked
- Traffic Monitoring
And so we have the current version, which has had several major additions and yet one more interface overhaul:
Task Manager
- Task Manager with the following capabilities:
- Power controls to turn toggle the following:
- Wifi/Mobile/Bluetooth/Sync/GPS access
- Airplane mode
- Rotation lock
- Brightness control
- Haptic response
- Memory consumption and task count
- Ability to kill individual or all tasks
- Traffic summary by mobile and Wifi networks
- Traffic usage stats for each application, both real-time and for the current day
- Access to launch the main interface
- Power controls to turn toggle the following:
Main Interface
- Password protect the main interface
- Autoscan device for optimal settings
- One-Click-Cleanup widget
Traffic
- Data management and statistics, including a highly configurable real-time traffic monitor
- Per app setting access to mobile and WiFi networks
Speedup
- Traffic whitelisting
- Auto-start block list
- Cache cleaner with low-level access to determine which apps and areas of the device to clean
Battery
- Battery health
- Consumption usage broken down by software and hardware
- Power consumption profiles
- Status bar battery level toggle
App Manage
- App uninstaller
- Move apps to SD
- System application "freezing" and uninstallation
- APK manager that tracks versions and installation status
Anti-Virus
- Real-time installation monitoring
- Scheduled scans using a cloud-based signature library
- Quick and Deep scans, including scan logs
Active Defense
- Permission settings by app whether Trusted/Monitored for the following access permissions:
- SMS Sending
- Phone Calls
- Phone State
- Call Monitoring
- SMS Records
- Contact Records
- Call History
- Location Services
- Phone ID
- Ability to set System apps as Monitored, rather than the default of Trusted
- Defense logging
- Action logging in the notification bar
- Successful SMS & Call record tracking per app
Notification Manager
- Decide which apps are allowed to leave messages in the notification bar
- Notification bar logging
Ad Blocker
- Scan apps for advertisements
- Block or allow apps on an individual app basis
- Classification of ads as Risky or Safe based on frequently updated ad definition database
- Update ad definition database
Blocking Service
- Call Blocking/Block SMS by keyword/contact
- Customizable keyword list
- Do Not Disturb settings
- Cloud based list of untrusted sources
Communication Toolbox
- IP/Number dialing tools
Private Communications
- Setup contacts lists as private based on SMS/Phone number/Contact, requiring a password to access them
Security Plugins
- Privacy space for cloud storage (not yet translated)
- Mobile Security for locating and wiping lost devices (not yet translated)
Some people are concerned about using LBE because it is a closed source app, written by a Chinese company and it's no secret that the U.S. and China are in open cyberwarfare with one another. So, their misgivings may be well justified. However, I have used a VPN firewall app in conjunction with LBE Security Master and found no activity of concern. Instead, LBE effectively blocks communication, just as it claims. That being said, I've been using it for years, on multiple devices, and trust it to keep me protected.
One of the challenges however, is that whenever the application wants to update, you cannot let it do so from within its own interface. Otherwise, it will download and install the Chinese version, effectively making it useless for us English speaking people. That's where the Xposed Framework comes in handy. As the name suggests, it's a basic skeleton that allows you to add modules for greater access to your Android device.
You can get the latest version of XPosed Framework from here.
The Framework itself lists dozens of useful apps already, but as of December, 2013, it does not include the LBE Security Master English Translation app, which is what we're interested in obtaining.
Get the latest version of the LBE English Translation module for the XPosed Framework from here.
This module is designed to translate LBE, on the fly. In other words, you no longer have to go to the XDA forum in order to find the latest translated version. Instead, you can now let the app update itself directly from the LBESec.com website. This saves you time and ensures that you always have the latest version. As of December, 2013, this module works flawlessly. It is also supposed to be future proof. Time will tell, but I imagine, the authour will update the module, if he finds flaws.
The changes to this fine app have been so significant, I felt it worthwhile to write an entire article about it, rather than my usual short description. For one thing, it is now an entire security suite that has effectively eliminated my need for several other apps, including the following:
App2SD: To be fair, since the time of about Android Froyo (2.2), this feature has been available in the core of Android, one way or another. However, it doesn't necessarily work very well. Even as late as 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, Galaxy devices couldn't properly move apps to SD. Regardless, this application gives the user a central location to see all apps and choose which ones to move to the SD card. This feature is now available in the App Manage section of LBESM.
AdFree Android: LBESM now has it's own Ad Blocker section in the settings. In fact, it's slightly more powerful in that it lets you choose to block or allow ads on an app by app basis.
AVG Anti-Virus: I must admit that this one makes me a bit nervous and I haven't quite given up on AVG just yet. For one thing, AVG has been in the virus protection gig for a long time. Granted, Android is a new platform by comparison, but I'm still not overly keen on fully trusting a relatively unknown application to protect me from viruses over a long-standing champion in the field. For what it's worth, LBESM's protection is cloud-based, meaning the signatures are stored online and therefore never out-of-date.
Also, LBESM currently has a section called Security Plugins that have not yet been translated. The two plugins currently available are: Privacy Space, which I presume is a secure cloud storage option and Mobile Security. The latter of course, is vital. It allows you to find, track and even wipe your device, should it be lost or stolen. Since this plugin has not yet been translated, I have to rely on my AVG to continue to provide this feature.
An honourable mention should also go out to Lookout Mobile Security which although I haven't included it on this site, also offers the same protection as AVG, including this theft-protection. I know I haven't included this latter program on my site, but I do have it installed on my phone. I can't really decide which one I like better, but defaulted to AVG when picking one for the site, due to it's long-standing reputation.
BatteryMinder: I'm not a huge fan of the remaining battery power options built into Android. I prefer to have the information available to me at a glance, in the notification bar. BatteryMinder allows this and while it does a slightly better job at it, the free version is ad supported, if you don't block them and it frequently tries to access information about your device that I'm not overly thrilled in sharing with developers. Of course, LBESM finds and blocks these attempts.
While the notification isn't as nice, the Battery section of LBE Security Manager does allow you to setup specific power management profiles and add the current battery usage to the notification bar.
CacheMate For Root Users: Within Android itself, you can delete the cache for individual apps, on a singular basis. With this program you can do so for all apps with a single click. This option is also built into LBESM, in the Speedup section and also available as a widget.
Home Manager: Hidden within the Settings page of LBESM you can choose which home screen launcher you want to use by default.
Traffic Counter Extended: I love the home screen widgets of this app, so I probably won't get rid of this app, yet. However, LBESM does have very nice traffic management capabilities. While Android does have this built in now, there are many after market apps that handle it much better, both this program and LBESM are such programs.
One thing that LBESM offers, that I haven't seen in any other app is a real-time traffic monitor. By default it appears at the very top of the screen, below the status bar, while traffic is being transmitt. There are also plenty of options to configure or disable this.
From the LBE Task Manager interface, you also gain access to Traffic reports for both the current day and in real-time, broken down by app as well as a summary for both Mobile and WiFi transfers.
Watchdog Task Manager Lite: I used to use after-market task managers to kill apps that were running the background. I realized after some reading, that my efforts were futile, as Android handles memory management different than Windows does. Instead, I switched to Watchdog, because it keeps an eye on what apps use the most CPU cycles and informs you when something is being a resource hog. With today's multi-core CPUs and greater storage capacities, this is less of a concern. While I still have this app installed for now, I haven't seen it warn me about anything in quite some time.
Part of the reason for that is that LBESM also has the the ability to prevent certain apps from launching on startup in it's Speedup section, meaning that you can prevent anything but your most important apps from launching when the device boots.
As you can see, this app is now very powerful and while each of these programs offers some features that LBESM may be lacking, they're not likely important enough for you to keep every single one of these apps, thereby duplicating the features within LBESM.
Created: 26 Jan 2013 08:06
