Cybersecurity & IT/Networking Apps - Android

Cybersecurity, Networking & IT Related Apps; That I Actually Use (*For Android)

After 20+ years running Pacific Northwest Computers, I've installed, uninstalled, and re-installed a lot of "must have" Android apps. Most of what gets marketed as a "hacker toolkit" on the Play Store is either abandoned, repackaged, or outright malicious. So I figured I'd share the apps that have actually earned a spot on my phone for use all of the time, or just if/as needed. Nonetheless, these are the ones I can and do reach for during client visits, network troubleshooting, and security work.

This isn't a sponsored list. 

These are the tools I use, or have used.

Force Checking for Updates on Android Devices

Normally your phone has a process which checks for pending updates every "X" amount of hours. But what if you want to force the device to check for updates immediately? This is a trick I found a while back and continue to use time and time again.

• Open the standard Android Phone (Dialer) application
• Enter *#*#checkin#*#* on the dialer keypad ( *#*#2432546#*#*)
• On the last entry of the *, your phone will pause while it is checking for updates.
• Once it has completed, you will see a yellow exclamation icon in the notification (or different icon depending on your installed theme) bar letting you know that checkin has been completed and if an update exists you should be notified.
• It also appears that Market updates are also rechecked as part of this process, so any new updated applications will also notify you to upgrade your applications

That's it! Go into your phone's settings through you home menu and check for system updates. If anything the update should already be downloading!

This has been shown to work on 2.1 (Eclair), 2.2 (FroYo), and 2.3 (Gingerbread). However, not all custom phone dialers support the codes, so try to use the stock Android dialer if you have multiple installed. The stock dialer is the one that ships on Google experience devices like the Nexus One, Nexus S, or Droid1.

Find the Cheapest Gas; No Matter Where You Are!

Because the gas prices are so out of control right now ($80 fill ups and all), I am always using my GasBuddy Android app find the cheapest gas; no matter where I am. They offer a website (Gasbuddy.com) and smartphone apps (iPhone, Android & Windows Phone Apps) for people to find and post the cheapest gasoline prices in their neighborhood, or where ever they may be! These apps and their website are something everyone needs to know about!