Monthly Archives: January 2013

Securing your app’s data on Android

Leave a reply

Great article by SecureState’s Brandon Knight on Mobile App Security.

Securing your data is a common Android security problem.  During my development of Android apps, I’ve noticed lots of information being stored in unprotected areas of the filesystem, such as the /sdcard/Android/data folder.  For example, any file you view or cache offline from Dropbox is stored in /sdcard/Android/data/com.dropbox.android.  Given that Dropbox could be used for both personal and team-based uses, it’s easy to see that corporate data isn’t safe here either.

During the Android 2.2 days, many phones (such as my HTC EVO) had ~200MB available for apps (and storage), supplemented by micro SD.  There was no choice but to save information on the micro SD.  The newer Android phones ship with much more internal storage, meaning app developers can (and should) begin to more to saving data in the app sandbox instead of the public space.  It will take a long time before app developers change over to the new model.  In the meantime, users should be aware of what data is being stored on the micro SD and other public areas of the filesystem.

Woodsmith #194 Media Center Part II

Leave a reply

Progress on my woodworking project to build a media center has slowed, but is still moving along.

(Also see Part I, or Visit Woodsmith to find Entertainment/Media Center plans in Issue 194).

Both the left and right tower cabinets are assembled and have face frames installed.  I expanded both the height and width of the media center towers so that a larger TV could be accommodated  as well as more space for storage.  The towers are nearly 7′ tall and 24″ wide.

20121117_145350

Lots and lots of sanding.  The maple plywood just requires a light sanding at 220.  The solid maple face frames take a little more time.  I’ve been starting at 120 and working my way up to 220.

Woodsmith #194 Media Center Sawdust

Face frame sawdust.

Here’s the two tower cabinets side-by-side.  Space in the garage is now at a premium.

Woodsmith #194 Media Center

The two tower cabinets side-by-side.

Each of the tower cabinets have two drawers on the bottom.  You can see the drawer slides in the picture above.  Each drawer is approximately 18.5″ wide and 12.5″ deep.  We’ll probably use these drawers for storing BluRay’s and XBox accessories.

The first drawer is almost done, 3 more to go build.

Woodsmith #194 Media Center Dovetail drawers

Media Center Dovetail drawers

I decided to use dovetails since my wife bought me a new Porter-Cable dovetail jig for Christmas.  After spending some time setting up the jig and calibrating my router, I was ready to make some dovetails.  My first two attempts didn’t go so well.  After tweaking the jig a few more times, I finally dialed in the right settings.  It’s a great jig, and I’m anxious to build these drawers and then try it with some other projects.