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mirroring-Android-screen-to-a-TV

Casting and mirroring Android screen to a TV or a computer has never been easier. If you have a chrome casting dongle it is even easier. Even if you don't have a casting dongle you still can mirror your android on your computer using chrome browser.

Open Chrome browser then navigate to Chrome Store and search for "AllCast Receiver" and add it to chrome.

Allcast-receiver-chrome-android

Now go to chrome apps and open All cast receiver

Allcast-receiver-chrome-android

Next you need to Install Allcast Android app from play-store, then open it and you will see your computer's IP on the list. Keep in mind that both your computer and smartphone should be connected to the same WiFi network or it won't work.

Allcast-receiver-chrome-android-mirroring-screen

Now open Allcast in your Android phone and select your computer Ip.


Now select which media you want to mirror. you can mirror Images gallery, audio files..
Just select a video or any media file and it will start playing on your computer right away as easy as that.



The video file was mirrored successfully and now you can select any type of media and just open it on your smartphone and it will easily open on your computer .



Easy right! Now enjoy endless media streaming from your phone to your computer.



Many Android users tend to change their stock android operating system to a different custom Rom for different reasons.


One of the main reasons Android users tend to change their stock Roms is to get more and diversified features. Another reason is to keep your old smartphone updated, as companies such as LG Google Sony do not regularly update their old phones, so in order to get over that and get the latest updates as they come out, then you need to install a custom Rom that has active continuous support.

Today we are taking a look at one of the best feature packed Roms around; Resurrection Remix. It is one of the best well known custom Roms around you can install on your Android phone. it has so many features and options, it is the only Rom that you would ever need. It has lots of developers behind it, they keep it updated, version after version.

Now let's take a look around myour installation of Resurrection remix Nougat version.



This is all where the fun resides in. Go to settings , under personalization tap on configurations and there you will find all the options and features that separate this custom Rom from others. You can change your status bar settings, by adding icons , changing colors, adding custom text and icons, you can add network metrics too which is one of my favorite add-ons.



Next tab you will find panel options, here you will be able to edit everything that is a panel, from notifications to header to volume panels, you could do some heavy customization within this tab.



In next tab you will be able to use custom recents which are way faster and more customizable than the stock recents that come with your smartphone. Resurrection remix comes with 4 options for setting  recents; slim recents, grid, stock and Omniswitch. this one is my favorite, this little buddy supports so many customizations.


In quick settings tab you have many options to customize and edit drop-down tiles, you can edit their layout, animation, behavior and many more.


Lock screen has it's share of customization with this Rom, you can add shortcuts, enable gestures, custom locks and security options. You can add different colors to lock screen icons and shortcuts.


Gestures anywhere feature is the most lovable feature I found on this Rom, it help you be productive and get things done as quick as possible, you can find it on Gestures tab along with other related features.


Next tab is as important as last one, this one gives you the option to customize your buttons, and change their behavior to your liking, you will be more productive using the multi options in this tab.  You can enable or disable hardware keys, or add on screen keys, you can set custom actions per button, volume keys, power button, home. All buttons are editable and customizable.



Animations is the tab where you edit system wide animations, or per app animations, power menu and toast animations can be personalized too. Or you could just disable all system animations at once and enjoy a snappier and faster device.


In Interface tab you could change heads-up settings, screenshot options; which gives you the option to either set full screenshot, or resizable screenshot, with the option of croping and sharing. You can also set up headset settings, blur personalizations, display and font size and many more.



In miscellaneous tab you can change all the other options that does not fit any category. You can block specific apps from accessing specific sensors, you can also remove system apps, and block services that are waking your device up, and consuming your battery. You can look for OTA updates also in this tab.


Last tab is the about tab, here you find official resurrection remix website and their news, changelog, and social media links.

All of this options and customization are only from configurations tab in settings menu, let alone that the Rom is built upon Lineage Os which is a very fast custom Rom, and that there are integreted pre-built features and enhancements that come with Lineage Os.


Idon't know know is it only me, or is everybody else keeps changing their file managers. I always keep looking for alternative apps that might do more than these apps I already have, ranging from file managers to music players to any other app.

In this post I'm going to share with you what I think is the best file manager a user can possibly have on his Android phone. Keep in mind that most the apps you will find listed in here do more than just listing your files, and we will get to that on time. Let's get started.
The first file manager on our list and the one I'm using right now is:

Solid Explorer:

Solid Explorer is indeed a solid file manager, it supports two panels for file browsing, it has a material design, it is very customizable, and it supports plugins to far enhance its functionality. If you are running marshmallow and you can't get your otg usb read by ordinary file manager, then this app will do it for you, you just need to install usb otg reader plugin for Solid Explorer.  You can see the rest of Features bellow

- Material Design!
- Two independent panels serving as file browsers
- Rich customization options: icons sets, color schemes, themes
- Drag and Drop inside and between panels
- FTP, SFTP, WebDav, SMB/CIFS clients
- Ability to read and extract ZIP, 7ZIP, RAR and TAR archives, even encrypted
- Ability to create password protected ZIP and 7ZIP archives
- Cloud file manager: Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive, Sugarsync, Copy, Mediafire, Owncloud, Yandex
- Root access makes Solid Explorer a fully functional root explorer
- Extensibility: more features in separate plugins available in Google Play
- Indexed search finds your files in a couple of seconds
- Detailed file information with storage usage statistics
- Batch rename: change names of multiple files at once using regular expressions and variables
- Useful tools: hiding unwanted folders, FTP Server (plugin), bookmarks, Chromecast support, media browser

Screenshots :


solid explorer review
solid explorer review
solid explorer review


File commander



I discovered this app just lately and I'm considering making it my default file manager and get rid of solid explorer, because the only reason that kept me with solid explorer is its looks and most importantly that it supports OTG by default on marshmallow. But now I found this new file manager File commander that have both design and functionality of solid explorer and even more.

UPDATE: unfortunately File Commander does not support root access, as a result you cannot access your root partition neither for reading nor writing


File commander offers added functionality over other file managers starting from material and good looking design, and functionality by supporting USB OTG by default without any plugin. 

This app supports PC File Transfer, which is just amazing when you try to copy files to or from your computer.







The app supports hiding and encrypting your sensitive files, and they can't be seen anywhere else except withing the app. You can also share your android screen with your friends or on local network.
 

UPDATE: unfortunately File Commander does not support root access, as a result you cannot access your root partition neither for reading nor writing

Do you have any other file manager that you think should be listed above? comment below and let us know.

Music players are all over play store. Just try and search for music player on google play and you will be amazed by the amount of apps that do the same thing, play music. Even though they are not all the same, as each one pretends to present some new feature that others do not, but still most of them look pretty much the same to me at least.

  Today we have a fairly new music player that we were being asked to review, the app is called Alpha Music Player. It has over 100 installs on play store, still new, it was rated 4.6 stars by 27 users on play store as of today.



The app promises a clean UI and an intuitive interface, it has a sleek interface with accurate well-chosen colors. If you are the kind of user who changes themes every now and then, then you will like this app being accompanied with three different themes that you can change from settings, it has a light, dark and a transparent theme. I love transparent themes which I use in most of my apps.



Downsides of this app:
well every app has its own weaknesses and downsides, This music player "alpha music player" have one problem that I figured while using it,  it asks for recording audio permission, and I have no idea why would a music player need it, this permission is being asked when first opening the app or when turning on the equalizer, but that's not an excuse though, cause I know music players that use equalizer and still not asking for microphone permission.


That's all I could say about this app, overall its a good music player that supports different themes and options, but still there are many other free options that outperform it.

[update title="Update message" icon="info-circle"]
This article is being updated every now and then (make sure you keep checking back)
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    Android users are always seeking for new apps, new tips and tricks to get their devices supercharged and handy for many situations. This urge to try and experiment anything new comes from Android being an open source operating system. Android is an easily customized OS (Operating System) and can be oriented to each user's preferences. It also provides its users the ability to alter anything in their system from a simple setting to the most advanced settings of the kernel itself. In this post I'm going to show you how to supercharge that Android phone you have, and make it ready for advanced use.

     Here is the outline of the article






    
 Let's get some terms defined first. ROM stands for "Read-Only Memory", there are Stock ROMs which came with your android device when you first bought them. And there are Custom ROMs which are an aftermarket option that you can Install on your phone to get more features.
     Stock roms are usually full of bloatware and laggish home launchers (Touch-Wiz comes to mind), which unfortunately degrades performance but these ROMs are usually stable. Custom ROMs on the other hand are usually clean out of the box with only necessary  apps to get the system going  with no added jargon.

    O.K so to get your android supercharged you either have to stick with stock ROM but you need to clean it by uninstalling all system apps you don't need, or you can backup your data and install a custom Rom which is what I strongly recommend For many reasons I will mention later in the article.

Here is a list of custom roms I personally prefer
  • Cyanogen Mod (Project terminated)  Cyanogen mod is what I'm currently using even though the project has died but it is a real good custom ROM, it is replaced now by LineageOS. The community will continue to build out the operating system under the new name. You can find them on lineageos.org
  • Resurrection Remix  give them a visit on resurrectionremix.com

Where to get custom roms for your android phone

Warning: Your phone, your responsibility. I'm not responsible for any damage whatsoever that might happen to your phone by following these steps 
    You are probably now asking where do I get one for my phone, well lucky you, you can find them and a lot more on xda-developpers, just search for your device brand and model and you will find many ROMs for you to choose from. You might need to memorize this website as it is a hub for developers, you can find many things on there besides ROMs.


Flash Custom Recovery and Google Apps

    But before You can Install a custom rom you first need to install a custom recovery, I know of two; ClockworkMod and TWRP, you can find them both and how to install them on xda-developers, I recommend using latest version of TWRP if possible. After flashing your custom recovery, you now need to flash your downloaded custom rom, and don't forget to download google apps from opengapps.org and flash it to get Google functionality like play store .. 

Rooting

Now that you have your custom ROM installed you need to check if it is rooted or not (usually custom ROMs are pre-rooted, you can also check documentation of your installed ROM to see if it is rooted or not) if it is not rooted then you need to get back to xda-developers and search for a proper root for your device. 


Installing Xposed Framework

    Well this one is a little bit tricky, because installation differs depending on Android version. For Lollipop and previous versions you can Install xposed installer APK file then click on install framework within the app, but for marshmallow you need to flash framework from recovery, then install the app afterwards. Procedure of installing Xposed framework holds high risk of bootloop, so  always do a backup  before attempting anything that could break your installation or make your your data lost.

What is Xposed Framework

Xposed is a framework created by a developer on xda-developers called rovo89, this framework uses root to interact with the core of android to add many features and customizations, these you can access by installing modules withing the app itself. The framework brings more functionality and customization beyond your what the OS provide. You can root your device and install Xposed framework and get the customizability of custom ROMs while enjoying stability of stock ROMs.
    





Installing BusyBox

What is BusyBox


Here is an extract from Wikipedia on definition of BusyBox
BusyBox is software that provides several stripped-down Unix tools in a single executable file. It runs in a variety of POSIX environments such as Linux, Android,and FreeBSD, It was specifically created for embedded operating systems with very limited resources. the single executable replaces basic functions of more than 300 common commands. It is released as free software under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2
So basically what Busybox does is that it adds some linux command line programs to android, these mini packages are usually installed to /system/bin or /system/xbin and they can be used to enhance functionality, they can be called and used from command line using a terminal emulator.

How to install BusyBox

    you can install Busybox binaries using a simple app, just head to play store and search for busybox or just click here, after you have installed just follow instructions on the app, it is a simple procedure, you can then uninstall the app because we no longer need it, binaries are copied to their destination and will work as expected without the app.

Apps to boost functionality and really supercharge your Android

Xposed modules

Xposed Framework modules are basically apps that extend functionality. Here are some of the best modules to install that will make you a power user 

  • Gravity Box : it adds a ton of tweaks and functions to your Android you can get it from xposed installer















  • Xprivacy: If you are a person who is concerned about his privacy -and you should be-, then this module is for you, you can restrict all your apps's permissions even system apps, or you can feed them fake data.







Battery Saving apps

Greenify
    Is by far the best juice saver I have ever came across, it saves your battery by killing background apps when your screen is off, its similar to doze mode of Marshmallow.



Advanced Apps

Stweaks
    Is an advanced app to control very advanced features of your device from CPU to GPU to power and many more, this app is kernel-dependent, which means it only runs on some custom kernels.
Linux Deploy
     Is an app that permits you to install full linux distribution on your android device without wiping android. This by far is the most app I love in Android, possibilities are almost endless with this app . Imagine having a full Linux distro in your pocket ready to be fired up any time, and you can have both command and graphical interface. This app is just amazing, but keep in mind that you need to be familiar with linux to make use of this app.

Termux
Well this one is relatively new, what it does is it installs and runs linux packages and binaries, if you do not want to install a full linux distro using Libux Deploy and all you want is some specific packages like nmap or tcpdump then Termux is for you, it is lightweight with a command line interface that will permit you to install the packages you want without the hassle of installing a full distro.

Automation Apps

There are multiple choices when it comes to automating your android devices. Many apps are available on play store that will give you the ability to automate the boring stuff you usually do manually. In this list I'm going to show you the best of them that provide both simplicity and advanced functionality.


Automagic

This is a user friendly automation app which does not sacrifice functionality for design. This app uses diagrams to represent flows of actions, you first set triggers then conditions in which following actions will occur. This app is not very popular yet like Tasker but it will certainly beat it in the near future for its friendly design and advanced use

Tasker
When I first heard about android automation and wanted to apply it, I installed Tasker, but I could not get anyway with it because of its complexity. even though Tasker is very popular; whenever you find automation you find Tasker, it lacks user friendliness of its counterparts. And as I said I could not get a grisp on how it works, then I looked for alternatives which were many, and I tried most of them untill I found Automagic which combines both design and performance.

To be Continued




    

Yesterday while I was looking for new and interesting apps for my Samsung Galaxy s4 running Android marshmallow, CyanogenMod 13.0 to be exact. An app attracted my attention, so I went ahead and downloaded and installed it, then I played around and saw all its features then I decided hmm this is a good app and I need to review it, and here we are.


O.K so starting with the name, the app is "Network Master" fancy right ! Well, it does remind me of clean master, the looks and the overall design is also very close to that of clean master, of course they are all from the same company cheetah, these guys know what the audience need, they focus on design, but unfortunately they use very intrusive ads, they also collect mass data from their users. The app I have on my phone is an ad free version, but yours will probably not be ad free (at least if you downloaded from play store)

Short Overview

Here is a short overview of what Master network does :
Network Master is a small, fast and free network tool. You can identify phishing WiFi hotspots to protect your online security, test network speed to find fast WiFi hotspots, detect all devices connected by professional network analyzer, Speed up phone by terminating unauthorized background apps, monitor 3g/4gdata usage and share portable hotspots with Network Master.
Now let's see if this app does what it says, Decoding Time 😎😎
The landing page (main activity) is clean and appealing to the eye. The app when first ran checks and analyzes connected wifi network, after that it displays stats of your network. if you scroll down you will see additional options and features of the app as seen in bellow picture.



Features I love in this app

The first option & feature I love in this app  is the ability to list apps that are currently using data with meters of how much each app is consuming in real time . this is a very handy feature because some times you see data traffic (if you have traffic indicators in status bar) but you do not know which app is using that data. This app is also good for spotting spying apps that keep open connections to unknown servers on the net .
Second feature I enjoy with this app is that it can kill apps that are using your data in the background so if you are downloading a large file on chrome for example, you don't want any app running in the background to use data, because that would limit downloading speed of your file, this app can take care of that.

of course there are more options in the app for example "Wifi spy detect" which lists all devices connected to your wifi and if you see any suspicious device that is not yours then you probably need to change your wifi password. You can also check whether your network has been tampered with as this app can detect man in the middle attacks, and checks for arp poisining, it checks for dns hijacking too, and that would be enough reason for you to get this app

Final Verdict

Overall the app is a swiss-army utility for your network , you can boost security of your network , see who is on your network, see which apps are using your data, test your download and upload speed, use firewall and many other things I leave them for you to check .
If you like the article make sure you share it with your friends.







Metasploit is a pentesting framework that is used by penetration testers and hackers around the world, this framework includes a lot of payloads and exploits, usually you find it installed on a Linux system but there is an installer for windows and mac too. But unfortunately there is no installer or app that can deploy metasploit framework on android, but in this post I'm gonna show you how you can install it on your smartphone running Android even if it is not natively supported

 .



metasploit for android

Pre-requisities

   - Rooted android phone
   - Linux pre-installed on your android (Tutorial
   - Busybox installed


For this to work you need a rooted android phone and you need busybox installed. Also you will need internet connection . please keep in mind that you are not installing metasploit on your android directly but rather you gonna install it on your Linux installation ( please check out last post on how to install Linux on your android) then install metasploit on it. 







pixel+ music podcast player
Pixel+

I have tried many applications to listen to music and I couldn't find any app that outperforms this app I'm going to show you. This app is called pixel music podcast player, and it has two versions. A free limited version and paid full version which I recommend to get all features.

   what made me love this app is that it combines many features that you would other way find on different seperate applications. But with this app you can listen to music and listen to online radio. You can also listen to podcasts and watch videos all in the same app without the need to install different apps .








It is about two months now that I have found out about this app and it really made my life easier and made my phone run smoother because I only use one application for many multimedia purposes (music, radio,podcasts and videos) instead of downloading an app for podcasts and radio and video now I can come by and do all these things in the same app.


 The app is under heavy development and it is always being updated. so the possibility of adding more features and improvements is very high, and in the near future you may say new features and new things that are supported by this app.
What I don't understand yet is how a full featured app like this gets only 1,000 - 5,000 Installs. But I'm indeed expecting this app to get more installs once people hear of it
 I have made a video on YouTube where I did the a quick review about this application















The developper review of the app


✮ MUSIC PLAYER ✮
Browse your local music library with the powerful music player. Intuitive UI and many features.
Browse your music files by Folder view

✮ RADIO PLAYER ✮
Listen to your favorite online radio stations and search them by genre or keyword.
Don't you know what to listen ? No problem. Pixel will suggest you radio stations in line with your favorite genres/artists

✮ PODCAST PLAYER ✮
Search Podcasts or explore Podcast by categories. Subscribe to your favorite Podcast; watch or listen to the entire list of episodes.
Receive notification when your favorite podcasts publish a new episode.

✮ VIDEO PLAYER ✮
Browse your local video and search for Podcast video episodes

Pixel includes a powerful Equalizer to improve your music experience
User Interface is clean and intuitive, it follows strictly the Material Design guidelines

♫ Main Features ♫
• Built-in 5 bands Equalizer, Bass Boost, 3D Sound. Many equalizer presets. External Equalizer supported (System, Viper, Cyanogen)
• Material Design with 3 different Themes : Light, Black and Dark Grey. 
• Customize Player colors with all Material palette 
• Gapless playback
• Podcast, online Radio & Video playback
• Folder View
• Download Album Art (automatically or manual)
• Tap on album art to download Lyrics
• Drag & Sort the Queue
• Lockscreen & Notification control
• Headset button controls
• Edit metadata : Artist, Album, Track, Genre, Year
• Widget Support
• Customize Transition and Animations
• Sleep Timer
• Set any song as your default Ringtone
• Many customizations
• Music scrobbling (last.fm support)

Mustafa N-b

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