Hi!
I noticed that free games like Stand O'Food 2 and Contract Killer : Zombies are running background ALL THE TIME. Even after a reboot of the phone, even after a force close with a task killer. They come back again, and again, after a few second only. So, are they some kind of spyware?
I find this very annoying, I can't stop them unless I uninstall them.
Could anybody tell me what they are doing background and how to stop them doing this without uninstalling them?
Thanks!
Tuc
Try using "autostats" from market. Disable it from auto starting.
Accidentally sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA Premium
Nice, it works like a charm! Thanks
But here is the thing: Contract Killer : Zombies is programmed to start:
- After Sartup
- Locale changed
- Date changed
- Screen on
- Shutdown
This is insane! Why a game need to start all the time for any reason, if it is not a spyware....?
Tuc
Tugdu77 said:
This is insane! Why a game need to start all the time for any reason, if it is not a spyware....?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You gave it permission to. If you check the permissions for it, under "system tools" it says:
System tools
automatically start at boot
Allows an application to have itself started as soon as the system has finished booting. This can make it take longer to start the device and allow the application to slow down the overall device by always running.
Quite a strange permission for an app which seems not to need it. Also, on the market you have to click "Show all" for you to be able to see that permission. Pretty strange...
Moreover, most of the Android users don't use a task manager so they don't even notice all those apps running background...
Since I use the Autostarts app to block all useless apps running background, my phone has much more available ressources and starts faster.
Everytime I get a new phone, I'll just disable everything after root. But maps.apk is the most useless ever process.
Accidentally sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA Premium
melvinchng said:
Try using "autostats" from market. Disable it from auto starting.
Accidentally sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you mean 'autostarts? i just want to make sure i get the right app. i wasnt able to find 'autostats'.
thanks!
Related
I have some apps that I don't want to remove from my Streak but I don't want them to start up on their own. Examples are Yahoo Messenger and Yahoo Mail. There are others, too. I keep them on the Streak as backups (since I sometimes have problems connecting via IM+ or the regular e-mail app). Therefore I only want them to start up when I open them and stay closed after I have killed them. Is that possible?
I currently use Droid Wall to deny them data access when I don't want to use them but they still run in the background eating up memory and sucking the life out of my battery.
Dont know of anything other than a task killer. Can set the security to your desired level, and also to kill everything when the screen turns off, and also generate an ignore list which is essential for some apps like alarm clock....if you want to get up for work on time. They're a little controversial but I find a notable difference in battery life without it.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
brunswick000 said:
Dont know of anything other than a task killer. Can set the security to your desired level, and also to kill everything when the screen turns off, and also generate an ignore list which is essential for some apps like alarm clock....if you want to get up for work on time. They're a little controversial but I find a notable difference in battery life without it.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a task killer which I use manually. However, when I kill those apps they come right back up only seconds after that. Can't keep those buggers down. And with Auto Kill they are just constantly being killed again and again.
i used to use an app called "autostart(s)" which did the job really well plus it offers loads of options for apps starting at boot and permissions. titanium lets you freeze apps but you need to defrost them before using again.
tina333 said:
lets you freeze apps but you need to defrost them before using again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you explain this?
tina333 said:
i used to use an app called "autostart(s)" which did the job really well plus it offers loads of options for apps starting at boot and permissions. titanium lets you freeze apps but you need to defrost them before using again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion -- I am currently trying out Autostart Kill which seems to work reasonably well, except that some apps are not found by the program (an example is Amazon MP3) and Dell Sync comes up after connecting via USB even though I set it to disabled.
By Titanium I suppose you mean Titanium Backup, but I cannot find a "freeze" (or similar) option, at least not in the free version I am using
Click the app in the list - you will have there freeze option.
It is available in the paid version only
Thanks for all the help, guys.
Finally located that Autostarts app in the market --- had to set market enabler to Verizon to find it. Trying it right now, and it seems to work pretty well.
I hope they're working for you?
tina333 said:
I hope they're working for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but yesterday I had 3 mysterious auto reboots. Since I had just installed several apps I am not sure which one is the culprit. I have removed some of the others. Now I will have to see what happens today.
i tried autostarts but when the streak goes standby (black screen) it wont come alive anymore and i have to pull the battery out to reboot.... uninstalled
00roberto00 said:
i tried autostarts but when the streak goes standby (black screen) it wont come alive anymore and i have to pull the battery out to reboot.... uninstalled
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is strange, works fine for me now. I am on the official 2.2 315 at the moment.
ok, i am on the DJ-Steve 1.4.6
startup manager works for me on "official" 2.2
tina333 said:
i used to use an app called "autostart(s)" which did the job really well plus it offers loads of options for apps starting at boot and permissions. titanium lets you freeze apps but you need to defrost them before using again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! Autostarts is what I want~
Try system tuner
System tuner has free version in market. Will perform many functions including "freeze" and then you can "boil" app when it is needed. Also can set which apps run (or don't) at startup.
hey bro, u can use any autostart killer like autostarts (red car), or u can use autostart disabler inside romtoolbox
it work 100%
I couldn't find anything on this topic so I had to create a new 1 I'm sorry if I repeated.
There are always so many applications running in the background they take ram too.
Is it normal?
Has anyone found a solution if this is a problem?
What makes them running in fact what makes them start in the first place thanks in advance
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
use task killers, but AFAIK there is no need for that since android automatically kills unused apps.
just go to settings-application-running services and close the 1 u want to
simple
Thanks
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
I would suggest not using a task killer cause they suck but using android assistant its really cool and works well for a lot of things including killing tasks but more important use startup Auditor you can look up programs that are always running and in background and select to kill them at start up as well as keep them killed you can still open and use the apps it just keeps them from opening by them selves
divyanshu308 said:
I couldn't find anything on this topic so I had to create a new 1 I'm sorry if I repeated.
There are always so many applications running in the background they take ram too.
Is it normal?
Has anyone found a solution if this is a problem?
What makes them running in fact what makes them start in the first place thanks in advance
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try smart bar.
I use "autorun manager" to control which stuff works at startup.
i would suggest googling for android task killers and reading the lifehacker article about them, it is pretty well explained (sorry but I can't post links just yet)
Autorun manager isn't a task killer,so you can use it only for monitoring startup apps. This is a good alternative.
Hi every one
I downloaded the applications they are good but I didn't really got my answer.
The thing is that even when I turn the things off even after terminating the threads after a while they get started on their own why does this happens?
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
It sounds like you are using an app that is turning something back on. i.e. some app that uses google maps so that service is turned back on.
Zyzomys said:
It sounds like you are using an app that is turning something back on. i.e. some app that uses google maps so that service is turned back on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i guess i'm obviously not sure.
right now there are atleAST 10 to 15 apps running in background.
i didnt even clicked them by any chance.
they all are consuming ram.
You could always use Titanium Backup and freeze Maps. I do this as soon as I am done with Maps - that way it is not able to start up again.
Zyzomys said:
You could always use Titanium Backup and freeze Maps. I do this as soon as I am done with Maps - that way it is not able to start up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know any application that provides freezing for free;-)???
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
When I open some Apps, 10 other Apps open along with it. Is rooting the phone the only way to have access to the means to stop this?
Thanks,
-Adam
Don't pay so much attention. In general, those applications don't use your cpu and battery. Android has its own task manager system.
Yeah dis is even happening to me,the reason is so simple like one app needs the other apps so they are even opening up.
Devil_Dude said:
Yeah dis is even happening to me,the reason is so simple like one app needs the other apps so they are even opening up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what the appl you using which is opening others appl can u name the apps
if you kill apps, they will probably get restarted automatically and left in the background. If the apps are working correctly, this is not a problem, as a well coded app does not use CPU/battery when in the background.
Actually, I just quit using a task manager to kill tasks (I just let Android kill them as necessary) and I have no problems (phone is not slower, power drain is not higher).
Maybe the thing is that after you stop a task in a task manager it does not update immediately and you don't see the task being restarted, and when you go into the task manager after running some app just then you see the apps restarted.
Also, some apps are very generic (maps) and used by other apps, and some apps need to be running all the time (latitude, mail client, widgets, etc.) and killing them would make them not work properly (widgets no longer updating, not getting new emails, etc.).
My advice is to leave the apps running if you are not very sure of what you are doing, because the OS will eventually kill unnecessary apps, and until then they should not use any CPU or battery.
Only thing is to stay away from badly written apps, the ones that use too much CPU even when in the background or when phone is sleeping. You should probably wait for a night after installing a new app to see if you have higher drain. If so, just uninstall and search for an alternative.
shhbz said:
what the appl you using which is opening others appl can u name the apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like any Google app by searching is opening. Google search and by using voice search its opening voice search app and so on.
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
Hi,
what does it mean technically if an app is "freezed"? Is the APK moved to another location, or are the unix access rights altered, or is a reference to the app deleted from some kind of "registry" of the Android system, or what else? Can it be done manually by a file manager?
Thanks,
Stefan
It can be done using the purchased version of Titanium Backup and probably a few other apps. It basically renders the app inactive without uninstalling it. Helpful for bloatware that runs in the background but you can't decide if you want to delete it or not.
Thanks, but this was not my question...
lowandbehold said:
It can be done using the purchased version of Titanium Backup and probably a few other apps. It basically renders the app inactive without uninstalling it. Helpful for bloatware that runs in the background but you can't decide if you want to delete it or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know, but what does it do exactly on file system level? Doesn't anybody know?
stbi said:
Yes, I know, but what does it do exactly on file system level? Doesn't anybody know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most freezing apps simply rename the app to be frozen with an extension, like in the case of Bloat Freezer (IMHO the best one) the frozen app gets a .bzw extension. It remains in place but of course cannot be executed. The nice part is that if you run into an issue you can just rename the app back to what it was (assuming that you have root).
It works!
docfreed said:
Most freezing apps simply rename the app to be frozen with an extension, like in the case of Bloat Freezer (IMHO the best one) the frozen app gets a .bzw extension. It remains in place but of course cannot be executed. The nice part is that if you run into an issue you can just rename the app back to what it was (assuming that you have root).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, so simple - thanks! So it can be done with any file manager.
I've just successfully frozen the preinstalled "LGWorld.apk" by renaming it to "LGWorld.apk.bak". As soon as I had done this, a message popped up, saying "Deinstalled", and the icon disappeared from the app drawer, and also the update for "LG World" vanished from the Market app.
Hmm.. freezing doesn't mean rename. It is being remove from system. If.you rename yourself, the apps may failed to work.
Accidentally sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA Premium
Freezing the app works via decreasing the temperature of the app to roughly 50 Kelvin. At this point the the app's molecular structure becomes a super condensed crystal lattice. Due to the nature of the crystal lattice, android treats the super dense app as non existent. Essentially the app is deleted from your system completely. However, think of it not as a permanent deletion but rather a reversible one. Should you chose to 'restore' the app, you can defrost the app. You could defrost the app using a microwave but I for one use TB Pro as it does a far better job.
lambstone said:
Freezing the app works via decreasing the temperature of the app to roughly 50 Kelvin. At this point the the app's molecular structure becomes a super condensed crystal lattice. Due to the nature of the crystal lattice, android treats the super dense app as non existent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha smart ass.
lambstone said:
Freezing the app works via decreasing the temperature of the app to roughly 50 Kelvin. At this point the the app's molecular structure becomes a super condensed crystal lattice. Due to the nature of the crystal lattice, android treats the super dense app as non existent. Essentially the app is deleted from your system completely. However, think of it not as a permanent deletion but rather a reversible one. Should you chose to 'restore' the app, you can defrost the app. You could defrost the app using a microwave but I for one use TB Pro as it does a far better job.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ha ha ha! that was hilarious man
Press THANKS
stbi said:
Hi,
what does it mean technically if an app is "freezed"? Is the APK moved to another location, or are the unix access rights altered, or is a reference to the app deleted from some kind of "registry" of the Android system, or what else? Can it be done manually by a file manager?
Thanks,
Stefan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press thanks if I helped
Source - How TO Geek
Manufacturers and carriers often load Android phones with their own apps. If you don’t use them, they just clutter your system and sometimes in the background, draining resources. Take control of your device and stop the bloatware.
We’ll be focusing on disabling – also known as “freezing” bloatware here. It’s a safer process than uninstalling the bloatware completely, and is also easier to accomplish with free apps.
Uninstalling vs. Freezing
Uninstalling an app is exactly what it sounds like – the app is entirely removed from your device. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to get many of these preinstalled apps from the Play Store if you ever need them again. Uninstalling some preinstalled apps may result in problems or instability, so you could run into problems.
It’s safer to “freeze” apps instead of uninstalling them. A frozen app is disabled completely – it won’t appear in your app drawer and it won’t automatically start in the background. A frozen app cannot run in any way until you “unfreeze” it. Freezing and unfreezing are instant processes, so it’s easy to undo your changes if you end up freezing a necessary app.
If you really must uninstall apps, you should freeze them first and wait a few days to ensure that your phone or tablet works properly without them.
You can’t uninstall or freeze preinstalled bloatware apps without root access and third-party app managers. Try and you’ll find the options grayed out in the standard Android interface.
klacenas said:
ha ha ha! that was hilarious man
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand and have frozen quite a few apps with TB Pro. My issue is there are shine pre-installed apps that I like to use, but when I run the task killer, they're always running. Is there a way I can fix them where they don't keep starting immediately after killing them, but still having them available when I want to use them?
donnebonn said:
I understand and have frozen quite a few apps with TB Pro. My issue is there are shine pre-installed apps that I like to use, but when I run the task killer, they're always running. Is there a way I can fix them where they don't keep starting immediately after killing them, but still having them available when I want to use them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can try greenify it will hibernate the apps and hence the app will be available for you any time
donnebonn said:
I understand and have frozen quite a few apps with TB Pro. My issue is there are shine pre-installed apps that I like to use, but when I run the task killer, they're always running. Is there a way I can fix them where they don't keep starting immediately after killing them, but still having them available when I want to use them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another app called greenify. Or using an autostart manager to prevent them from running without ykur intervention.
sangalaxy said:
you can try greenify it will hibernate the apps and hence the app will be available for you any time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx a bunch. I dwld and installed the grenify app and disabled them, however, when I run my task killer the gallery app is always running. I wanted to greenify it, but it's not showing up in the greenify app, even when I did a search for it, it just took me to my home screen. I clicked on the app and it just opened but I didn't see any options to greenify it. Any suggestions? Thx for ur help.
so at the end is freezing and renaming the same thing? no one cleared that up, i usually just rename to BAK and thats it, what does TItanium apart from renaming?
ok i answer myself, freezing is the same as going to app manager, and selecting DISABLE
or from a root terminal using:
pm disable {package_name} (e.g. # pm disable com.android.browser)
wich calls:
/system/bin/pm
wich in turn contains:
# Script to start "pm" on the device, which has a very rudimentary
# shell.
#
base=/system
export CLASSPATH=$base/framework/pm.jar
exec app_process $base/bin com.android.commands.pm.Pm "[email protected]"
what it does is set a flag for a component to some of different values:
COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DEFAULT
COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DISABLED
among others. (http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/pm/PackageManager.html)
where does it store this flag: I DONT KNOW
is this flag a value inside some manifest/ini file? : IDK
is this flag st in the file system? IDK
can someone show me the light?
edit: I DONT KNOW for sure but i think it stores it in : /data/system/packages.xml
that is generated by package manager taking info fro each app manifest. i hope i am right, but dont take my word as absolute truth since it was a quick google research lol
Renaming the apk file can result in unwanted behaviour... I learned by trial&error! I'm running MIUI 6 and wanted Google Play as default app store and not the MI Market. Renaming the apk file for the Mi Market gave me the result I wanted: launching Google Play whenever I clicked a link to a certain app. But that was until I rebooted the phone... it got stuck on the MI startup logo. After renaming the Mi Market apk file in twrp recovery, my phone booted again.
So might try freezing it to see if it will do the job properly.
Freezing Mi Market with AppFreezer worked like a charm!
el_jefe said:
Renaming the apk file can result in unwanted behaviour... I learned by trial&error! I'm running MIUI 6 and wanted Google Play as default app store and not the MI Market. Renaming the apk file for the Mi Market gave me the result I wanted: launching Google Play whenever I clicked a link to a certain app. But that was until I rebooted the phone... it got stuck on the MI startup logo. After renaming the Mi Market apk file in twrp recovery, my phone booted again.
So might try freezing it to see if it will do the job properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends what you mean by "renaming." Changing the extension from .apk to .apkold or .bak or something like that will harmlessly freeze the app since it's no longer seen as an apk by the system. Renaming the app itself is another thing entirely.
I renamed the extension to .noapk and Miui wouldn't boot anymore.
Good stuff
I've tried doing a lot of personal research before asking. I have watchdog and betterbatterystats. I found 2 apps chewing away at my battery. After using the app I always press back and then it pops up do you really want to exit and I select yes. However, I look at the processes and I will see it running in the background. Using stuff like advanced task killer (and a bunch of other killer apps) doesn't help, as soon as it kills it, the thing just spawns again. I had to force close it or sometimes reboot the phone. Is there any app that locks down these apps so it only allows process to run when the app is in the foreground and as soon as we leave it closes all aspect of that app? (I can't uninstall those 2 apps cause they are kinda essential; but by no means does it require any background process or need to be constantly running). So far it only runs in the background if I opened the app once, but if it starts to auto run I'm screwed.
Is there any app like the cydia backgrounder where I can set a whitelist or a blacklist that only lets the app run in the foreground and as soon as I press home it will stop all its process.
Autostarts in the market. It let's you see what apps start up under what conditions. I would assume you can just doable all conditions the apps can start up from and it would do as you describe.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
joshnichols189 said:
Autostarts in the market. It let's you see what apps start up under what conditions. I would assume you can just doable all conditions the apps can start up from and it would do as you describe.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have autostart doesn't work, ok I give you an example:
Groupon app. If you don't load it after a reboot it doesn't run, however as soon as you opened the app once. Theres like no way to close it.
Come-on... one of you guys must know how to close an app and prevent it from loading up after I leave the app. Isn't there anything like cydia backgrounder that I can set so apps are only allowed to load in the foreground and closes as soon as go back to the launcher???
Solution
The best solution to this is to install titanium backup. After that, create a widget in ur homescreen and select titanium backup widget (action). Then, select the action freeze/defrost/launch and after select the app ex. Facebook and create the widget. After, you will notice that the widget for the Facebook app has created to ur homescreen with a green locker. If u press on it, it will lock the app (freezed it actually) so it doesnt run. if you want to run the app, tap again on it and automatically will defrost it and launch it.
Hit thanks if i helped you
jcheong said:
I've tried doing a lot of personal research before asking. I have watchdog and betterbatterystats. I found 2 apps chewing away at my battery. After using the app I always press back and then it pops up do you really want to exit and I select yes. However, I look at the processes and I will see it running in the background. Using stuff like advanced task killer (and a bunch of other killer apps) doesn't help, as soon as it kills it, the thing just spawns again. I had to force close it or sometimes reboot the phone. Is there any app that locks down these apps so it only allows process to run when the app is in the foreground and as soon as we leave it closes all aspect of that app? (I can't uninstall those 2 apps cause they are kinda essential; but by no means does it require any background process or need to be constantly running). So far it only runs in the background if I opened the app once, but if it starts to auto run I'm screwed.
Is there any app like the cydia backgrounder where I can set a whitelist or a blacklist that only lets the app run in the foreground and as soon as I press home it will stop all its process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just want to add some info for a better understanding even if I understand what you meant.
1. A package showing in the process list after you chose "exit" is a sign for a service running. This is not necessary bad as there are many services doing nothing but waiting for events to process (of course some service do stuff in the background and it is good to look after those).
2. In Android there is no such concept as an app, there are activities (dialogs), and services and both have pretty complex life cycles (not just opened or closed) as you can see here
But back to your question: the right way to get rid of apps you don't want/need (also called bloatware in some cases) is to freeze them. One good tool for doing that is titanium backup.
chamonix said:
I just want to add some info for a better understanding even if I understand what you meant.
1. A package showing in the process list after you chose "exit" is a sign for a service running. This is not necessary bad as there are many services doing nothing but waiting for events to process (of course some service do stuff in the background and it is good to look after those).
2. In Android there is no such concept as an app, there are activities (dialogs), and services and both have pretty complex life cycles (not just opened or closed) as you can see here
But back to your question: the right way to get rid of apps you don't want/need (also called bloatware in some cases) is to freeze them. One good tool for doing that is titanium backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand the point of apps that show up and are 0% cpu usage like facebook etc. I was only using it as an example. There are plenty of other apps that do infact chew up cpu and battery after it is loaded for the first time and is unable to close the background processes (they are shown in the watchdog and betterbatterystats). So the only way is to freeze and unfreeze everytime I use these apps?