WP7 Root Tools will be like Super User of Android
Applications when developed for Windows Phone are certified and marked so it can access all the internal stuff using the Windows Phone API. Now since homebrew apps are done for testing majorly, though not really, they are not treated as trusted or certified to keep up with the security standards and your data to be safe.
Now if you really trust the app and want to use it on your phone with complete access, Heathcliff74 is coming out with some major improvement with its WP7 Root Tools in version 0.9. This app comes with policies set which will let you choose or mark the homebrew apps as trusted so they can make complete use of the Windows Phone Native API.
However Windows Phone over which this will be used needs to interop unlocked which sadly is being patched up with windows phone official updates. I hope he finds a way out for this.
For the Developers :
Yep. I will release a mini-SDK to get root access to the filesystem and registry. Basically the SDK is a managed wrapper to the native API. No hacks involved there. When the app that uses the SDK is deployed, you can use WP7 Root Tools to give it privileged / root access. But you can use your own native code too, if you like (use this guide). All native API’s can be used unrestricted. Normally you would get error 0x800704ec. With trusted access from WP7 Root Tools they will just work.
This tool will become like Super User App for Android where all applications which work on rooted phone prompts for root access via the super user app and users have clear options to turn it off.
How easy will it be use this App :
So now for users like you and me, this app will be like switcher where one can control which App to be set as trusted.
When I asked :
When an App Asks for Permission to be granted by the user ( Via your app ), Are the apps who ask for permission being forced to describe what they will access to the users ?”
Something like Location access warning being given by the WP Marketplace before some of the apps are installed.
Answer :
An app that uses my sdk still can’t do anything. Only if the user marks the app as “trusted” in WP7 Root Tools, the app will actually be given root access. I did this, so that the user of the device has control over the permissions (just like an interactive firewall), so that malware doesn’t get a chance to abuse those permissions.
I may add functionality to the SDK, to launch WP7 Root Tools with a request for higher privileges. And the user should then allow that explicitly. But then the app would still need to be restarted to get the actual permissions. So will not be exactly like an UAC prompt, which gives permissions and then continue the app.
The user always needs to give permission for an app.
So you are always safe on that and unless you manually ask for it, it will never happen>
On which Devices the App Works ?
- Samsung 1st generation
- Samsung 2nd generation
- LG
- HTC 1st generation with Mango v1 drivers
- HTC 1st generation with custom unlocked roms
