Embed 3th party activity in my Activity - android

I'm using the following code to get the activity of a 3th party application and to put it in my activity:
LocalActivityManager mgr = getLocalActivityManager();
Intent i = new Intent(this, SomeActivity.class);
Window w = mgr.startActivity("unique_per_activity_string", i);
View wd = w != null ? w.getDecorView() : null;
if(wd != null) {
mSomeContainer.addView(wd);
}
Copyright Synic: android: using ActivityGroup to embed activities
However, due Security Restrictions, I'm receiving the following error:
java.lang.SecurityException: Requesting code from com.google.android.youtube (with uid 10065) to be run in process com.xxx.xxx (with uid 10144). (It is possible to show your own activity with your own SharedUID from your own application.)
Now i'm wondering if there is any way I can avoid this. By using rooted devices(?), bug in Android OS, or anything else. If I can get it to work by rooting my device, how would i achieve it? (not the rooting ofc)

I'm using the following code to get the activity of a 3th party application and to put it in my activity
That is not supported, sorry.
Now i'm wondering if there is any way I can avoid this.
You are welcome to grab the source code to Android, modify it to suit, put your altered OS into your own modded ROM, and install that ROM mod on whatever devices you are able to.

Related

How to detect process foreground for Android O

On our application there's a service that is normally started during Application.OnCreate (directly calling context.startService) and also later on via AlarmManager (refactor is in progress to migrate some of its work to JobScheduler).
Our application also have a BroadcastReceiver that gets launched with its direct intent.
Given the new limitations in Android Oreo (https://developer.android.com/about/versions/oreo/android-8.0-changes.html) we're having an issue as follows:
app/process is in background/dead
BroadcastReceiver gets fired by the OS
Application.onCreate() executes before the BroadcastReceiver
Application.onCreate() code tries to run the Service
this leads to crash with "IllegalStateException: Not allowed to start service Intent".
I'm aware of the new recommended ways of launching a Service as answered by CommonsWare here https://stackoverflow.com/a/44505719/906362, but for this specific case, I simply want to have if(process in foreground) { startService }. I'm currently using the following method and it seems to work:
#TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP)
private static boolean isProcessInForeground_V21(Context context) {
ActivityManager am = (ActivityManager) context.getSystemService(ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
List<ActivityManager.AppTask> tasks = am.getAppTasks();
return tasks.size() > 0;
}
But I can't find the exact checks Android Oreo is doing (I got as far as here https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base/+/master/core/java/android/app/ContextImpl.java on the startServiceCommon method, but from there requireForeground flag seems to go to some native implementation)
So my question:
For the specific purpose of Android Oreo new limitations, how to check if my process is foreground before calling startService?
To continue your investigation: (TL;DR: see between horizontal lines at the bottom)
Disclaimer, I don't know too much about Android, I just like digging in the source code.
Note: you can also navigate the code in Android Studio if you jump to file instead of class:
or searching for text in Project and Libraries.
IActivityManager is defined by AIDL, that's why there are no sources for it:
https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base/+/refs/heads/master/core/java/android/app/IActivityManager.aidl#145
Based on how AIDL needs to be implemented I found that ActivityManagerService extends IActivityManager.Stub (God bless Google indexing).
Note I also found this, which might be an interesting read if you're really interested how things work internally.
https://programmer.group/android-9.0-source-app-startup-process.html
ActivityManagerService sources reveal that in Oreo startService is forwarded to ActiveServices which is located in the same package.
Assuming we're looking for an exception like this:
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Not allowed to start service Intent {...}: app is in background uid UidRecord{af72e61 u0a229 CAC bg:+3m52s273ms idle procs:1 seq(0,0,0)}
we have to continue down the rabbit hole: requireForeground gets assigned to fgRequired parameter and the message is here. The condition to allow this depends on the start mode returned by ActivityManagerService.getAppStartModeLocked(packageTargetSdk = 26 or greater, disabledOnly = false, forcedStandby = false).
There are 4 start modes:
APP_START_MODE_NORMAL (needs to be different than this, i.e. !=)
APP_START_MODE_DELAYED (this is ok, i.e. return null)
APP_START_MODE_DELAYED_RIGID
APP_START_MODE_DISABLED
Ephemeral apps will immediately return APP_START_MODE_DISABLED, but assuming this is a normal app, we end up in appServicesRestrictedInBackgroundLocked.
Note: this is where some of the whitelist mentioned in https://stackoverflow.com/a/46445436/253468 is decided.
Since all branches but last return APP_START_MODE_NORMAL, this redirects to appRestrictedInBackgroundLocked where we find our most likely suspect:
int appRestrictedInBackgroundLocked(int uid, String packageName, int packageTargetSdk) {
// Apps that target O+ are always subject to background check
if (packageTargetSdk >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
return ActivityManager.APP_START_MODE_DELAYED_RIGID;
}
So the reason for denial is simply targeting O. I think the final answer to your question of how the OS decides if your app is foreground or background is this condition in getAppStartModeLocked
UidRecord uidRec = mActiveUids.get(uid);
if (uidRec == null || alwaysRestrict || uidRec.idle) {
My guess is that a missing record means it's not running (but then how is it starting a service?!), and idle means it's backgrounded. Notice that in my exception message the UidRecord is saying that it's idle and has been backgrounded for 3m52s.
I peeked into your getAppTasks and it's based on TaskRecord.effectiveUid, so I'm guessing that's quite close to listing UidRecords for your app.
Not sure if this helps, but I'll post it anyway, so if anyone wants to investigate more, they have more info.

ActivityNotFoundException for intent android.settings.NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS

I'm trying to open settings on NFC Tap & Pay page with this piece of code:
startActivity(new Intent(Settings.ACTION_NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS));
While testing on LG Nexus 5X with Android 7.1.2 I have received this crash:
android.content.ActivityNotFoundException:
No Activity found to handle Intent { act=android.settings.NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS }
at android.app.Instrumentation.checkStartActivityResult(Instrumentation.java:1809)
at android.app.Instrumentation.execStartActivity(Instrumentation.java:1523)
at android.app.Activity.startActivityForResult(Activity.java:4228)
at android.support.v4.app.BaseFragmentActivityJB.startActivityForResult(SourceFile:50)
at android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity.startActivityForResult(SourceFile:79)
at android.app.Activity.startActivityForResult(Activity.java:4186)
at android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity.startActivityForResult(SourceFile:859)
at android.app.Activity.startActivity(Activity.java:4525)
at android.app.Activity.startActivity(Activity.java:4493)
at ...
Well, this crash can be handled easilly with try-catch but what is wierd, when I open this NFC settings manually, code works like a charm - no crash. Why? Does anyone have an explanation for this behavior?
In documentation[1] is written this:
In some cases, a matching Activity may not exist, so ensure you
safeguard against this.
Is it possible that they meant this sentence like "you have to open settings manually, then it works fine"?
[1] https://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/Settings.html#ACTION_NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS
From: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/Settings.html#ACTION_NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS
ACTION_NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS
added in API level 19
String ACTION_NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS
Activity Action:
Show NFC Tap & Pay settings
This shows UI that allows the user to configure Tap&Pay settings.
In some cases, a matching Activity may not exist, so ensure you safeguard against this.
Input: Nothing
Output: Nothing
Constant Value: "android.settings.NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS"
ACTION_NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS is not supported by your device or can at least not be handled.
Update 1
Since your minAPILevel is 19, the action should be supported by the android RT. However, it is possible, that the link between the action and the NFC settings-menu, ALTHOUGH the menu exists, is not or can not be established.
Try to use Settings.ACTION_NFC_SETTINGS as the action and see if it starts.
If so, I'd expect an implementation issue.
To guard against the exceptions, I'd recommend using:
PackageManager packageManager = getActivity().getPackageManager();
if (intent.resolveActivity(packageManager) != null) {
startActivity(<your intent>);
} else {
Log.d(TAG, "No application available to handle requested action.");
}
See: How to check if an intent can be handled from some activity? for credit and reference.

List of android applications that connect to internet

I want to implement a listview showing android applications with their internet usage. Fir this, first i have to list all the apps, i have done this using PackageManager, like this:
packageManager = getPackageManager();
List<PackageInfo> packageList = packageManager
.getInstalledPackages(PackageManager.GET_META_DATA);
apkList = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.applist);
apkList.setAdapter(new ApkAdapter(this, packageList, packageManager));
But this code lists all system apps as well like : Android Sytem, Calculator,Calender, Status Bar, Live Wallpapers etc. which doesnt look appropriate. I tried to filter system apps using:
/*To filter out System apps*/
for(PackageInfo pi : packageList) {
boolean b = isSystemPackage(pi);
if(!b) {
packageList1.add(pi);
}
}
But then the code displays only installed apps, like whatsapp, tango, foursquare etc. It does not show apps like gmail, facebook, browser,maps.
Can anybody suggest how should i write the code that only displays list of application that actually use the internet. Thanks in advance!
I want to implement a listview showing android applications with their
internet usage.
An anybody suggest how should i write the code that only displays list
of application that actually use the internet
One solution (maybe only one that works best and came to my head) is to use TrafficStats class that calculating data (TCP, UDP) transferred through network. Exactly in your case, you need to get data for each UID (each application has own UID).
All what you need to know if application trasfered more that zero bytes through network and when you know that, you can tell that "this application uses network".
Here is pseudo-code you could use:
List<Application> collection = new ArrayList<Application>();
Application app = null; // some custom object is good approach
PackageManager pm = getActivity().getPackageManager();
for (ApplicationInfo info: pm.getInstalledApplications(
PackageManager.GET_META_DATA)) {
// received data by application
long downloaded = TrafficStats.getUidRxBytes(info.uid);
// transmitted data by application
long uploaded = TrafficStats.getUidTxBytes(info.uid);
// filter system applications only
if ((info.flags & ApplicationInfo.FLAG_SYSTEM) != 0) {
// check if application has network usage
if (downloaded > 0 || uploaded > 0) {
// it's application you want
}
}
// non-system application
else {
if (downloaded > 0 || uploaded > 0) {
// it's application you want
}
}
}
It's important to say that TrafficStats is available from API 8 and also Before JELLY_BEAN_MR2, this may return unsupported on devices where statistics aren't available. I used this approach and never had a problems.
Note: Also I want to mention that maybe there are another possible approach(es) for example reading from some system files but this is (at least for me) hardcoded approach and i don't recommend to use it (also in various devices files can be on different places, have different content and different filename).
I hope it will help you solve your problem.
Application use internet will need Internet Permission
You can filter out those app by checked PackageInfo.permission

Embed zxing barcode scanner to the activity

I'm writing android application and my client requires a barcode scanner in it. They are really specific about it, so the layout they want is like this:
If a qr code found - it jumps to another window automatically. If manual pressed - you are asked to type manually and proceed with the rest of the app.
So basically I could embed zxing code to my app and add it to the activity but I don't want that and would like to have it as a separate app.
What I have at the moment is a separate activity called like this:
IntentIntegrator integrator = new IntentIntegrator(this);
integrator.initiateScan();
I also tried this:
IntentIntegrator intentIntegrator = new IntentIntegrator(this);
Intent i = intentIntegrator.initiateCustomScan();
LocalActivityManager mgr = getLocalActivityManager();
Window w = mgr.startActivity("unique_per_activity_string", i);
View wd = w != null ? w.getDecorView() : null;
if(wd != null) {
scanButton.addView(wd);
}
But then I get java.lang.SecurityException:
03-19 12:22:55.890: E/AndroidRuntime(29394): java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{com.menucard.barcode.scan/com.barcode.scan.ScanActivity}: java.lang.SecurityException: Requesting code from com.google.zxing.client.android (with uid 10139) to be run in process com.menucard.barcode.scan (with uid 10169)
Maybe someone has an idea how to add a separate app into my activity? Or other ways to accomplish this?
You can't embed an external app in another app via Intent unfortunately. The external app here needs to take over the whole screen, and is in landscape mode, for starters.
You should write your own app, but can reuse parts of Barcode Scanner in your app so that it's not entirely from scratch. Just please don't copy the AndroidManifest.xml file. I think it will also be clearly not confused with Barcode Scanner given the different UI. All that remains is to make sure you follow the terms of the Apache License (easy).
#MindaugasSvirskas, your last comment is exactly what I was about to post now:-) I have faced the same problem in the past, in several apps, and believe me, just make use of Intents, that's the way the whole Android system is designed, favouring intercommunication between apps. iOS programmers can easily integrate the scanning Zxing layout in their own layouts, but we are supposed to make use of intents, and I agree.

Detect if an android app is running on background

I want to check if my app is running on a background mode.
The problem is that i have many activities(list activities, map activities etc.). Initially I have tried in the life cycle's resume and pause(or the onUserLeaveHint) methods to set a static boolean as true or false and work with this way. But this obviously can't work because when I move from one activity to another, the previous one get paused.
Also, I've read here on stackoverflow that the getRunningTasks() should be used only for debugging purposes. I did a huge research but I can't find a solution. All I want to do is to be able to detect if a the app is running on a background. Can anyone propose me a way, or express any thought on how can I do that?
You can try the same mechanism (a boolean attribute) but on application side rather than activity side. Create a class which extends Application, declare it in the manifest file under <application android:name=YourClassApp>.
EDIT: I assume you know that activities aren't intended for background processing, if not you should take a look at the Services.
I don't know if this will help but you can use
getApplicaton().registerActivityLifecycleCallbacks(yourClass);
To get a birds eye view of how your activities are displayed in the FG. (For older s/w you can use this)
If your Application has a Service you could have a static get/set which accesses a static variable. Do not do this in Activities though, it causes mem leaks.
But realistically speaking there is no tidy way of tracking if your application is running or not.
I had the same problemen when overwriting the Firebase push messaging default behavior (show notifications only when in the background) I checked how Firebase did this by looking in the .class file com.google.firebase.messaging.zzb:53 (firebase-messaging:19.0.1) which appears to us getRunningAppProcesses. Mind you FireBase is created by Google them self. So I'm assuming it's pretty save to use. Cleaned up version:
List<ActivityManager.RunningAppProcessInfo> runningApps;
boolean isInForeground =false;
if ((runningApps = ((ActivityManager)this.getApplication().getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE)).getRunningAppProcesses()) != null) {
Iterator runningApp = runningApps.iterator();
int myPid = Process.myPid();
while(runningApp.hasNext()) {
ActivityManager.RunningAppProcessInfo processInfo;
if ((processInfo = (ActivityManager.RunningAppProcessInfo)runningApp.next()).pid == myPid) {
isInForeground = processInfo.importance == 100;
break;
}
}
}

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