Five apps to help you clean up your Android device

Takeaway: Keeping your Android devices clean will help free up space, prevent slowdowns, and ensure that you have enough system resources for smooth operation. you can download all the listed apps below at android market(market.android.com)

The Android platform is growing exponentially. Whether you’re using it on a smartphone or a tablet (or even indirectly, with the Chrome OS), Android is an outstanding operating system. It offers the flexibility of Linux and the user-friendliness of iOS. But like any platform, it can get to the point where it requires cleaning up. My personal phone recently enjoyed a complete system reformatting. It had become so bogged down with files and apps (mostly from testing and reviewing) that I was noticing a significant slowdown on all levels.

But even if you don’t have the time or the inclination to perform a full system restore, you can do some regular upkeep to make sure your system is clean. Here are five tools to help you do jus that.

1: Startup Manager
Startup Manager will intelligently monitor and analyze all system startup entries and help you safely disable undesirable applications or resources from starting. It shows you exactly whatapplications and processes are configured to run during system startup or login. Disabling is as simple as unchecking an item on the entry list. Startup Manager also provides details on an entry, which helps if you’re not sure what should be enabled or disabled. If you want a particular application to start at login, simply enable it from the Startup Manger tool and you’ll be good to go.

2: 1-Click Cleaner 
1-Click Cleaner does exactly what the name says. With a single click, you can instantly rid your phone of cache files, SMS, browsing history, calling records, and SD card files. Although you might not realize it, that precious space being used by temporary files can really put a hit on your system performance. Keeping temp files out of your system will go a long way toward keep your device running smoothly and responsively. 1-Click Cleaner is probably one of the easiest tools to use for cleaning up temp files on the Android platform. You can put an icon on the home screen or even set up 1-Click Cleaner to clean upon shaking the phone.

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A Guide for Those New to Android on Trusted Apps & Avoid Viruses

Intro
This guide aims to provide the basic info most people want to know about the security of their phones, and when to download, and when not to download applications from the Android Market.

It's my hope that this will help people make more informed decisions and be safe about their application usage, privacy, and data. It is my firm belief that Android is a fundamentally safe platform. With some common sense, diligence, and the right knowledge of the potential threats, users can rest assured and enjoy their devices more thoroughly.

While most of these tips will apply to any of the new app stores and markets now available for Android, this guide is written specifically for Google's original Android Market.

Also, while this guide attempts to be as comprehensive as possible, there may be errors or misjudgments, or just opinions that are subjective. Please read it with the idea in mind that it's just a part of the information you may want to consider when downloading your apps.

Deciding what to download is ultimately up to you, and that's the most important thing you'll need to remember.

Background about Android The first thing when understanding the security of your phone is to know a little bit about what makes it tick. Android is a 'lite' version of Linux with most applications that you download from the market written in Java.
This is important to know because it means Android is very unlikely to ever get a 'virus' in the traditional sense. Part of the reason is because Linux is a fairly secure operating system that protects various parts of itself from other parts. This is similar to how Windows has admin accounts and limited user accounts. Because of this protection, applications downloaded from the market do not have access to anything by default. You must grant them permission for each activity they want to perform when they are installed. This is a very important point which we will address a bit later. Also due to some bad choices by Google, there are a few exceptions to this rule that we'll talk about in the permissions section.

Nevertheless, while Android is very unlikely to get a 'virus', that does not mean you are completely safe from 'malware', 'spyware', or other harmful types of programs.

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8 Free Android Antivirus Apps

Google’s Android is fast becoming the most popular mobile OS in the world. The popularity of the Android OS attracts the attention of malware writers and virus engineers.
Every week we hear reports about fake Android apps. Just a few days after the launch of the Instagram Android App, cybercriminals have created fake versions with the purpose of earning money from unsuspecting users.
Keep malware off your Android phone using one of these 8 free android antivirus apps.

1. Norton Antivirus & Security

Norton™ Mobile Security Lite protects your mobile device against loss, theft and malware. Norton lends its anti-malware, anti virus, and security expertise to mobile. Your life and your important Stuff is on your phone. Keep it safe with Norton™ Mobile Security Lite for Android.

2. Mobile Security & Antivirus

Enjoy your device. We keep it safe. Protect your phone from viruses and save your battery life with Bitdefender Mobile Security and Antivirus. Because your smartphone is no good if you can’t use it.

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Google’s Nexus 7 Tablet is the Best Way to Play Android Games

Your average Android phone is nice and portable, but the display sure is tiny. A full-sized Tegra tablet is a joy to work with, but a larger profile doesn't make for hours of comfortable gaming. With its seven inch 1280x800 HD display, Google's new mid-sized Tegra tablet is just the right size for hours of on-the-go gaming.

But what of Amazon's Kindle Fire, or Barnes & Noble's Nook? While both fall into the same size category and both are powered by Android, the Google Nexus 7 makes them look like children's toys.

Google has given the likes of Amazon and Barnes & Noble enough time to mutilate its operating system into something nigh-unrecognizable. It's time to show them how it's done, and the Nexus 7 does just that.

Customers flocked to the Nook and the Fire, seeking the safety of established brands to ease their entry into the world of tablet computing. The devices were loaded with restrictive front-end interfaces meant to keep new users away from the more complicated aspects of Android. Both feature a shop with a limited selection of games and apps, places to purchase books and videos; they're both very user-friendly.

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Solutions to Common Android Wi-Fi Problems

Friends of mine who use an Android come over to me usually with problems related to their devices’ Wi-Fi connectivity. Moreover, it’s not a single isolated issue. There are all kinds of them they bring up.

I usually fix their problem after few troubleshoots but today while I was fixing a problem on my device, I realized that it could happen to any one — even to my readers on Guiding Tech. Hence we are going to discuss four of the most common Android Wi-Fi problems and see the probable causes and solutions to them.


Android Cannot Scan a Wi-Fi Network

Reason
There may be two reasons as to why your Android cannot scan a network automatically. The first reason may be that the network you are trying to connect to could be Ad-Hoc in nature. As most of the Android phones are not configured to work on Ad-Hoc networks but on access points, they don’t scan them.
The second reason may be that the Wi-Fi network you are trying to connect to might be hidden for security reasons.

Solution
By default, Android does not support Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi network but many developers patch the wpa_supplicant file on Android in order for them to work. If you do a quick Google search you will be able to find if there’s a fix available for your device but the fix can only be performed on a rooted phone. Furthermore, don’t forget to back up your original wpa_supplicant file if at all your phones goes into foreclose or boot loops.

If the problem is with the hidden network, you can try to add the network manually. In Android Wi-Fi settings open menu and tap to add a network manually. You must enter the correct SSID and authentication type and password in order to connect to the network. If both the credentials are correct, the Android phone will be able to connect to the network.

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The Best Android Tablet Apps

With the Nexus 7 now available, Android tablets are no longer poor iPad copycats. They're real, banging for your buck affordable and most importantly, really good. But to make it even better, you'll need to get some apps. Here are the best Android tablet apps.

A list of popular social apps          

Plume: Sadly, the official Twitter app isn't exactly tablet friendly. Luckily, Plume, a highly customizable Twitter app, works well enough on Android tablets so you won't miss Twitter on your Android tablet.




Friendcaster: Friendcaster for Facebook is a much better tablet app than the official Facebook app, as it gives you real time Facebook notifications and includes all your most-used Facebook features like status updates, photos, messages, events, groups, checkins and more.



IM+: Optimized for tablets, IM+ is an IM app that lets you chat with your friends on AIM, Google Talk, Skype, MSN, Yahoo, Facebook chat and others. Free.

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Take A Glance Of The Android Version History

Many android phone users may wonder that why android take dessert as the code for its system versions. This way to name the android system version starts by Android 1.5. The size of dessert which stand for each android version get larger, and order by the 26 words:Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread,Ice cream sandwich, Honeycomb.

Android 1.1 release time: April, 2009

Android 1.5 Cupcake release time:September, 2009

Android 1.6 Donut release time: 26, October, 2009

Android 2.1 Eclair

Android 2.1 Eclair

Android 2.1: Another main version update by an amazing speed in 26, October, 2009. It updates to Android 2.1 “Eclair.” The main character of Android 2.1:Enhance the speed of the hardware, More screens and resolution selection, User interface improved support for Exchange, Activity substantially improved wallpaper, virtual Bluetooth keyboard and Google map.

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