Book Image

Android Application Security Essentials

By : Pragati Rai
Book Image

Android Application Security Essentials

By: Pragati Rai

Overview of this book

In today's techno-savvy world, more and more parts of our lives are going digital, and all this information is accessible anytime and anywhere using mobile devices. It is of the utmost importance that you understand and implement security in your apps that will reduce the likelihood of hazards that will wreck your users' experience. "Android Application Security Essentials" takes a deep look into Android security from kernel to the application level, with practical hands-on examples, illustrations, and everyday use cases. This book will show you how to overcome the challenge of getting the security of your applications right. "Android Application Security Essentials" will show you how to secure your Android applications and data. It will equip you with tricks and tips that will come in handy as you develop your applications.We will start by learning the overall security architecture of the Android stack. Securing components with permissions, defining security in a manifest file, cryptographic algorithms and protocols on the Android stack, secure storage, security focused testing, and protecting enterprise data on your device is then also discussed in detail. You will also learn how to be security-aware when integrating newer technologies like NFC and mobile payments into your Android applications. At the end of this book, you will understand Android security at the system level all the way to the nitty-gritty details of application security for securing your Android applications.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Android Application Security Essentials
Credits
Foreword
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Database


A database is the best option to store structured data. Android provides support for SQLite using the android.database.sqlite package. This database is a part of the Android stack and the system administers the database. Using SQLite for mobile operating systems is a prudent choice as it is small and requires no setup or administration. And it is free!

Once created, the database files are sandboxed with the application and are stored in the /data/data/<application-path>/databases/ directory. This private database will be accessible to all the components of the application but not outside the application.

The following code snippet shows how to create a database that resides on the internal memory. The class will extend the SQLiteOpenHelper class and uses the SQL (Structured Query Language) CREATE_TABLE clause. The table stores a list of books that the user marks as a wish list. There are two columns in our table wishlist, a column ID that auto increments and the name of the...