Seminar on Android Programming and Security

Program

The Android Open Source Project. Philosophy, community, Google and the Open Handset Alliance.
Android framework: overview of the main components.
Android Applications.
- Lifecycle.
- Development tools.
Dalvik Virtual Machine
Application components
- Activity.
- Service.
- Intent.
- Content Provider.
- XML Files.
Native Security Mechanisms
- Sandboxing.
- Permissions.
Markets and Google Play.
Security Attacks.
- Trojanised applications.
- Rooting.
- Colluding Applications.
- Confused Deputy Attack.
Security Solutions.

Handouts

Developer Tools

All of the tools necessaries to develop Android applications are bundled in the Android Standard Development Kit (SDK), that can be downloaded from the Android Developer website. The SDK is available for Linux, Mac and Windows. It is highly reccomended to use Eclipse as development environment, thanks to its integration with the Android Development Tool (ADT) plugin. On the developer website it is possible to download a ready-to-go bundle package, with the SDK and Eclipse already configured. If you already have Eclipse for Java on your computer, you can download the SDK and the plugin separately. Here a short guide to get the bundle or the SDK and ADT separately.

Eclipse IDE for Java not installed:

Install Java. The Oracle JDK downloadable from here , or the Open JDK ( here some instructions to get it) will do.
Download and unzip the bundle from the Android Developer website .
Launch the downloaded Eclipse to create the workspace.

Eclipse IDE for Java already installed:

Download the SDK-only from here . Unzip the package.
Install the ADT plugin for Eclipse following the instructions reported here .