Rooting...

[sr2012]

Rooting Is Life. Titanium, TWRP Recovery, Nandroid, Change Fonts, and much, much more... ANDROID UNLEASHED.

 

[davey11]

The subject of rooting is very polarizing. Either you are pro root or steadfastly against.
If security is a concern, the superuser app will prompt you whenever an app tries to access the system.
For me, the big reason (among many, many others) is customizability. You think stock is customizable? Wait till you root, its gets insane what you can do.
We had a poll in the early gnex days about rooting, and convert after convert declared...."WHY DIDN'T I DO THIS SOONER?"
I understand stahlwarts will remain steadfast, but like the old saying goes, "don't knock it till you've tried it". It's very easy to unroot, so to not experience root would be naive at best.
Again, I would like to link this vid.
I normally don't like to sway ppl into doing something that they don't want to do. But in this case, the benefits far outweigh any downsides (percieved or not) IMHO. Plus the nexus is by far the easiest to root of any device period.
If you remain unconvinced, its fine, yet I'd like to say, you don't know what you're missing. Honest.

 

[2defmouze]

Never understood labeling it as something to be pro or anti, lol.. It's just something you do if you want to and have reason to. Like snowboarding or something idk.

I had reason to root when I got the device so I could restore my titanium backup apps and data, and for the aosp browser. Eventually found reason to flash aokp when I realized I hated the stock quick settings menu and wanted then to be customizable and toggles. If you like stock as it is, good for you. If you have no reason to root, good for you. We can all be happy with different things.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[CrazCruz]

I keep reading but I don't understand the whole Rooting Philosophy, shame on me I know..

 

[nrm5110]

The philosophy is simple, total control. When you own something do you want limitations placed on what you can do to said product? Look at it from an automotive standpoint if you will, when you buy a car is it fair to be told even though you own this car you can't put on an intake or turbocharger or change the tune on it. Even if you had no intention of doing any of that the idea that you can't seems ridiculous. Same with a computer we own these phones/ miniature computers and some of us want our administrative privileges so we can do as we see fit with our device. To many root is seen as some crazy hack really its nothing more than escalated permissions.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[CrazCruz]

Got it. But I have this feeling that you lose security or you become vulnerable once you go root. Otherwise, why people still refusing to go root?
I'm planning on go root because I want to do full backup mainly because I want to try Nova launcher and a lot of stuff to customize my phone and I don't want to mess it up.

 

[2defmouze]

Got it. But I have this feeling that you lose security or you become vulnerable once you go root. Otherwise, why people still refusing to go root?
I'm planning on go root because I want to do full backup mainly because I want to try Nova launcher and a lot of stuff to customize my phone and I don't want to mess it up.

Nova Launcher is just an app. You can use it and play with the customizations and uninstall it if you don't care for it. No reason to root.

Again, I'm a root advocate if you have a reason. I listed mine above. The "gaining total control of your device" argument - I get it, but it's pretty vague. If you know of specific apps you want to use which require root permissions or your a flashaholic like some of us, that's great.. But if you don't have a specific reason then you should research until you find one. It does compromise your device's security to unlock the bootloader and root it, and you should understand how it does and why it does and why you should be reasonably cautious/intelligent in your decision making if you choose to go that route.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Paul627g]

Nova Launcher is just an app. You can use it and play with the customizations and uninstall it if you don't care for it. No reason to root.

Again, I'm a root advocate if you have a reason. I listed mine above. The "gaining total control of your device" argument - I get it, but it's pretty vague. If you know of specific apps you want to use which require root permissions or your a flashaholic like some of us, that's great.. But if you don't have a specific reason then you should research until you find one. It does compromise your device's security to unlock the bootloader and root it, and you should understand how it does and why it does and why you should be reasonably cautious/intelligent in your decision making if you choose to go that route.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Great explanation. Another way to look at it is most people are more than capable of managing and securing their device. The OEMs locking down a device's bootloader and removing access to system level files is a protection on their part. Bottom line they put these protections in place to protect themselves from consumers putting the blame on them if these areas of your device were left open at the time of purchase.

When you choose to take matters into your own hands to unlock your bootloader and apply root access you take the responsibility for doing so which removes the carrier and OEM from being held responsible in the event you mess up your device. But they also have to prove you did this to your device to use it against you, which is hard because if we can unlock it we can return it to stock also with no signs left behind

I like Advisor 2defs view also, very well presented :-D

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[sr2012]

Got it. But I have this feeling that you lose security or you become vulnerable once you go root. Otherwise, why people still refusing to go root?
I'm planning on go root because I want to do full backup mainly because I want to try Nova launcher and a lot of stuff to customize my phone and I don't want to mess it up.

Yes, to experiment more with the phone rooting is great but you MUST inform yourself of the risks, don't just hop on the bandwagon.

Mainly I stick to Google Play Store whenever possible, research on the forums, backup and I have Avast for a little peace of mind. There are security risks no doubt but I think I've taken enough precautions for the flexibility and enjoyment I get.

Sent from my LT26i using Android Central Forums

 

[digitalslacker]

Nova Launcher is just an app. You can use it and play with the customizations and uninstall it if you don't care for it. No reason to root.

Again, I'm a root advocate if you have a reason. I listed mine above. The "gaining total control of your device" argument - I get it, but it's pretty vague. If you know of specific apps you want to use which require root permissions or your a flashaholic like some of us, that's great.. But if you don't have a specific reason then you should research until you find one. It does compromise your device's security to unlock the bootloader and root it, and you should understand how it does and why it does and why you should be reasonably cautious/intelligent in your decision making if you choose to go that route.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Totally agree, I've been thinking about Android security like an onion lately, lots of layers and the risk grows as you start to peel them back.

If security is a paramount concern of yours, don't unlock, don't root and don't allow installs from unknown sources. I personally think that doing that is only a marginal increase in risk and completely acceptable but that's me. It's not my place to tell anyone it's not a big deal because to many, it is.

But it's important to keep in mind, at least so far, the type of "malware" we're seeing on Android are using phishing vectors. Meaning you need to be tricked or duped into giving some level of access by allowing the app to bypass security measures. We haven't yet seen any so called zero day vulnerabilities that use vectors that require no user intervention. Blogs like grand headlines that have "Android" and "Malware" because people read them and that's how they make money. Truthfully, even considering some of the more recently vulnerabilities, Android isn't an OS filled with security holes. Things are pretty good and just like on a PC, if you use a little common sense the risks are almost zero, even when hacking up your phone.

Do your homework, like mouze said, then enjoy your phone.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2