Android Software Internals Quick Reference: A Field Manual and Security Reference Guide to Java-based Android Components

✍ Scribed by James Stevenson

• Publisher: Apress
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 170
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Use this handy field guide as a quick reference book and cheat sheet for all of the techniques you use or reference day to day. Covering up to Android 11, this Android Java programming reference guide focuses on non-UI elements with a security focus. You won’t see Android UI development, nor will you see low-level C or kernel techniques. Instead, this book focuses on easily digestible, useful, and interesting techniques in Java and the Android system. 

This reference guide was created out of the need for myself to jot down all the useful techniques I commonly reached for, and so I’m now sharing these techniques with you, whether you are an Android internals software engineer or security researcher. 

What You Will Learn

• Discover the differences between and how to access application names, package names, IDs, and unique identifiers in Android
• Quickly reference common techniques such as storage, the activity lifecycle, and permissions
• Debug using the Android shell
• Work with Android's obfuscation and encryption capabilities
• Extract and decompile Android applications
• Carry out Android reflection and dex class loading

Who This Book Is For

Programmers, developers, and admins with at least prior Android and Java experience.

✦ Table of Contents

Table of Contents
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
Chapter 1: Introduction
What Is This Book
What This Book Is Not
Chapter 2: Android Versions
Chapter 3: Fundamentals
Android Sandbox
Application Components
Activities
Services
Broadcast Receivers
Content Providers
Manifest
Permissions
Context
Application Context
Activity Context
The Activity Life Cycle
onCreate()
onStart()
onResume()
onPause()
onStop()
onRestart()
Android Users
Linux Users
Android Users
Chapter 4: Intents
Starting Components
Intent Attributes
Core Attributes
Additional Attributes
Actions
Categories
Extras
Flags
Task Stack
Intent Filters
Chapter 5: Application Names, Android Package Name, and ID
Java Package Name
Package ID
Retrieving Package ID
Application ID
Suffix and Flavor
Application Name
Retrieving Application Name
Chapter 6: Storage
Partitions
External and Internal Storage
Internal Storage
External Storage
Text Files
Databases
Shared Preferences
File Providers
Assets Folder
Resources
Chapter 7: Android Unique Identifiers
Google Play Advertising ID
Android ID (Secure Settings Android ID – SSAID)
SIM Serial Number
Phone Number
IMEI and MEID
Chapter 8: Obfuscation and Encryption
Logging
Standard Logging
Final Constant Variables
Using .isLoggable
Dynamically Checking If Debuggable
ProGuard
Enabling ProGuard
The ProGuard Mapping File
The ProGuard Allow-List
The Different Types of Keep
Entry Points
Example Rules
Public Key/Certificate Pinning
AES Encryption
Chapter 9: Services, Launchers, and Components
Long-Running Services
Triggers
Services
IntentService, AlarmManager, and BootComplete
Foreground Services
JobScheduler
Work Managers
Threading
AsyncTasks
Battery and Security Effects on Long-Running Services
Doze
App Standby Buckets
Modifying a Component’s State
Statically Modifying Component State
Dynamically Modifying Components
Creating an Android Launcher
Creating a Launcher Application
Additional Functionality
Chapter 10: Reflection and  Class Loading
Reflection
Making an Instance of a Class
.getDeclaredMethod Compared With .getMethod
Static Methods
Private Constructors
Initialized Classes as Fields of Other Classes
Class Loading
Chapter 11: The Android Shell
Running Commands Programmatically
Chapter 12: Decompiling and Disassembling Android Applications
Decompiled Java
Disassembled Dalvik Bytecode (Smali)
Extracting APKs from Running Devices
Chapter 13: Closing Thoughts
Index