Thursday, July 26, 2012

High internal memory usage in my Samsung Galaxy Ace...ouch!

Topic : High memory consumption of Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830


OH BOY!
I always had a problem with my Samsung Galaxy Ace phone , with it's internal storage memory to be precise (not to be confused with the device RAM).
The internal storage memory ( which is 181MB in size) is used to store app programs data and code, other than the SD card storage.
Most apps store the data in this memory area, although some apps give option to store in SD card.
The PROBLEM WAS, this memory usage keeps increasing slowly, eventhough I uninstalled some apps. Even after that , it goes more than 150MB , max 181MB !
As a result , the phone GUI response slows down. It takes several seconds just to switch screens or exit an app. One example, just to open the Messaging SMS screen , it takes 10~12 seconds !
It got into my nerves......
I had to reboot the phone just to get it back to normal , everytime !
But that would not last long, so frequent reboots became a norm.........
I had to uninstall my Whatsapp several times, as well as other favorite apps like eBuddy and Angry Bird.

I have searched the Internet for a solution, but there is was no bulls-eye solution.......
After going to through many trials and tribulations, EUREKA !
The problem was the app cache !
I went through the all the apps installed in my Galaxy Ace, I noticed that:

a. The Gmail app cache took 10MB
b. The Youtube app cache took a whopping 30MB !
c. The builtin Android browser had cache 14MB


Next thing I did? CLEAR ALL THOSE CACHE!
After all , usage reduced from 150MB+ , to around 100MB.
The phone was smooth all the way after that...... no more slow response ! Smiley



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Memory usage at 111MB (after memory cache clearing). Previously it went above 150MB !


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Go to "Memory Usage" section in Settings to see which apps using memory plus cache in detail....


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Go in each app one by one and checked it's cache usage....


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Youtube app memory usage .... previously the cache was 30MB. It emptied to zero after pressing "Clear Cache" button ! The cache uses the internal memory as storage.


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Mozilla Firefox SQLite database records user browsing history

Topic : Mozilla Firefox 10.0.1 history user database, Mozilla Firefox sqlite database, Mozilla Firefox user browsing forensics, Mozilla Firefox SQLite database engine


I remember reading an article about Mozilla Firefox and how IT forensics use the SQLite database within Firefox for user's web browsing history (CyberSecurity eSecurity bulletin, Vol 23, Q2/2010 - http://www.cybersecurity.my/data/content_files/12/725.pdf). For all of you, the Mozilla Firefox in your PC has a SQLite database which records all user activity, and all user profiles too. These activities include browsing history, login details ( if saved), forms input history , cooking, bookmarks and so forth. A lot of info ! Smiley

I thought of checking out Mozilla Firefox (latest version 10.0.1 as of today) in my PC for such database, and yes there is !
I used SQLite Manager add-on for Firefox to browse the contents of the databases.

Details:

a) Database location - "C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default" (Windows 7)
b) Tool used - SQLite Manager : Add-on for Firefox
c) Total databases - 12 databases (see screenshot below)
d) Database under review - places.sqlite (see screenshot below)


You can just browse the databases for various info such as Bookmarks info, Visited URL info, Visit history info, and Form input info. Do take note that the time format in these databases is not in a user friendly form. Use the SQL queries below to get the date/time in GMT format.

I ran the following SQL commands to get info on my browsing history
(in database places.sqlite):

i) SELECT datetime (moz_historyvisits.visit_date/1000000,"unixepoch"), moz_places.url FROM moz_places, moz_historyvisits WHERE moz_places.id = moz_historyvisits.id
Gets info on the history of visits

ii) SELECT datetime (moz_places.last_visit_date/1000000,"unixepoch"), moz_places.url , moz_places.title FROM moz_places
Gets data/time, URL and page title of all recorded web sites visits

As you can see ( based on the screenshots below), there is a lot of information about your web browsing history that you can get from these databases. This can help in terms of forensics... or monitor if your roommate is using your laptop without your knowledge !

You can also use certain tools to analyze these tables, such as FoxAnalysis Plus ( see reference below ).

What a world we live in .......


Screenshots of Mozilla Firefoz SQLite database contents ( database places.sqlite )
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List of databases for Mozilla Firefox, 12 databases in all....


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SQL query to see browsing history using SQLite Manager for Firefox....


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SQL query to see total browsing history (last visited) with page title using SQLite Manager for Firefox....




References
CyberSecurity eSecurity bulletin, Vol 23, Q2/2010
http://www.cybersecurity.my/data/content_files/12/725.pdf


SQLite Manager : Add-on for Firefox
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sqlite-manager/


FoxAnalysis Plus
http://forensic-software.co.uk/foxanalysis.aspx


Firefox Forensics
http://www.machor-software.com/firefox_forensics

Monday, March 5, 2012

Windows 8 Consumer Preview sneak peak

Topic : Windows 8 Consumer Preview sneak peak


I had the chance to download & try out the Windows 8 Consumer preview , running it as a virtual machine using a VMWare Player v4.0 Smiley

Feast your eyes for the below screenshots.... I would say there is heavy integration of social media for this Windows edition !

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Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshots


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Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshots - comes with Internet Explorer v10, not released yet....


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Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshots - Apps full list


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Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshots - Apps full list


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Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshots - Power, brightness, Network... and Notification?


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Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshots - I see a special "Share" button....


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Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshots (notice that there is no Start button.....)


Sunday, January 29, 2012

Comparison of Samsung Galaxy SII and Samsung Galaxy Note

Topic : Samsung Galaxy SII versus Samsung Galaxy Note


My friends ( not IT savvy types ;-) ) sometimes ask me about Samsung Galaxy Note, and what's the hype about. They also ask me what is the difference between Samsung Galaxy Note, and Samsung Galaxy SII. So, I made a comparison table below to help explain the differences. Smiley


Comparison table of Samsung Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note
References : Wikipedia
(click to enlarge)


As you can see, the Samsung Galaxy Note is designed as a tablet/smartphone to be carried anywhere , and offers a stylus interface for quick notes & sketches on the go. Smiley


Refer to below link for details :

Compare Cell Phones : Samsung Galaxy Note vs Samsung Galaxy SII