User-Management on Android
2 views
Skip to first unread message
Mike
Jan 19, 2008, 11:40:17 AM1/19/08
to OpenIntents
Hi,
I've been following this OpenIntent Idea for same days,
and I like it. Thats why I like to propose an idea around here:
Some time ago there has been some discussion in Germany about adult
content (violence, porn,..) shared on mobile phones among kids. So
here is my thought:
Would it be possible with Android to have some kind of User-
Management?
One Administrator (parent) and a normal User (Kid) with limited
privileges.
The Administrator should be able to..
.. control which phone calls ware made.
.. what files are stored on the phone.
.. see the current location.
.. decide if the user can use/install new features.
.. see the contact list and maybe limit it.
.. to access the 'Global log file' that is mentioned in the Idea List.
A really nice thing would be if the Administrator could do all these
things from his own Android phone whiteout having physical access to
the Users phone.
This User-Management could be used as well from company's that liked
to administrate the business phones of there employee.
So what do you think about this Idea?
Best regards,
Mike
I've been following this OpenIntent Idea for same days,
and I like it. Thats why I like to propose an idea around here:
Some time ago there has been some discussion in Germany about adult
content (violence, porn,..) shared on mobile phones among kids. So
here is my thought:
Would it be possible with Android to have some kind of User-
Management?
One Administrator (parent) and a normal User (Kid) with limited
privileges.
The Administrator should be able to..
.. control which phone calls ware made.
.. what files are stored on the phone.
.. see the current location.
.. decide if the user can use/install new features.
.. see the contact list and maybe limit it.
.. to access the 'Global log file' that is mentioned in the Idea List.
A really nice thing would be if the Administrator could do all these
things from his own Android phone whiteout having physical access to
the Users phone.
This User-Management could be used as well from company's that liked
to administrate the business phones of there employee.
So what do you think about this Idea?
Best regards,
Mike
friedger
Jan 19, 2008, 4:58:50 PM1/19/08
to OpenIntents
That sounds like an interesting idea, especially from a technical
point of view.
I haven't enough insight in the security model of android in order to
say what is possible.
I am not sure whether this User-Management will be accepted by users,
especially the current location.
For now, I don't see that there will be resources to proceed with this
idea. End of submission date coming closer and people are busy. At
least that is my impression.
Friedger
point of view.
I haven't enough insight in the security model of android in order to
say what is possible.
I am not sure whether this User-Management will be accepted by users,
especially the current location.
For now, I don't see that there will be resources to proceed with this
idea. End of submission date coming closer and people are busy. At
least that is my impression.
Friedger
Peli
Jan 19, 2008, 5:29:02 PM1/19/08
to OpenIntents
Hi Mike,
Thanks a lot for your idea! I added it to our list of ideas (
http://code.google.com/p/openintents/wiki/Ideas ).
Your idea will definitely have increased interest in the near future,
as the topics you mentioned are increasingly serious ones and should
be dealt with appropriately by society and politics.
On the other hand, kids (and employees) will definitely not like the
idea of being restricted somehow, so it is the parents' and companies'
responsibility to use the administrator power with care, explaining
reasonably why such a kind of restriction seems necessary.
Peer pressure should also not be taken lightly: Being the only kid in
the class with a restricted phone can make a difference to self-
esteem.
From the technical side, it is definitely possible to build a secure
restricted system on top of Linux, and it is definitely possible to
break it (in the simplest case because the kid knows the parents'
password...)
Some say, restricting the kid's phones is actually good, because it
makes them dig deeper into the phone's system and challenges their
creativity when they try to access restricted content and features.
But definitely kids need rules and a good guideline during education.
And a controlled phone could surely help.
Many of the things you mentioned (restricing phone call, restricting
installation of software, ..) are probably beyond the current
capabilities of the Android SDK. So I wonder what could be a useful
starting feature - one that seems easy to implement and would not
require special restriction access, but could be helpful and capture
the spirit of adminstrator -> user management. Maybe the easiest point
would be to obtain the current location of the user, and the
administrator can observe this, or gets notified when the user passes
beyond a pre-defined region. The next thing is probably to access the
global log list (which itself first would have to be implemented).
So, thanks for the idea, we'll see what can be done. (If any developer
is interested in this, don't hesitate to jump in!)
Peli
Thanks a lot for your idea! I added it to our list of ideas (
http://code.google.com/p/openintents/wiki/Ideas ).
Your idea will definitely have increased interest in the near future,
as the topics you mentioned are increasingly serious ones and should
be dealt with appropriately by society and politics.
On the other hand, kids (and employees) will definitely not like the
idea of being restricted somehow, so it is the parents' and companies'
responsibility to use the administrator power with care, explaining
reasonably why such a kind of restriction seems necessary.
Peer pressure should also not be taken lightly: Being the only kid in
the class with a restricted phone can make a difference to self-
esteem.
From the technical side, it is definitely possible to build a secure
restricted system on top of Linux, and it is definitely possible to
break it (in the simplest case because the kid knows the parents'
password...)
Some say, restricting the kid's phones is actually good, because it
makes them dig deeper into the phone's system and challenges their
creativity when they try to access restricted content and features.
But definitely kids need rules and a good guideline during education.
And a controlled phone could surely help.
Many of the things you mentioned (restricing phone call, restricting
installation of software, ..) are probably beyond the current
capabilities of the Android SDK. So I wonder what could be a useful
starting feature - one that seems easy to implement and would not
require special restriction access, but could be helpful and capture
the spirit of adminstrator -> user management. Maybe the easiest point
would be to obtain the current location of the user, and the
administrator can observe this, or gets notified when the user passes
beyond a pre-defined region. The next thing is probably to access the
global log list (which itself first would have to be implemented).
So, thanks for the idea, we'll see what can be done. (If any developer
is interested in this, don't hesitate to jump in!)
Peli
Peli
Jan 19, 2008, 5:36:02 PM1/19/08
to OpenIntents
> For now, I don't see that there will be resources to proceed with this
> idea. End of submission date coming closer and people are busy. At
> least that is my impression.
That's also my impression. For sure we can not implement all ideas
> idea. End of submission date coming closer and people are busy. At
> least that is my impression.
now, but we have to concentrate on a few core features that we try to
make as good as possible. But it is also good to keep the big picture
in mind (to see the connections, where else the features we develop
now could be useful later). And it is definitely good to have some
ideas "up the sleeve" for round 2 (if we get that far).
Peli
Mike
Jan 20, 2008, 9:17:31 AM1/20/08
to OpenIntents
> On the other hand, kids (and employees) will definitely not like the
> idea of being restricted somehow,
company's that not every employee has administration rights on his PC/
Laptop. There is normally an IT Department with this kind of rights.
So in Company Environment, User management on phones would serve the
same propose: Maintenance of devices provided by the company. Sure the
level of control could increase a lot, but as employee you would
always have the possibility to turn of the phone.
> Peer pressure should also not be taken lightly: Being the only kid in
> the class with a restricted phone can make a difference to self-
> esteem.
not. ; )
> From the technical side, it is definitely possible to build a secure
> restricted system on top of Linux, and it is definitely possible to
> break it (in the simplest case because the kid knows the parents'
> password...)
doesn't stop people of trying to build new kind of security systems.
> Some say, restricting the kid's phones is actually good, because it
> makes them dig deeper into the phone's system and challenges their
> creativity when they try to access restricted content and features.
> But definitely kids need rules and a good guideline during education.
> And a controlled phone could surely help.
> Many of the things you mentioned (restricing phone call, restricting
> installation of software, ..) are probably beyond the current
> capabilities of the Android SDK. So I wonder what could be a useful
> starting feature - one that seems easy to implement and would not
> require special restriction access, but could be helpful and capture
> the spirit of adminstrator -> user management. Maybe the easiest point
> would be to obtain the current location of the user, and the
> administrator can observe this, or gets notified when the user passes
> beyond a pre-defined region. The next thing is probably to access the
> global log list (which itself first would have to be implemented).
>
> For now, I don't see that there will be resources to proceed with this
> idea. End of submission date coming closer and people are busy. At
> least that is my impression.
>
Just wanted to get the Idea out there so maybe in a near future..
Mike
Zero
Jan 21, 2008, 6:41:25 PM1/21/08
to OpenIntents
I, for one, dislike this idea.
IMHO a phone is personal item and as such should be fully controllable
by
the user carrying it around.
The possibilty of remote-controlled restrictions is more likely to
become
a security thread or a method for censorship than a usefull tool in
the future.
but that, of course, is only my view - and a highly political one as
well.
i could probably go with something like this as long as it is
installed by an optional package.
IMHO a phone is personal item and as such should be fully controllable
by
the user carrying it around.
The possibilty of remote-controlled restrictions is more likely to
become
a security thread or a method for censorship than a usefull tool in
the future.
but that, of course, is only my view - and a highly political one as
well.
i could probably go with something like this as long as it is
installed by an optional package.
NumBeast
Jan 22, 2008, 1:11:38 AM1/22/08
to openi...@googlegroups.com
I strongly disagree with the concept. But I realize this might be a commonly implemented/needed/wanted functionality that Open Intents could provide. I haven't dug horribly deeply into the relevant code but I think all your ideas presented are possible to implement.
It's possible to view the contacts list, global log file, call log, current location but installation would be a nightmare. Because for every restricted feature you want to access, android will ask you if the application is allowed to access that feature. You also would have to know about all features at the time manifest.xml was made, in order to request permissions.
Restricting calls shouldn't be to hard, there might be a mecanism in the future to capture the callphone intent before the caller does, and consume it if the destination isn't on the list of allowed numbers. Same for incoming calls.
But I agree that unless another developer joins that's dedicated specifically to that function, we wouldn't have enough time to implement it.
It's possible to view the contacts list, global log file, call log, current location but installation would be a nightmare. Because for every restricted feature you want to access, android will ask you if the application is allowed to access that feature. You also would have to know about all features at the time manifest.xml was made, in order to request permissions.
Restricting calls shouldn't be to hard, there might be a mecanism in the future to capture the callphone intent before the caller does, and consume it if the destination isn't on the list of allowed numbers. Same for incoming calls.
But I agree that unless another developer joins that's dedicated specifically to that function, we wouldn't have enough time to implement it.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages