The Samsung Galaxy SIII has apparently been rooted by famed hacker Chainfire. As you know, the phone isn’t even out yet, but this is good news for those planning to pick up the device in the coming weeks. He isn’t able to release the “insecure” kernel yet as it may be traceable back to the source, so you’ll just have to take his word for it. Knowing his track record with Samsung devices, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Obviously, this root method has been done to the international version of the phone and not the U.S. variants, since they haven’t even been announced yet. When those do arrive though, we’re sure someone will figure it out there as well.

Via:  XDA

Google Wallet received an update this week to make it ready for the launch of the EVO 4G LTE. But as owners of the Galaxy Nexus noticed through the Play Store that they could also update, they grew confused when they were prompted afterwards with the superuser request to give the app root access. We have heard from at least a dozen readers that the app now asks for root and have also seen at least a handful of forum threads throughout the Android world discussing it, yet no one knows why this app would be requesting it. To be honest, we also have no clue why this app would need this kind of access.

In the past, after a “security” mishap that involved root access, Google decided that it wouldn’t support rooted devices, so all we can think is that maybe this is a new way for them to verify? The odd thing is that users are reporting that the app still works whether you grant it access or not.

Yeah, we’re confused. Any help?

Cheers Joshua and everyone else who sent this!

It’s no secret that the DL community is big into the root and ROM game. We have some of the most savvy of readers, but there is one among us who needs our help. His name is Davis and he is doing a school project. He needs to know why people choose to root their devices. Is it for the custom ROMs, themes, kernels, etc? Let’s help this guy out.

Why do you root your Android device?

If you have been a fan of the MIUI series of custom ROMs since the OG DROID days, then you will be happy to hear that an official build is now available for the Galaxy Nexus. There have been a few hacked versions out there, but this comes straight from MIUI and is fully functioning, which means no bugs should be present. MIUI has been compared to the look and feel of an iOS device since there is no app drawer, but in reality, it’s still the Ice Cream Sandwich you know and love. For those new to MIUI, think of it as a fully themed and feature rich skin for Android. I know that we talk about OEM skins and how awful they are, but MIUI takes Android and adds a ton of customizations to it. And if you really need an app drawer, just download NOVA or Apex launcher. 

When Motorola and Verizon released their latest bug fixer for the DROID X as build 4.5.621, they pissed off owners of the device for the 116th time in under 2 years (actually it’s probably more than that). I’m referring to the fact that all previous root methods are now blocked, leaving those that updated to the new firmware without the ability to root again and fully enjoy their “open” Android device the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

Well, in classic bird-flipping fashion, a root method has been discovered. Ready for it?

The steps involve flashing an SBF file that turns your phone into a Milestone X (the European variant of the DROID X), rooting that, and then taking control of your phone from there with a DROID X custom ROM. So again, you have to flash Milestone X .604 software onto your phone, root it, and then pick out a DROID X ROM that suits you best. It’s not pretty and as far as I can tell is not rooted .621, but it will give those that are stuck on .621 a chance to get off of it.

SMH.

Via:  RootzWiki

Cheers Brian and Joe!

The recent fiasco surrounding Google Wallet being exploited through root has forced a lot of Android users and developers to take a look at security on their phones. CyanogenMod has released a PSA of sorts explaining some of their recent patches to CM9 and tells us why root was the main focus.

… All Custom ROMs (CyanogenMod included) ship with one major security risk — root!

This is the basis of the Google Wallet scandal. When on a rooted phone, applications are at risk of having data accessed and this is why Google has taken the stance of saying Google Wallet is unsupported when on a rooted phone. Cyanogen’s new patches disable root in a selective way which allows for a bit more security on your phone.

If you hang out in any of the root-specific forums or love all things Samsung, then you have probably heard of ChainFire. The dude has made some pretty monumental apps over the last couple of years, including a handful of root tools, a mobile Odin client, a top notch benchmarking tool, and more. His latest release brings us back to the foundation of it all though, and he is calling it Super SU. It’s like the Superuser app that you all have installed on your rooted phones now, but it includes all sorts of bonus features so that you can track everything. If the deep root logging is too intense, know that it also helps you keep root through an OTA and can temporarily unroot your device should need to trick something like say, Google Wallet.

Play Store Links:  Free | Pro ($2.49)

For support, visit this XDA thread.

Cheers @strikeir13!