Biwota Cerbero
* Important ***No application is allowed to mess with the default lock screen unless it has root access. This is not a replacement lock screen unless you disable your current one. It can also be used as an additional layer of security.
*
* About ***Biwota Cerbero is an additional layer (or single layer, if you choose to rely on it) of security for your Android Device. It locks the screen, and unlocks it using Near-Field Communication (NFC) Technology. This means that unless you have a registered NFC Tag for the Device, it cannot be unlocked. (However, recovery is still possible if you lock yourself out).
All you need is an NFC Tag; you can find these in rail cards, smartcards, passports, university IDs, etc. Biwota Cerbero does not store this information externally in any way, and only stores the ID blocks of the NFC Tag .The NFC tag is not written, altered or formatted in any way, so it is safe to use your everyday ID card. You can verify this by using an NFC Tag Info App by the company that makes most smartcards (NXP Communications) and comparing the xml files generated.
Feedback would be wonderful, and I will try to improve the application as much as possible. Email: [email protected]
**
* Permissions ***
- CONTROL NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION. The application needs to use Near-Field Communication to detect smartcards and other NFC tags.
- FULL INTERNET ACCESS. It is needed to show the (small) advertisement in the main menu. Any internet use in an application requires this permission.
- READ PHONE STATE AND IDENTITY. This is a security measure; the screen lock can be circumvented by calling the device (Try this with the normal lock. Calling the device disables the lock), so Cerbero re-locks the screen after a call.
- VIEW NETWORK STATE. It allows Cerbero to improve your user experience by checking Internet access before showing the advertisement. This stops the application hanging if, say, you have a poor data connection.
- AUTOMATICALLY START AT BOOT. The application needs to know when the device boots for Cerbero to lock it. Otherwise, you could just turn the phone off and on and gain access. Every Android Device has a "magic combination" of keys to access power options.
- MARKET BILLING SERVICE. Needed to access Google Play for the premium version.
**
* To get the Premium Version ***Run the application and scroll down the main menu. Press "Get Cerbero Premium" and follow the instructions from Google Play.
**
* To Remove ***We hope that you like Biwota Cerbero, and that you don't want to remove it. If you need to, however, you must remove it from Device administrators (If you have registered it as one). You must go to your device settings, and click Security > Device administrators. Biwota Cerbero will be listed; simply uncheck it and confirm. After this, you should be able to uninstall Biwota Cerbero the same as any other application.
Category : Tools
Reviews (19)
I have the galaxy note ii and the app (spent the extra money on the premium) works ok and seems to be the best playstore app that will let you unlock your phone. My only concern is that the whole lockscreen UI looks terrible. Even just a simpler lockscreen with just the word "scan to unlock" would be better...and without any picture of a wolf.
It does the job adequately. You can however circumvent the app if you are quick enough, with the home key and some other finger gymnastics. I am rooted and would prefer a better solution for rooted phones. Besides that the changing keyboard layout, while adding to the security is not user friendly and its usability is sometimes frustrating. This strange keyboard should be an option and not forced down our throats, with the default keyboard to follow the usability of the giants before you and keep to the standard keyboards. Also I would like it to be able to recognize more than one active tag at a time, so I could for instance have one by my computer or TV and one on my keychain. Lastly, I have no idea what the "pro" version is. Since the dev is Spanish speaking his translation to the English only says it offers "External" whatever that is. All in all if another app comes along that offers NFC lockscreen ability I'm jumping ship unless this one improves.
I really like the idea of unlocking with NFC, but this app has some big problems. The last comment already mentioned most of them: changing keyboard layout, recognizes only one tag. And it doesn't work if you set the screen lock to "None" so you always have at least the swipe-lock before. And a few minutes ago, I realized that this app totally screws up in combination with LockMenu, so it becomes impossible to accept incoming calls.
Everyone is saying about the developer ignoring people about not being able to see the digits on the manual unlock, I just found out why: if you buy the "donate" version it is much better... Cheeky b...
Please improve the locker UI; allow it to have many cards; and fix the incoming call bug. I promise to give you all the stars I can see on the nightskies...
No updates and improvements since October, 2012? What a shame, very inflexible, no customibility.
Best used with smart screen app.
Paid for this app and it's been nothing but a problem for me :(
Is there a possibility to use app to unlock when no unlock type is chosen. It works on mifare
Doesn't work with the system but is an additional lock. Overwrites NFC tag data without asking for confirmation. NFC unlock sometimes disables. Advertisements on unlock sometimes but no pro version in play market. + pin numbers move around, nice security feature. Uninstalled now because of multiple times NFC unlock not working.
Verizon S3, rooted. This is the worst implementation of a great idea I've seen in a long time. Total crap. The coders don't seem to care about details (conflicting messages) or scale-ability (display issues). *The keypad is designed to take up the top 30% of the screen, the rest is blank space. I would guess this is because the keys are set to a specific pixel-height, a problem on higher-resolution phones. *The first time I unlocked (non-NFC) with this program, I got a message along the lines of "Please wait, advertisement loading" right before an add popped up on top of everything. *Registering an NFC tag displays a pop-up "NFC tag is registered correctly" but the settings display shows "NFC no registered" - great. *The first time I attempted to unlocke using the NFC tag I just configured I got: "ERROR! NFC wrong". This was consistent.
Cannot register NFC (fail to unlock) Slow with advertisement to unlock... Idea on NFC unlock is to be QUICK, this shoes ad instead and make it slower than a 12 digits PIN !
Excellent but the lock screen looks ugly, if only we can set it
Great idea, horrible execution. NFCSecure was worth the $5 over this janky one.
Instead of unlocking via the standard keypad it installs an additional lock
It writes data to the tag, creating a new intent type, and overwriting data that may already be on the tag.
And won't let mifare cards be used to register.
It installed in what I assume is spanish so I can't read it. Optimus g.
Not good, even paid for pro and basically does nothing more than free, has some option to select but doesnt seem to do anything, lock screen doesnt always work takes about 1 min to kick in before it locks the phone. Hope a decent app which works comes along soon