Tip: Is Your Android Market App Loading Slowly, Especially On Wi-Fi? Give This Fix A Try

The intrepid folks over at XDA are always tinkering away to try and make using your Android device a better experience. And a few weeks ago, one of them (namely, temasek) found that the Android Market has some issues trying to resolve DNS servers when your device is connected over Wi-Fi. This can cause the Market to load slowly, and it's definitely something I've experienced on my own phone.

The solution? A popular app called Set DNS (note: root is required), which forces your phone or tablet to use a particular name server when connecting to the web, may speed up load times over Wi-Fi. Upon using it myself, after a reboot, I noticed the Market did seem to load substantially faster than I've grown accustomed to. Here's the link to the free version:

Set DNS

This version does expire, so if you want to keep using it, you'll have to cough up a quid (1GBP or about ~$1.70US).

Set DNS Pro

You can use any of the DNS services the app offers, though OpenDNS has always been my preferred DNS service. Has this sped up your Market load times on Wi-Fi? Let us know in the comments.

XDA [1] [2]

PSA: No, This Is Not MSN 2012, Angry Birds 2, Or Modern Warfare 3 For Android - What You Can Do If You See Malware In The Market

In my continuous hunt for new apps, I sometimes run into such obvious malware/crapware that it causes an immediate virtual gag reflex. Sometimes, however, this malware is cleverly disguised and to an unsuspecting user it may seem legitimate.

Here, have a look at what I found today:

If you briefly scanned this page, you may have missed the fact that the publisher's name is MicrosDft Corporation (in all caps), or that it's requesting a permission to directly dial phone numbers without your intervention, or that the website in the listing is msM.com.

Thankfully, the amount of 1-star user reviews is now starting to look alarming, but that wouldn't have been the case if you saw it right as it came out. What's even more worrisome is 10,000+ downloads and the amount of 5-star ratings, all of them undoubtedly either fake or created by unsuspecting victims.

So remember - always pay close attention to the details, do your due diligence, and be suspicious - otherwise you may end up giving away your personal information straight to rogue databases or find a few hundred dollars worth of premium calls on your next phone bill.

So, what can you do when you spot a shady app like that?

We'll try to bring Google's and the public's attention, and the app should get removed shortly after. Tweet at us, email us, send us a pigeon (email usually works best though).

Flag the app as harmful by pulling up the on-device Market and marking it as inappropriate (the Market then asks for a more detailed reason). Why Google doesn't build this functionality into the web Market is beyond me.

Note: The "Harmful to phone or data" option only shows up if you install the app first.

  

You can report apps on the web via this form buried somewhere deep inside Market support pages. Be prepared to fill out a bunch of info the Market should already know about you - come on, Google, do you really want to discourage your users like this?

Thanks to John Cassero for this tip!

Unfortunately (in this case), in order to leave a 1-star review, you need to actually install the app, quickly leave the review without starting it, and then quickly uninstall it. Do so if you feel especially adventurous today - your brethren will be forever grateful, but note that very theoretically the app could get triggered by something and run in the background after installation, so know the risks and be quick.

Note: Be sure you're leaving a 1-star review for an app you truly think is malicious. Don't hit an innocent dev by accident.

This PSA is brought to you by your local Android PD. Stay alert, folks.