Webkey lets you do anything to your rooted phone from a browser

WebkeyWe've covered a few remote control options on G&E before, and each has had a disadvantage like battery use, having to know your IP address, or limited abilities past simply seeing what is on the screen. Well, an app called Webkey seems to have solved most of these problems.

Webkey allows you to control your rooted HTC EVO (or other rooted Android phone) from a web browser. You click and drag like you would tap and drag on the touch screen. When it comes time to type something, you can either tap out the letters on the on-screen keyboard or just type them in a window.

If you're wondering where your phone is, as long as it's still running and you selected to check into the Webkey website, you can find the exact location in a new window on Google Maps without ever alerting the person who has it that it's doing anything. If you left it at home, you can check calls and text messages right from a window, or see who your phone's been calling and for how long if it's in the possession of someone else.

You can chat with whoever is holding your phone at the moment, dim the display, make the phone alarm or shake, and kill and spawn services remotely too.

If you don't have your IP address handy (e.g., if you left it at a friend's house on their network), the Webkey site allows you to discover what that address is (if you selected to allow it) and hopefully connect to your phone through your friend's internet connection.

Webkey also includes an Ajax-based file manager that allows you to transfer files between your computer and your phone, as well as delete or rename directories. There's also a terminal server in case you need to access system level applications and want a keyboard. And since it's browser based, you can transfer pictures and files to your friend's computer without having to email them, or bring a cable along. Oh, and there's a task manager to kill processes you don't want running (useful if you're searching for your phone and need it to stay alive longer) too.

QR for webkey

All in all, this is pretty much the application anyone who loses their phone, or extensively works on it from a computer, could want.

Security is something you're going to worry about here, though. Total remote control of a phone could be a very bad thing in the wrong hands, so make sure to use a strong password if you're going to run this as a service on your EVO.

Webkey is absolutely jam packed with useful features. Even if your phone isn't going to be more than a foot away from you, the options it provides for computer/keyboard access are amazing. It's also free and open source should you want to look through the code line by line.

Links: Market (EVO) | Market (web)

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Paul E King

Paul King started with GoodAndEVO in 2011, which merged with Pocketables, and as of 2018 he's evidently the owner. He lives in Nashville, works at a film production company, is married with two kids. Facebook | Twitter | Donate | More posts by Paul | Subscribe to Paul's posts

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