Method and apparatus for deriving and using trustful application metadata
A method, non-transitory computer readable medium and apparatus for deriving trustful metadata for an application are disclosed. For example, the method crawls online for the application, analyzes the application to determine a function of the application, and generates trustful meta-data for the application based upon the function of the application.
1. A method for deriving trustful metadata for a software application for a mobile device, the method comprising:
crawling, via a processor, online for the software application for the mobile device, wherein a pre-existed meta-data is associated with the software application;
analyzing, via the processor, the software application to determine a function of the software application, wherein the analyzing comprises analyzing an application behavior and usage from a dynamic analysis to determine the function of the software application for generating the trustful meta-data, wherein the determining the function of the software application comprises determining: a processing capacity used by the software application, a memory capacity used by the software application, whether a sensor of the mobile device is used by the software application, and a network protocol used by the software application;
generating, via the processor, the trustful meta-data as a fingerprint for the software application without relying on the pre-existed meta-data for the software application based upon the function of the software application, wherein the trustful meta-data describes how the software application functions, wherein the trustful meta-data is stored as an additional metadata file for the software application;
receiving, via the processor, a user query and a filter criterion provided by a user;
generating, via the processor, a search result in response to the user query, wherein the generating the search result is performed by applying the filter criterion on the trustful meta-data associated with the software application; and
presenting, via the processor, the search result to the user in accordance with the filter criterion that is predefined by the user.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing is performed by a developer.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing an application programming interface usage from a manifest file to generate the trustful meta-data.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing is performed by an operator preview.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing information obtained from a static binary analysis to generate the trustful meta-data.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing is performed by a user preview.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
presenting a recommended application based upon the filter criterion that is predefined by the user.
8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for deriving trustful metadata for a software application for a mobile device, the operations comprising:
crawling online for the software application for the mobile device, wherein a pre-existed meta-data is associated with the software application;
analyzing the software application to determine a function of the software application, wherein the analyzing comprises analyzing an application behavior and usage from a dynamic analysis to determine the function of the software application for generating the trustful meta-data, wherein the determining the function of the software application comprises determining: a processing capacity used by the software application, a memory capacity used by the software application, whether a sensor of the mobile device is used by the software application, and a network protocol used by the software application;
generating the trustful meta-data as a fingerprint for the software application without relying on the pre-existed meta-data for the software application based upon the function of the software application, wherein the trustful meta-data describes how the software application functions, wherein the trustful meta-data is stored as an additional metadata file for the software application;
receiving a user query and a filter criterion provided by a user;
generating a search result in response to the user query, wherein the generating the search result is performed by applying the filter criterion on the trustful meta-data associated with the software application; and
presenting the search result to the user in accordance with the filter criterion that is predefined by the user.
9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the analyzing is performed by a developer.
10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing an application programming interface usage from a manifest file to generate the trustful meta-data.
11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the analyzing is performed by an operator preview.
12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing information obtained from a static binary analysis to generate the trustful meta-data.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the analyzing is performed by a user preview.
14. An apparatus for deriving trustful metadata for a software application for a mobile device, the apparatus comprising:
a processor; and
a computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
crawling online for the software application for the mobile device, wherein a pre-existed meta-data is associated with the software application;
analyzing the software application to determine a function of the software application, wherein the analyzing comprises analyzing an application behavior and usage from a dynamic analysis to determine the function of the software application for generating the trustful meta-data, wherein the determining the function of the software application comprises determining: a processing capacity used by the software application, a memory capacity used by the software application, whether a sensor of the mobile device is used by the software application, and a network protocol used by the software application;
generating the trustful meta-data as a fingerprint for the software application without relying on the pre-existed meta-data for the software application based upon the function of the software application, wherein the trustful meta-data describes how the software application functions, wherein the trustful meta-data is stored as an additional metadata file for the software application;
receiving a user query and a filter criterion provided by a user;
generating a search result in response to the user query, wherein the generating the search result is performed by applying the filter criterion on the trustful meta-data associated with the software application; and
presenting the search result to the user in accordance with the filter criterion that is predefined by the user.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing an application programming interface usage from a manifest file to generate the trustful meta-data.
16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the analyzing is performed by an operator preview.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the analyzing further comprises analyzing information obtained from a static binary analysis to generate the trustful meta-data.
18. The apparatus of claim 14 , the operations further comprising:
presenting a recommended application based upon the filter criterion that is predefined by the user.