So, I have seen a few posts asking about what is rooting, how its done, why its done and so on... Even though answers have been already given, these questions keeps on occuring, so here goes some information about rooting.
BASIC INFO
"
root" basically comes from Linux terminology. "root" is the super user, like Administrator on windows. root user have complete permissions, like to alter system files, perform system level updates and such.
So, basically, "
rooting" for android is the process of getting "root" permissions. That is, to modify the android operating system to get complete control over it.
What the rooting process actually does is to upload a special program called "
su" (consider this as short for superuser, actually it stands for switch user) which allows us to perform "root" operations.
THE ROOTING PROCESS
Before going to the process, I must
warn you that you may brick (damage) your phone sometimes. But that is only if you are having a really bad luck.
The process of rooting is a fairly simple process now a days. For phones running Android 2.2 Froyo (which includes Micromax A70), an app called
z4root created by XDA Developers member RyanZA can be used.
Just download the app and install it. Then open the app. Once it is opened, you can see two options :
Permanent Root and
Temporary Root.
You are recommended to use the permanent root option. Once you click the option, the phone reboots (do not worry if it stays frozen for some amount of time). That is it, after the reboot, you have successfully rooted your phone.
To confirm that you have rooted your phone, you can check your apps to see a new app called "
Superuser" has appeared. This app can be used allow/deny root permissions to other apps.
WHAT TO DO AFTER ROOTING???
Well, after rooting, the first thing I did was back-up and un-install all the unwanted app using Titanium Backup. Be sure to back-up apps if you are not sure whether it is an unwanted app or a system app.
Next thing I did was to backup the entire system using ClockWorkMod recovery (If you want a how-to, please ask). I would recommend that you do this step first.
After that, some thing you can easily do are : change the boot animation, use scripts, and so on...
BENEFITS
The benefits of rooting are many. I will note down a few here :
1. You have almost full control over your android.
2. You can back-up restore your system.
3. Change the appearance by modifying PNG's.
4. Run scripts for performance and usability.
5. Allows to remove unwanted apps, that are otherwise un-removable.
6. Installing custom ROM's become so much easier
7. SO MUCH MORE
CONS
1. You may brick (damage) your phone (If you trust people in this forum, most of us have rooted our phones and there was no problem at all).
2. Well, I am not sure, but rooting may/may not void your warranty as you are modifying the operating system from what was given to you by the manufacturer.
Finally, here is a link that I have posted earlier. This is a post on XDA Forums with details on almost every basic thing about android.
Dictionary for n00b - What is.../What does ...mean?
I hope someone benefits from this information.