PAW Server turns your Android device into a password-protected Web server. It's a neat and useful little app that can transform your phone into a streaming Webcam or a remote audio recording device. You can also use PAW Server to upload files to your phone, download files, stream MP3s, and view photos located on your phone by using a Web browser on your PC.
You can also use PAW to locate your device if you lose or misplace it. You can even make the phone ring so that you can find it if you left it somewhere nearby. PAW allows you to make phone calls, view your call log, send SMS texts, send e-mail messages through the phone, view running processes, back up apps, install apps, share your clipboard contents, and more.
Using PAW is easy. Just install the app, launch it, and press the round button to start the server. The app will display the IP address and port of your phone. Type this into the location bar of your PC Web browser, and the PAW login page will apear. The first time you log in, use the default username and password shown; you can change them once you've logged in.
You can configure most of the PAW settings through the Web browser; only two settings are configurable through the app on the Android device. The first on-device option is to reset all PAW settings to default. The second such option is to automatically launch PAW every time the device boots--useful if you want to keep PAW running at all times.
Many other settings are available through the desktop PC browser. You can choose between an HTTP connection and an HTTPS connection, change the server port, enable PAW as a proxy server, and specify the maximum file upload size, among other options.
I like PAW a lot because it's fun and potentially useful. I can see this app coming in handy if I ever need to set up an impromptu Web server quickly to host some code or a small Website.
What would you do with a Web server in your pocket? Contact Brent W. Hopkins on Twitter. You might also like other articles by Brent W. Hopkins.
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