To Kill or Not to Kill Task in Android

Automatic Task Killer

I've been asked whether Android users should use a task killer such as Advanced Task Killer or Advanced Task Killer Froyo.  I say Yes and I personally use Automatic Task Killer for my program.

How to properly set up and use a task killer (Oh, yes, I went there!) sums up what I was thinking in these seven bullet points.

• Any application that has the manufacturer or carriers name in it should never be killed.
• Any application that has the word android. (yes the period is there on purpose) should never be killed.
• Any application that keeps time should never be killed.
• Any application that has a widget that updates should never be killed.
• Any application that is not installed on /data (this is where user apps go) should never be killed.
• If you can't figure out exactly what an application is, it should never be killed.
• Home replacements, whether from the Market or your manufacturer never should be killed. This also means Sense, Blur, and Touchwiz. They also have dependencies that should stay alive, refer to numbers 1, 5 and 6 above. Of course if you're a tinkerer, and know which parts of the system you don't need running on your particular installation, feel free to experiment.  And share your results. 

They show great tips on when to use a task killer.  I do not kill calendars, Handcent SMS, Newrob RSS reader and my default browser Dolphin Browser HD.  I do not kill task that I use on a regular basis and want to have active when I turn the phone back on after it goes to the lock screen.  This is why  Newrob RSS reader and default browser are included in this list.  There are times I have an article like the one about the USA Today and might step away for a minute.  When I return my screen will be locked upon unlocking if you had your RSS Reader killed your post would be shutdown and you would have to reopen the program and find where you were before it shutdown.

Just be selective on what you kill and do not kill everything.  If you run into issues with a program double check if it is being killed by a task killer.  If it is uncheck the program and see if the program still has issues.

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