Hi all,
Read an article the other day about how MI state police will routinely dump all the data from your phone when they stop you for any reason. While i don't really have anything i need to hide, they don't really have any reason to go on a fishing expedition just because the law hasn't caught up to the 21st century.
So I'd like to know the best way to go about securing all the data on my phone. Up until now I've just been using a PIN code. I know that doesn't do anything for the data on the sd card and apparently it doesn't do anything for the data on the phone itself since whatever device the police are using can circumvent that.
So - any apps/tips etc I can use to make the data on my phone as secure as possible from prying eyes? Can the whole SD card be encrypted? If so, how about preventing access to the phone? Oh, and i'm using a rooted EVO 4G
thanks
merkk said:
Hi all,
Read an article the other day about how MI state police will routinely dump all the data from your phone when they stop you for any reason. While i don't really have anything i need to hide, they don't really have any reason to go on a fishing expedition just because the law hasn't caught up to the 21st century.
So I'd like to know the best way to go about securing all the data on my phone. Up until now I've just been using a PIN code. I know that doesn't do anything for the data on the sd card and apparently it doesn't do anything for the data on the phone itself since whatever device the police are using can circumvent that.
So - any apps/tips etc I can use to make the data on my phone as secure as possible from prying eyes? Can the whole SD card be encrypted? If so, how about preventing access to the phone? Oh, and i'm using a rooted EVO 4G
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you can do several stuff.First is screen lock with a password combining caps and numbers which will make it harder to crack using brute force.Second I use avast mobile security with anti theft installed and when i send it a remote command it secure wipes everything.It takes about 5 min tough for a secure wipe.Its called secure since if you delete something from the sd card it is quite possible and easy to recovery its content using a pc program like recuva.But when you are secure-wiping the it generates junk files over the original ones which makes it impossible to recover.Also a good idea when using screen lock is to keep USB debugging deactivated so its imposible to bypass the lock.
Sent from my Optimus Me using xda premium
Thanks, although that's not exactly what I was looking for. I want to know if there's a way to secure the phone so that it's as close to impossible for someone to read any data on the phone. I do know about the various products that offer remote wiping of the phone.
In the article that i read, the police have some sort of device where it will bypass any screen lock you have. So I would assume really the only way to secure the data on the phone would be to encrypt everything. It just annoys the crap out of me that the michigan state police are making it a habit of searching your phone just for simple traffic stops.
merkk said:
Thanks, although that's not exactly what I was looking for. I want to know if there's a way to secure the phone so that it's as close to impossible for someone to read any data on the phone. I do know about the various products that offer remote wiping of the phone.
In the article that i read, the police have some sort of device where it will bypass any screen lock you have. So I would assume really the only way to secure the data on the phone would be to encrypt everything. It just annoys the crap out of me that the michigan state police are making it a habit of searching your phone just for simple traffic stops.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose that the device requires usb debugging on right? If so keep it off and use a lockscreen.
Sent from my Optimus Me using xda premium
I don't know what it requires, but the article said it will bypass the lock screen. and they can certainly bypass everything and examine the SD card. I'm pretty sure it wont matter if USB debugging is turned on or off as most people dont have a rooted phone anyhow.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3458.asp
merkk said:
I don't know what it requires, but the article said it will bypass the lock screen. and they can certainly bypass everything and examine the SD card. I'm pretty sure it wont matter if USB debugging is turned on or off as most people dont have a rooted phone anyhow.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3458.asp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do not need root to enable usb debugging.
You can also consider encrypting your device.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
merkk said:
I don't know what it requires, but the article said it will bypass the lock screen. and they can certainly bypass everything and examine the SD card. I'm pretty sure it wont matter if USB debugging is turned on or off as most people dont have a rooted phone anyhow.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3458.asp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I see here it's doubtful that even encription woul be of any use.If they have the right to grab all private data like that I'm sure that they can also request that you disable any encription you have.So don't hide anything on your android while driving
Sent from my Optimus Me using xda premium
It's not a question of right or not - i'd like to know how to prevent them from doing it. ubernoobza said i could encrypt the phone - how do i do that? I know there are some apps that will encrypt photos or files on your SD card. But is there a way to protect the whole phone?
You could look into this: https://guardianproject.info/code/luks/
But I'd suspect that you'd have to shutdown or yank out your battery before police get to your phone.
merkk said:
It's not a question of right or not - i'd like to know how to prevent them from doing it. ubernoobza said i could encrypt the phone - how do i do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using ics? If so go to Settings - Security - Encrypt Phone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I'm looking at LUKS - hopefully i dont bork my phone.
And no, i'm not running ICS - i have an evo 4g - i haven't really looked into putting ICS on my phone yet. I'll look into the built in encryption on ICS and see if it'll do what i want - if so might be worth just installing ICS rather then messing around with LUKS (plus it gives me an excuse to play with ICS
ICS would be easier to try now, although I haven't. And the pleasure of ICS is holding me back from going to CM6 to try LUKS. I haven't read up anything about the ICS encryption yet though, being a little lazy.
If you read down on Guardian Project/LUKS' Gihub page, there's a mention of Moxie Marlinspike. His Whisper Systems company was the one that made the Redphone and TextSecure apps that were big Egypt's Arab Spring. They're developing a similar security/encryption suite, something to look out for.
http://www.whispersys.com/
It sounds like the ICS encryption encrypts everything. The one downside to it i've found some far is that it uses the same pin/password that's used to lock/unlock the phone.
To me that's a big mistake. You don't want a simple 4 digit pin for encryption - too easy to brute force. But you also don't want some super long complicated password for your lock code. Hopefully they'll change that at some point.
merkk said:
It sounds like the ICS encryption encrypts everything. The one downside to it i've found some far is that it uses the same pin/password that's used to lock/unlock the phone.
To me that's a big mistake. You don't want a simple 4 digit pin for encryption - too easy to brute force. But you also don't want some super long complicated password for your lock code. Hopefully they'll change that at some point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't allow you to just use a 4 digit pin. It needs to be a strong password. 1 digit, 1 letter and 1 capital minimum.
I can see what you mean about being a pain to unlock all the time, but I guess thats the price you pay for security!
merkk said:
It sounds like the ICS encryption encrypts everything. The one downside to it i've found some far is that it uses the same pin/password that's used to lock/unlock the phone.
To me that's a big mistake. You don't want a simple 4 digit pin for encryption - too easy to brute force. But you also don't want some super long complicated password for your lock code. Hopefully they'll change that at some point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a downside. But the pin/pass is minimum 4 characters. I just read somewhere that this might be capped at 7, still not great. Also, someone suggested using a pattern for unlocking and pin/pass for encryption. Dunno if that's a real workaround, not the most thorough web searches now.
Just found the android encryption notes page. It uses dm-crypt with 128 AES for filesystem and master key.
http://source.android.com/tech/encryption/android_crypto_implementation.html
Does this encrypt the contents on the sd card as well?
merkk said:
Does this encrypt the contents on the sd card as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
man, i'm learning some new things reading around, albeit mostly that i don't know ****. that android source link says it isn't usable with YAFFS, which likely means no. but then, i don't know **** about these filesystems -- yaffs, mtd, bml, ext4, they're all new to me.
I'm pretty sure the sd card is formatted with FAT32. The only other file system i've seen mentioned before in regards to the sd card would be ext2 and ext4.
Guess i'll have to do some digging. It would be REALLY cool if this encrypted the entire contents of the sd card as well.
Any idea how long the encryption should take and how you can tell when it's done? On the screen to start the encryption it says it could take an hour or more. It's been running for about 3 hours now. All it showed on the screen was a big android icon - and when i hit the home key just now, it took me to the home screen. So I'm not even sure if it's really finished, or if it even really started.
yikes, that's crazy. you'd think another screen or popup message would show.
I guess the only ways to find out are to go back to that menu and see if it's changed, check the log, or cross your fingers and reboot. eesh.
Related
I was just curious to find out if there was a general consensus as to the better app for recovering your phone. I realize that there are quite a few that do the job. I just want to find the one that does the job and does it well, because if my phone does ever get stolen/lost, I only have one shot to get it right. Trial and error doesn't really give me peace of mind when it's something you actually need it to work.
Any opinions?
princearic said:
I was just curious to find out if there was a general consensus as to the better app for recovering your phone. I realize that there are quite a few that do the job. I just want to find the one that does the job and does it well, because if my phone does ever get stolen/lost, I only have one shot to get it right. Trial and error doesn't really give me peace of mind when it's something you actually need it to work.
Any opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use titanium donate version and it does everything I could possibly ever want it to do. Will restore everything, even system settings.
lralexl said:
I use titanium donate version and it does everything I could possibly ever want it to do. Will restore everything, even system settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he's referring to tracking software...
I've seen some nice Tasker scripts that will lock up the phone and e-mail you its GPS coordinates if you send a certain text to it. This way you would get more for your money since Tasker does so many other amazing things.
Have you looked into WaveSecure? seems pretty good, https://www.wavesecure.com/wavesecure/android.aspx
I've heard some good things about Prey but in all honesty, it's good to keep things locked down with either encryption/passcode unlock too. I don't know the statistics on recovery of lost phones but being a pessimistic/optimist I'd say hope for the best but expect the worst. Sync your contacts/emails/etc on a regular basis (maybe once a week and you can use tasker for this), keep sensitive personal information off the phone if possible, etc.
Froyo might let you remote wipe (I heard it would be a feature for enterprise lvl stuff) but if the person who found it is tech savvy (pretty much anyone who can flash a rom) they might just pull the SIM & wipe the phone which would moot any security features you might have in place. I could be wrong though, I don't have a lot of experience in anti-theft and should probably look more into protecting my own phone too and seeing what options are available.
I do know that insurance will cover the loss but it doesn't help if you don't have a backup of all your important info somewhere. Oh, and before I forget, in addition to contacts/email you can sync your calendar too. You just need to make sure when you create an entry that you save it as a Google calendar entry and not to the phone. That way it will sync too.
MyLookout - It also has backup & virus protection
Master™ said:
MyLookout - It also has backup & virus protection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1.
10char
-bZj
Sim Checker Pro - Because if someone changes the SIM card, you can't send it a text message for other programs.
When the SIM card is changed out, it'll send me a text message (so I have the new number) and an email with the GPS location.
I also move the app from /data/app-private to /system/app as well, so it can't be deleted with a system wipe either [I just tested this.....Sim Checker is still there & it remembers my password]. Odin can obviously destroy it, but we're assuming this is stolen/found by someone who just thinks your phone is cool, not someone who knows the ins/outs of Samsung Vibrant hacking.
Another plus is if they do a wipe they'd probably lose root (forgot to verify this), which might be good as well.
From there, there are TONS of apps that will send back locations with GPS updates, Wheres My Droid is a popular example.
I would move all of these apps into the /system/app section to be on the safe side.
If I were to find a phone and decide not to give it back (hypothetically of course, don't blast me for something I haven't done), I would power it down & wipe it before doing anything...having them in your /system will help with this. I'm sure most people would probably just yank the SIM card.......either way, if you use Sim Checker, you'll be safe, but make sure you have another option like Wheres My Droid as well.
Also, I'm pretty sure if Sim Checker is in /system, it'll be able to turn the GPS on as well.
avast! Antivirus is now on android. I installed it and it offers a butt load of features!
My personal favorite feature is the anti theft mode! it will allow you to save two contacts so that you can activate it through text message from those contacts by entering in the password. It will also notify those contacts if the person changes the SIM card and it will send the new number through message (stealth mode).
Here are some of the many features you all might like...
App Disguiser
After downloading avast! Anti-Theft, user can choose a custom name that disguises the app (e.g. call it “Pinocchio game”) so that it is even harder for thieves to find and remove.
Stealth Mode
Once anti-theft is enabled, the app icon is hidden in the app tray, leaving no audio or other trace on the target phone – the app is ‘invisible’, making it difficult for thieves to detect or remove.
Self-Protection
Extremely difficult for thieves to remove (especially on rooted phones), Anti-Theft protects itself from uninstall by disguising its components with various self-preservation techniques. On rooted phones it is able to survive hard-resets and can even disable the phone’s USB port.
SIM-Card-Change Notification
If stolen and a different (unauthorized) SIM card inserted, the phone can lock, activate siren, and send you notification (to remote device) of the phone’s new number and geo-location.
Trusted SIM Cards List
Establish a ‘white list’ of approved SIM cards that can be used in the phone without triggering a theft alert. You can also easily clear the trusted SIM cards list, to leave the one present in the phone as the only trusted one.
Remote Features
SMS commands provide you the following REMOTE options for your ‘lost’ (or stolen) phone:
Siren, Lock, custom Display properties, Locate, Memory Wipe, covert Calling, Forwarding, “Lost” Notification, SMS Sending, History, Restart, and more.
This antivirus by far has the best features! Best part is that it's free!!!!!!!!!!!!
A) antivirus is not necessary on the android operating system unless you're downloading...."shifty " stuff let's say.
B) yeh antitheft is really a GREAT feature holy geez. Unless of course they simply....wipe data and flash a new rom.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
Yeah, if somehow we can put some lock code on flashing of new Rom then only anti theft has a meaning otherwise the thief can easily flash a new Rom and use the phone.
It is only be useful when we have left our phone somewhere and unable to locate it.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
Phalanx7621 said:
A) antivirus is not necessary on the android operating system unless you're downloading...."shifty " stuff let's say.
B) yeh antitheft is really a GREAT feature holy geez. Unless of course they simply....wipe data and flash a new rom.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downloaded something from the amazon app store a month ago and it was infected, Dr. web removed it....
Also I don't believe that if you lose your phone the thief will race home, learn how to wipe the atrix quickly and download a new ROM all within minutes. If I lost my phone I would know immediately and would start the anti theft process. Not all thief's are smart and in fact, if your a thief your not smart. You can have it disable a lot of features like the USB and other stuff if stolen just by messaging the phone and it all goes undetected..
But the app is not for everyone...... I would find it useful in a tight spot and I would rather have a CHANCE then no chance.
From what I can tell in the description you can set it up so Avast survives a hard reset so that you can still track the phone and lock it
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Phalanx7621 said:
A) antivirus is not necessary on the android operating system unless you're downloading...."shifty " stuff let's say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a whole thread on this exact subject with links to articles about market apps being removed for trojans, etc. Nothing you download over any network or from any source can be guaranteed to be safe. If you believe it is, you are very naive.
The use of anti-virus is purely optional. Some like myself value it while others do not, but to plainly say you just don't need it is just bad advice to put it simply.
CaelanT said:
There's a whole thread on this exact subject with links to articles about market apps being removed for trojans, etc. Nothing you download over any network or from any source can be guaranteed to be safe. If you believe it is, you are very naive.
The use of anti-virus is purely optional. Some like myself value it while others do not, but to plainly say you just don't need it is just bad advice to put it simply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 QFT
I want to REMOVE anti theft. How would I do THIS? HELP!
hooozy said:
I want to REMOVE anti theft. How would I do THIS? HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just uninstall it like you would any other application...is it really that hard?
hooozy said:
I want to REMOVE anti theft. How would I do THIS? HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you go into the anti theft portion look at the bottom there is a "help!" that will explain how to do it exactly. Once you install it and then activate it, it is a little harder to remove but possible. Just follow the directions they outline and you will be fine..
Well that's all fine and dandie butcouldnt the "thief just pull outthe battery if its going crazy in siren mode
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
ltdanno360 said:
Well that's all fine and dandie butcouldnt the "thief just pull outthe battery if its going crazy in siren mode
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ummmmm that is an option guy, not a requirement... why do people come up with the lamest questions about why they don't need the app (rhetorical question)
If you misplaced your phone and you realize within minutes yes you can do the siren thing to locate it quickly other then that the siren has no other use........ They have an option for almost every situation.
and the term used earlier in the thread, "QFT" is one of the dumbest internet terms, its equivalent to hitting the ******* THANKS button
ClearFire said:
ummmmm that is an option guy, not a requirement... why do people come up with the lamest questions about why they don't need the app (rhetorical question)
If you misplaced your phone and you realize within minutes yes you can do the siren thing to locate it quickly other then that the siren has no other use........ They have an option for almost every situation.
and the term used earlier in the thread, "QFT" is one of the dumbest internet terms, its equivalent to hitting the ******* THANKS button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that is probably the lamest "use" one can think of.if i misplaced my phone wont i just ring it up?
Blueangel180 said:
And that is probably the lamest "use" one can think of.if i misplaced my phone wont i just ring it up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so if you had your phone on silent or low volume calling it would work? you must have dog hearing guy... the siren uses max volume regardless if the phone is on silent, vibrate, low volume etc... use your brains people! Like I said, its just an option!!! not a requirement. There is other useful options other then that AND its safe to assume you didn't download it so now your just TROLLING
Great share! I'm an avast pc users and love that its on android.
I am a premium lookout user and think its time to cancel my scrip.
A few questions, some of the features are locked and say download anti-theft root installation... cant find this anywhere. I am rooted on cm7 and ul bootloader
Also, I can not access anti-theft advanced settings for hard reset protection.
Lastly, where can I find the command list for how to track my phone and any other commands.
Thanks!!
Installed and testing. I want to see if it can replace 'Droid wall'. Kaspersky which i've been using for over a year hasn't got many features in my opinion...
no need for an antivirus on android. and there are plenty of antitheft apps. and besides just get a firewall. so if u DO happen to get a shifty app that wants to send data back home, usually a GOOD firewall will not allow it.
i wouldnt and dont worry about shifty apps anyways. My phone isnt used to hold anything important. i dont do business on it thats for sure lol. i dont order stuff on the net with it neither. If the website has a number to call and order I use it.
There are alot of people out there that do EVERYTHING from there phone.
for them, well i dont know what to tell ya. except never rely on anything.
pcrat said:
no need for an antivirus on android. and there are plenty of antitheft apps. and besides just get a firewall. so if u DO happen to get a shifty app that wants to send data back home, usually a GOOD firewall will not allow it.
i wouldnt and dont worry about shifty apps anyways. My phone isnt used to hold anything important. i dont do business on it thats for sure lol. i dont order stuff on the net with it neither. If the website has a number to call and order I use it.
There are alot of people out there that do EVERYTHING from there phone.
for them, well i dont know what to tell ya. except never rely on anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Especially dangerously bad advice from uninformed and careless users.
Remember not too long ago, everyone thought Apples were immune to malware.
Also, viruses are but only one form of malware.
There is no substitute for caution and careful behavior.
Phalanx7621 said:
A) antivirus is not necessary on the android operating system unless you're downloading...."shifty " stuff let's say.
B) yeh antitheft is really a GREAT feature holy geez. Unless of course they simply....wipe data and flash a new rom.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true true what are you installing that would be questionable....well stop
I tried Avast over the weekend, it will not download virus definition updates, I see others left Market feedback saying the same thing. Lookout is installed once again.
ClearFire said:
and the term used earlier in the thread, "QFT" is one of the dumbest internet terms, its equivalent to hitting the ******* THANKS button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lmao ClearFire your soo salty, you'll disagree with anything I say or hate on it cause I made you mad.. Grow up and move on, people disagree.
DISCLAIMER:
1. I just got done perusing 10 pages of hits for "airplane mode" and everyone is trying to do something opposite of what I'm doing. So if there was a post long ago about this, I'm sorry I could not find it.
2. I'm not really that android-savvy. Just good at following instructions.
QUESTION:
How do I enable Airplane Mode "permanently" so that a child cannot disable this mode?
EXPLANATION:
I have several android devices (Droid Xs, specifically) that have clean ESNs and are not currently being used on any carrier. I also have children (5,3,1).
I've SBF'd, rooted, and removed all unnecessary APKs, leaving only a few educational apps and games for the children to use. And, yes, I enable Airplane Mode. They love having their own little "mini" tablets and being able to be like the grown-ups.
Unfortunately, the oldest has a knack for pushing all sorts of buttons and inadvertently turning the phone's radio back on. Now, I'm a bit worried (should I be?) that an inadvertent phone call or use of the carrier's data is going to cost me something.
Yes, I know that I have not associated the ESN with any carrier; however, as I'm sure most of you know, when you dial a number with a non-subscribed number, it still asks you if you want to make the call and charge it to a credit card - at least, this is what the phone did the last time this happened.
So, bottom line, I want to disable my child's access to any carrier's cellular and data networks. And I want to be the only one that could possible re-enable that access.
If there was some way to enable Airplane Mode "permanently" and remove access to all toggles, settings that could disable Airplane Mode, then this would ease my mind. Obviously, I would want this condition to exist only until I either reflashed the phone or had to do something very convoluted (perhaps editing some setting manually via command line or ADB?).
If there are other options, please let me know. I just need a solution to minimize the chance that my 5-year-old could inadvertantly access the carrier's networks.
Thanks in advance.
and they still should/will call 911 regardless of plan
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
I believe there is a guide out to remove items from the settings menu. It will take a bit of editting but its detailed! Then you can use any widget to reenable it. Or if you dont what that chance aswell pick a.launcher where you can disable widgets.
Sent from my Sensation using XDA App
You can probably prevent the modem from loading or something, but maybe I misread your post : why not remove the sim card altogether ?
Freeze dailer.apk and some system app about dailing to network.
Dailer.apk, voice dailer, and few more
Accidentally sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA Premium
The apps that you can't remove, you can password lock. Slap a password on settings and the dialer and any other app you couldn't remove but don't want the kids in and don't give them the password. There are multiple apps available to do this, and I believe I saw one or two for free on GetJar. GetJar also has a lot of free games as part of their promotion, which may be good for your kids. It's a legit app store, no pirating or anything.
I believe that there's also a script to disable the cell radio. I don't know much more about it, but it may be something to look in to.
Supersonic Evo 4G | MIUI | Tapatalk
Thanks for all the responses:
@ltdanno360 - they will not be using the devices as phones. And essentially, my children have an adult with them 24/7. The adults just do not want to have to look over the child's shoulder 24/7 to see what app the child is running.
@tarends - ok, it'd be helpful to know where this guide exists; however, now I have something to search for.
@Bubble-be - it would be nice to disable the modem; unfortunately, Verizon Droid X do not have SIM cards... am I wrong?
@melvinchng - ok, I'll look into de-bloating those APKs too. I do recall reading something about that.
@plainjane - I'll look into those password apps and scripts.
Anyhow, I do have some direction now and will follow-up (eventually)...
Thanks again, everyone!
Get a real carrier that uses sim cards.
script to disable radio
here is the page that has a script to disable the radio
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25016-modany-phone-any-rom-wi-fi-only-mode-disable-cell-radio/
i hope it helps. i am in the same boat.
wuilly said:
here is the page that has a script to disable the radio
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/25016-modany-phone-any-rom-wi-fi-only-mode-disable-cell-radio/
i hope it helps. i am in the same boat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That script works great, I have used it for a while, but ever since android moved to the "fused location provider" that script/mod also disables the gps which I still want to function because I do sometimes take my son with me to play Ingress via wifi tethering to my device, and with that mod, Ingress can no longer get an accurate location. neither can google maps or earth.
Overdue followup
wuilly said:
here is the page that has a script to disable the radio ...
i hope it helps. i am in the same boat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, even though it's a few years later. I actually took a look at the script and it looks like it's perfect! However, since my original post, I've found an app that does everything I want it to do and then some:
Kids Place by kiddoware.
(Sorry, I'm prevented from posting links until my 10th post... I'll update the links later. For now, just Google it.)
It let's me selectively turn off the radio for apps. I can configure which apps they have access to and for how long. I can blacklist/whitelist websites. The feature list is impressive and practical. And it works on all three of my very old Droid X.
Hello people,
I have been playing with some crazy idea for a while. I know that exist a lot of anti-theft apps where you can send a message to your stolen and it performs a certain task like taking a picture or start an alarm or something like that.
So I have started to think about the possibility of a more radical idea like being able to send a sms to your stolen phone that would cause some kind of irreversible damage. Something that could fry your phone internal components like a killer overclocking.
I dunno, I just thought that it would be a cool sweet revenge.
99% of the time if some steals your phone the first thing they do is throw away your sim card.
And what about sending a message through your Google Account? I think I once tried an apk that was able to send message using your gmail account.
bse88 said:
And what about sending a message through your Google Account? I think I once tried an apk that was able to send message using your gmail account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full wipe, and all is Ok
Better idea would be to throw a false reset option in the settings that reformats the phone to make the phone appear to have been reset but GPS, and various owner enabled services would still be on and accessible via computer manipulation.....or predefined actions.
Sent from CDMA V6 SC GNexus w/Liquid & Franco.kernel
Well there is a good anti theft app called cerberus
Just take insurance,u get brand new phone
There are already several apps available that do exactly what you suggest.
It should be easy to hard brick the phone. A little "dd if=/dev/random of=/dev/... bs=512 count=1" to all partitions on the phone should do the trick
An App with a hardcoded config in /system/app would survive a Factory Reset
I much rather would like to catch the thief who stole my phone instead of frying the phone.
My phone got stolen last month and even though I had some kind of find phone feature, I couldn't look it up. They should made something based on the IMEI# of the phone to track it instead of the sim card and account, which could easily be replaced.
Full wipe
I've had an idea for improving anti theft.
The one flaw in hardcore solutions like avast mobile and Cerberus is that they are rendered useless when a new ROM is flashed or the system partition is wiped. I know avast is supposed to have an option to be added to the backup list on CyanogenMod based ROMs, but for some reason it never works for me. Maybe because it could have been designed for CM7 and not CM9.
Anyway, the solution to the issue would be adding the anti theft program to another protected partition other than the android system. OEMs use additional partitions for the HBOOT or ODIN. An encrypted partition would make it secure. I know Ubuntu has some sort LVM encryption.
Or, restricting access to the custom recovery menu by locking it with a pass code. The issue with that might be where to store that pass code. Of course you could just reflash a stock recovery to prevent writing to the system partition, but who wants to do that?
So there's a basic description of the flaw now it just needs to be fixed somehow. I'm not good with actual coding so I'd leave that to the developers.
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Buckylastard said:
I much rather would like to catch the thief who stole my phone instead of frying the phone.
My phone got stolen last month and even though I had some kind of find phone feature, I couldn't look it up. They should made something based on the IMEI# of the phone to track it instead of the sim card and account, which could easily be replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would rather blow up my phone along with the hand of the thief.
U add an app to system/app and this app popup every 12h and want a code like "xdgfr" and u have 10 seconds after first touch of code, if u dont write in ur phone vibrates 20 seconds and than u must insert again code if not ---> hard brick
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium
Install a ssh server such as dropbear, starting from init.rc
Install an IPv6 6in4 tunnel.
Now you got access to your phone via ssh and a unique IPv6 address, reachable wherever the phone is, behind NATs, firewalls, on cellular nets etc.
If it gets stolen, just access it and decide the best action ...
Just :
A new encrypted partition that can only be deleted by the user entering a password, this partition will store a pre-configured program that will detect the state of the rom, stolen-alarm, will store credentials (for accessing the main security account, data and networks) and will take actions depending on that configuration or direct access from the user(Via ssh or a custom UI).
What about that?
It doesn't need to be a large partition, just large enough to save that data.
I wouldnt want that app to get in the wrong hands.
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Thanks ✟
Moving to Q&A
Hi.
My girlfriend has a Samsung Galaxy S II that has been acting a bit weird recently. Battery life has become extremely short, and she discovered hundreds of files all with names beginning with "tracker-c6446d57267343". Most mysterious of all is that something is somehow using the GPS even though it has been deactivated in the settings.
I'm suspecting her phone is infected with malware, and I'm planning to do a full wipe next time we meet. She's downloading AVG from Google Play right now to run a scan, but I'm going to do a full wipe anyway just to be sure and because she wants to have a clean start anyway.
I'm mostly curious if anyone has encountered this before. Is it malware? If so, how harmful is it? Keylogger, possibly?
Thanks.
CNMOH said:
Hi.
My girlfriend has a Samsung Galaxy S II that has been acting a bit weird recently. Battery life has become extremely short, and she discovered hundreds of files all with names beginning with "tracker-c6446d57267343". Most mysterious of all is that something is somehow using the GPS even though it has been deactivated in the settings.
I'm suspecting her phone is infected with malware, and I'm planning to do a full wipe next time we meet. She's downloading AVG from Google Play right now to run a scan, but I'm going to do a full wipe anyway just to be sure and because she wants to have a clean start anyway.
I'm mostly curious if anyone has encountered this before. Is it malware? If so, how harmful is it? Keylogger, possibly?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow, first post for ya huh? good for you.
dont waste your time with AVG. just wipe the phone. and tell her not to install a bunch of stupid apps.
BluePoint Antivirus is my personal fave
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SII
CM9 Stable/Siyah 4.1
topiratiko said:
BluePoint Antivirus is my personal fave
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SII
CM9 Stable/Siyah 4.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lmao. anti virus on android. you guys are funny!
U know its pointless right?
MotoMudder77 said:
Lmao. anti virus on android. you guys are funny!
U know its pointless right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. It is. Odds are someone installed an app on yer girlfriends phone to be able to track her, tape pictures with the camera remotely, steal her credit card info, use the mic to record what's going on , etc. All of this can be achieved with ONE app and allows the person who installed it to remotely access the device. Also the app hides itself from detection in the app drawer and in the app manager . The legal reasons to install it are for if u lose your phone. But if someone got a hold of her phone they could easily have put this on and set it up within minutes. In other words. Someone can hear and see everything she's been doing.
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Phalanx7621 said:
Exactly. It is. Odds are someone installed an app on yer girlfriends phone to be able to track her, tape pictures with the camera remotely, steal her credit card info, use the mic to record what's going on , etc. All of this can be achieved with ONE app and allows the person who installed it to remotely access the device. Also the app hides itself from detection in the app drawer and in the app manager . The legal reasons to install it are for if u lose your phone. But if someone got a hold of her phone they could easily have put this on and set it up within minutes. In other words. Someone can hear and see everything she's been doing.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I'm finding it highly unlikely that any of her friends would do something like that, not to mention that none of them have the technical know-how (yes, I know it's not hard, but none of her friends are even technologically adept to pull something like this off) to do it. If such malware has been installed on her phone, it most likely came bundled with some app she downloaded. She doesn't get all her app downloads from Google Play.
MotoMudder77 said:
Lmao. anti virus on android. you guys are funny!
U know its pointless right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the way it looks on my status bar.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SII
CM9 Stable/Siyah 4.1
CNMOH said:
I'm finding it highly unlikely that any of her friends would do something like that, not to mention that none of them have the technical know-how (yes, I know it's not hard, but none of her friends are even technologically adept to pull something like this off) to do it. If such malware has been installed on her phone, it most likely came bundled with some app she downloaded. She doesn't get all her app downloads from Google Play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no such thing as malware on android. everything you install tells you what it has access to.
The only thing like malware, would be an application that records stuff and sends it out, which would be listed when she installed the app, Tho im sure most rarely pay attention to that screen other than hitting install.
There are no viruses, no malware, or anything "hidden" that can attack stuff without your permission.
Wipe the phone. Dont install pirated apps or stupid pointless apps.
MotoMudder77 said:
There is no such thing as malware on android. everything you install tells you what it has access to.
The only thing like malware, would be an application that records stuff and sends it out, which would be listed when she installed the app, Tho im sure most rarely pay attention to that screen other than hitting install.
There are no viruses, no malware, or anything "hidden" that can attack stuff without your permission.
Wipe the phone. Dont install pirated apps or stupid pointless apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Malware can definitely affect android. Sure there are safeguards built in to reduce the chances of it happening, but they rely on the user to enforce them. I can almost guarantee that a majority of android users don't look at what permissions an app is asking for prior to installation. I know for a fact that out of the 5 android users in my house I am the only one that checks permissions before I install anything. In addition, even if one is checking the permissions, a malicious app can easily disguise itself as an everyday app that requires the permissions the Malware needs but would be overlooked because the host app has a valid reason for needing those permissions.
A dialer, email, sms, social networking app will all ask for access to your contacts. And it's necessary for that app to do its job. Well if that same app has unlimited access to your network then it can now take your contacts and upload them.
Now a virus is another thing all together. While it's possible on a rooted phone with rw permissions in the system directory, it's unlikely since most apps exist in a "sandbox" so to speak. It wouldn't be that difficult for a root explorer app to gain access to your /system directory and wreak havoc and then target your sdcard and wipe out your data. But not before uploading whatever it wants (a lot of explorers require network permissions for cloud service, etc). But then I guess that would be classified as malware and not a virus
And lets not leave out all the apps that use social networks to login..
But the last two Lines of your post say it all. Stay away from pirated apps and watch what 3rd party apps you're trusting these permissions with.