[Q] What's wrong with my phone? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've recently been experiencing a series of pop-ups in an Android dialogue box occasionally when I click links that I know are clean.
A lot of them are dialogue boxes that say "Congratulations, your US number has been chosen for a gift - press the OK button to continue"
and the only way out is to either press the Okay button or force stop the browser.
The browser it most recently happened with has been with Dolphin Mini browser - can't remember if it occurred through my Android's native Internet browser or not, either way it takes me to a site called Mobgifts(dot)org
I did some research and some said it was a virus, but I have Lookout installed on my device and scan it weekly and just did a scan yesterday - all was clean..
TL;DR: Internet links in browser lately have been unescapable diallogue boxes that say "Congrats you won this" and you have no other options than to either force quit or press Okay then exit
What are your takes on my issue?
Btw - phone is stock, non rooted, hasn't ever been rooted.

Ok it seems your pop up blocker is disabled
i dont know wich browser u´re using so try to find something like that in the preferences of the browser
if it doensnt work go to settings applications head to your browser open the dialog box and delete all app data (dont uninstal it!!)
If this doesnt work try another browser
What pages are you visiting when the popups are there

jiffer1991 said:
Ok it seems your pop up blocker is disabled
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Phone is completely stock - no rooting so no popup blocker
jiffer1991 said:
i dont know wich browser u´re using so try to find something like that in the preferences of the browser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Dolphin Mini browser
jiffer1991 said:
if it doensnt work go to settings applications head to your browser open the dialog box and delete all app data (dont uninstal it!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done that, cleaned it all out, I have Lookout installed, but as I stated, nothing is being picked up by it
jiffer1991 said:
What pages are you visiting when the popups are there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's happened on various pages, some links to Imgur (image hosting site), and then this time it happened on Vimeo.

I'm getting the same on my Cappy whenever I try to come to XDA. I just loaded Serenity Rom on the phone, haven't added any apps that I didn't have when I was on Cognition (other than BLN and Avast, in an attempt to see if the phone is virused. It's not. Supposedly).
I am royally pissed about this. I've had this phone for two years, most of it on some form of Cognition, and never had a problem. I literally can't imagine how these popups have wormed their way onto my phone--and for me, at least, what browser I use doesn't matter. Sooner or later, that damned popup shows up, and there's no way out of it except to FC the browser.
Looks like I'll be stripping the OS back to stock and starting over again, unless someone can suggest a solution beyond "turn on your popup blocker", since it's never off.
NOT happy.

I seemed to have found a solution - and from what I was told on AndroidForums on a thread post - its more of an AirPush issue - meaning its an advert through an app that has been installed,
I just scanned with Lookout and Norton and nothing was out of place or infected.
I also posted to Reddit's Android Community to see what they thought. I'm awaiting their opinions.

Getting the same popup from mobgifts.org for only the last couple days. Googling it get almost nothing. It doesn't seem to have a pattern of coming from any particular website.
I did as others have said and FC'd. I even accidentally clicked on OK once and it seemed to do nothing but except close the popup box, it didn't take me to a new website, etc.

Experiencing a similar problem, but so far, it doesn't seem like anyone has come up with a solution. It could very well be an app that is using the most obnoxious ads ever, but I've used both Airpush Detector and Lookout's Ad Network Detector and both come up empty.
I know that the ad network is BlueAds.com and they keep changing the URL of the gift site. It has been mobilewinner.org, mobilevisitor.org, rewardstoday.org, mobprizes.com and now mobgifts.org.

Has been happenning on my tab as well.. Mainly on xda. My phone hasnt had any problems yet. Quite annoying i must say. Hope someone can shed some light as have gona through all the apps with no luck.

In light of the situation came an email from Lookout!
Hey everyone, I just wanted to post this here - a conversation I had with the Lookout security team about the whole situation, perhaps this might bring some ease to some of you.
Enjoy

alex.ap.pacman said:
Hey everyone, I just wanted to post this here - a conversation I had with the Lookout security team about the whole situation, perhaps this might bring some ease to some of you.
Enjoy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you cut and paste the actual text from the mail - opening up the image its too blurry to read
thanks

alex.ap.pacman said:
Hey everyone, I just wanted to post this here - a conversation I had with the Lookout security team about the whole situation, perhaps this might bring some ease to some of you.
Enjoy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know about anybody else but I can't read the text in that image, could you provide a larger version or copy & paste the conversation?
I just started getting this on my phone. Coincidentally it had never happened prior to me putting the Pure ICS ROM on my SGS2. Here's my timeline if it helps:
• Stock ICS ROM (O2 UK)
• Sunday - Backuped up and Flashed FOXHOUND ICS ROM
• Tuesday Morning - Factory rest, wiped cache/dalvik cache and flashed Pure ICS ROM
• Tuesday Afternoon - Restored app backups via Titanium
• Tuesday Night - Started noticing mobgifts(dot)org hijacking my browser(s)
I say mobgifts(dot)org is hijacking because it happens on the stock browser, ICS Browser+ (my current fav) and dolphin. It is also not appearing as a popup but rather loading in the current browser tab.
It's hard to diagnose because I can't make it happen, but it seems to be overriding some hyperlink clicks. As others have said, it seems to happen most often when I'm on xda-developers.com but then that could be because I'm on these forums a lot right now.
I've run Addons Detector, AirPush Detector, TrustGo Antivirus & Mobile Security, Comodo Antivirus Free, Lookout etc. All have come up with nothing. So, assuming all these Android anti-virus/malware scanners aren't just a load of rubbish it only really leaves either something in the Pure ICS ROM or malware in one or more of the sites I visit?

Would really love it if that image was big enough for us to read. This scam ad thing is killing me.

AndySX said:
Don't know about anybody else but I can't read the text in that image, could you provide a larger version or copy & paste the conversation?
I just started getting this on my phone. Coincidentally it had never happened prior to me putting the Pure ICS ROM on my SGS2. Here's my timeline if it helps:
• Stock ICS ROM (O2 UK)
• Sunday - Backuped up and Flashed FOXHOUND ICS ROM
• Tuesday Morning - Factory rest, wiped cache/dalvik cache and flashed Pure ICS ROM
• Tuesday Afternoon - Restored app backups via Titanium
• Tuesday Night - Started noticing mobgifts(dot)org hijacking my browser(s)
I say mobgifts(dot)org is hijacking because it happens on the stock browser, ICS Browser+ (my current fav) and dolphin. It is also not appearing as a popup but rather loading in the current browser tab.
It's hard to diagnose because I can't make it happen, but it seems to be overriding some hyperlink clicks. As others have said, it seems to happen most often when I'm on xda-developers.com but then that could be because I'm on these forums a lot right now.
I've run Addons Detector, AirPush Detector, TrustGo Antivirus & Mobile Security, Comodo Antivirus Free, Lookout etc. All have come up with nothing. So, assuming all these Android anti-virus/malware scanners aren't just a load of rubbish it only really leaves either something in the Pure ICS ROM or malware in one or more of the sites I visit?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not just ics roms as it happens to me on my stock unrooted tab 10.1 running honeycomb 32. As you said its not a tab and it disables the back button requiring closing and opening a new tab

Not Malware or anything to worry about - marked as solved please
vsniperii said:
Its not just ics roms as it happens to me on my stock unrooted tab 10.1 running honeycomb 32. As you said its not a tab and it disables the back button requiring closing and opening a new tab
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said guys, it's strictly adware - use Lookout's Ad Network app off the Play store, I would link it but unfortunately I don't have enough posts to do that yet.
- It isn't malware or any form of trojan - its advertising, Someone brought up that it wasn't AirPush but a different company instead.

Hi Alex
I'm not sure it is adware. It seems to be just a Javascript alert dialog box. Because users don't always realise that, they assume that clicking OK is going to start a download or something. As far as I know, it should be just fine to accept the OK then hit the back button etc. It certainly gave me a fright the first time I saw it!
It looks like we're ending the golden age of mobile browsing. I remember a period on the desktop about 15 years ago when you couldn't block popups, and one malign website could completely ruin your afternoon. Hopefully we're not going to go through a similar phase with mobile computing....

Related

Firefox Mobile- Great Tablet Browser?

So now that the new Firefox 4 Beta 5 is out, I personally think Firefox is the best Tablet browser available. Its unique approach to tabs works well on a tablet, as does the back button. The earlier versions were super slow, but I think this new one has caught up a lot. I now prefer it greatly to Dolphin HD.
I have installed the following add-ons to maximize my Nook Color internet use:
-Quit Fennec- force closes after last tab closes, a must
-Phony- easy User Agent changer, another must
-readability- fixes messy pages to fit
-Full Screen- Does what it says and makes browsing a joy
What do you all think?
I agree. Seems stable and fast (compared to Dolphin). I also used Sync to import all my passwords and favorites from my desktop.
I'll give it a try, it was even slower and klunkier than Dolphin HD last time I tried it, I use Opera 10 on my NC and it's great. I've tried Mirin too but something about that browser bugs me, can't really put my finger on it.
Can you guys post an apk? I can't get to it from market or Mozilla's website.
Thanks for the tip. Every browser seems to have 1 thing wrong with it so ill definitely give this one a try. I would like opwlera best but i can't get over the terrible way it handles initial zoom.
I agree, I can't find a working link to download the apk. I fennec but it installed an update that didn't work and now I can't install Firefox. Bummer
Would appreciate the apk as well. Thanks
FTP is your friend, as old-school as it is.
ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.o...roid-r7/en-US/fennec-4.0b5-en-US.eabi-arm.apk
Thanks for the link. But everytime I try to install this, it seems to progress, asks about permissions, but at the end, says "program not installed". I've enabled usb debugging, used titanium backup to uninstall the previous left overs of Fennec, and I still get this message. A little stumped.
is this compatible with Android 2.1 with the latest dalingrin OC? I cannot get the apk to install. launched the Package Installer and installation would not get through saying "Application not installed"
Also each time I start the installer, it would warn that the app will replace an existing appl, but i do not currently have a fennec/firefox appl installed. Titanium Backup does not show any fennec/firefox app.
Can someone help please?
thanks
finally able to install by tweaking the the build.prop as suggested here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=938114&highlight=firefox
if anyone else was having the same problem. that tweak fixed it for me.
I gave this a try based on this thread. While I do like the UI and it has a snappy response, the app itself is not ready for prime-time. If you try to enter numeric information into a field, it causes the insertion point to jump around. For example, I tried to visit the website for a local library and when it asked me to enter in my library card #, instead of "1234..." it would go "1243...". The insertion of characters as I typed them magically skipped around in the field. This was not isolated to just that website. Happened on a registration form on Adobe's site as well. Very annoying.
Looking forward to future updates.
--ex
I personally think Miren browser is the best for the nook. I have it set so that that status bar/tabs stays around all the time, and the floating buttons always hide. The only issue is that it doesn't work well with image links when they are opened in a new tab. In the new tab it will instead go to the link of the picture, not the actual link to the website. I will try this though, I tried the beta a long time ago so it will be nice to see how far they have come.
evilxenu said:
For example, I tried to visit the website for a local library and when it asked me to enter in my library card #, instead of "1234..." it would go "1243...". The insertion of characters as I typed them magically skipped around in the field.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have noticed this too. The only (painful) solution I have found is to very slowly type with a pause in-between each letter. Thank goodness it can sync with my desktop Firefox and slurp up all my passwords to avoid this mostly.
OMG SERIOUSLY? I tried Firefox last night for about 20 minutes and it GROUND TO A HALT each time I tried to search or put input in the URL bar. It'd freeze, if I tried to do anything I'd get the FC/Wait dialog, I hit Wait several times.. Finally killed it, tried again... Same thing. Eventually it'd load the page.
If you all think it's great, I wonder wtf is going on with my install. Maybe I need to uninstall it, make sure any old sdcard stuff is cleaned (I had it installed a few betas ago) and try again. Totally unusable for me right now.
I'm hoping the FF Deskop Ad Block Pro extension works with the FF mobile soon. That can make the internet a much more bearable place.
Works for me. But can't t flash to work. Works in dolphin and stock
Sent from my Nook Color (zoom2) using Tapatalk
will75 said:
Works for me. But can't t flash to work. Works in dolphin and stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Flash doesn't work so far.

Those who are having stock browser problems--are you experiencing this?

like some of the people here, my stock browser will hang up and be unresponsive on a regular basis. Sometimes a force close helps, but sometimes, when I look in the Asus Task Manager, or if I go to Settings> Apps > select "Running Apps", the browser doesn't show up, as if it's not even considered running. I usually have to select the app itself from settings > apps and then force close it.
Anyone else find it strange that the device doesn't even show the app as "running"? I don't know what to make of this, but perhaps someone else here does.
BTW, I did try Gary's Key's experimental fix, and got rid of Chrome and flash, rebooted, and then reinstalled Flash, but I'm still having the same problem.
lyrictenor1 said:
like some of the people here, my stock browser will hang up and be unresponsive on a regular basis. Sometimes a force close helps, but sometimes, when I look in the Asus Task Manager, or if I go to Settings> Apps > select "Running Apps", the browser doesn't show up, as if it's not even considered running. I usually have to select the app itself from settings > apps and then force close it.
Anyone else find it strange that the device doesn't even show the app as "running"? I don't know what to make of this, but perhaps someone else here does.
BTW, I did try Gary's Key's experimental fix, and got rid of Chrome and flash, rebooted, and then reinstalled Flash, but I'm still having the same problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya, uninstalling Chrome and Flash didn't work for me either. I want to say that the browser hanging issue has been a problem with mine ever since I got it, but I honestly can't remember for sure. Hopefully this is something that is fixed soon as the browser is probably the most used thing on a tablet, so it is quite an annoying thing to have to deal with.
As far as the browser not showing up in the Running Apps list, I know I have seen the same thing with other apps as well. I'm not sure off the top of my head which Apps they were but I know in the past I have tried to go to the Running Apps list to try and force close an app only to find that it wasn't listed. I had to switch to the All Apps view and found the app that I wanted to kill that way.
lyrictenor1 said:
sometimes, when I look in the Asus Task Manager, or if I go to Settings> Apps > select "Running Apps", the browser doesn't show up, as if it's not even considered running. I usually have to select the app itself from settings > apps and then force close it.
Anyone else find it strange that the device doesn't even show the app as "running"? I don't know what to make of this, but perhaps someone else here does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried tapping "Show Cached Processes" in the top-right corner? Android apps might appear to be "running" but are in fact suspended and cached ready to be instantly restored provided that the RAM being used to cache them isn't needed for other purposes.
I havent looked to see if the browser shows up in apps running.....
BUT BY GOD FIX THE BROWSER.....OH THE HUMANITY!!!
I may have 10 apps intalled, stupid ones. Even before I installed ANY apps I would get the "browser not responding...wait/cancel...."
It seems to have gotten worse with the latest updates. Now I get LOCKUPS like others are talking about. Resets havent helped.
Dont know, but this **** is getting old!
EDIT: Why the hell do I have to go thru all these apps, resets, clear caches etc.....the browser should, well just freaking work.
I've noticed more and more browser issues lately. Like playing a game on Facebook.... forget it. Then I get the dreaded wait box. Why can't Google make a browser that actually works?
Do you have plugins set to "always on" or "on demand" in the stock browser? I found that setting them to on demand stops all that. I think it's the flash plugin and the way sites are using it that's causing all the problems.
bgm307 said:
Do you have plugins set to "always on" or "on demand" in the stock browser? I found that setting them to on demand stops all that. I think it's the flash plugin and the way sites are using it that's causing all the problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get problems with the stock browser with them on "on demand". "Always on" would slow things down too much to leave on anyway.
I had these problems since the Prime's inception.
I really like to see an Internet Explorer for Android. That's how bad the current batch of Android browsers have sucked so bad. I have to turn to IE for hope.
the_game_master said:
I had these problems since the Prime's inception.
I really like to see an Internet Explorer for Android. That's how bad the current batch of Android browsers have sucked so bad. I have to turn to IE for hope.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I realize the quasi-joking, but what a horrid comment.
I'm sorry, but I feel that Opera Mini generally does a better job than IE ever thought of: then there's Opera Mobile, it's the only one I'll consider for my phone. ICS Browser+ does a good job of showing you what the stock browser could be. MaxthonPad handles and looks pretty well, I don't personally use gestures and the new tab button is kind of in a bad place IMO.
Anyway, nothing I've tried has remedied the stock browser, and I hadn't noticed it missing in Running Apps, but it's not often that I look there or force close anything.
Both my ICS phone and my TFP as well as my friend complaining about it on his ICS phone are all unstable. Granted it has yet to really annoy me but I think its Android not the TPF. This is my opinion YMMV and it could be the ASUS fault in some way.
Sent from my Inspire Cream Sandwich using XDA.
zerodameaon said:
Both my ICS phone and my TFP as well as my friend complaining about it on his ICS phone are all unstable. Granted it has yet to really annoy me but I think its Android not the TPF. This is my opinion YMMV and it could be the ASUS fault in some way.
Sent from my Inspire Cream Sandwich using XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true.
I have a Galaxy Nexus with ICS and I never had this problem on that browser.
It's somewhat related to the TPF.
sad, because besides this problem I love this tablet.
rubi76 said:
Not true.
I have a Galaxy Nexus with ICS and I never had this problem on that browser.
It's somewhat related to the TPF.
sad, because besides this problem I love this tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like i said your mileage may vary. Three cases on my end is making me think its Android its self. You haven't seen the issue on your end so it points to the Prime. Different cases and different perspectives. Then again the Galaxy Nexus is also ICS Native so maybe that could be part of the problem I don't pretend to have that answer.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
markimar said:
I've noticed more and more browser issues lately. Like playing a game on Facebook.... forget it. Then I get the dreaded wait box. Why can't Google make a browser that actually works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't blame Google. Blame Asus. I've had a GSM Galaxy Nexus since launch, and the browser works flawlessly - no hangs, no unresponsiveness. This is all Asus.
Speaking of stock browser problems, anyone else notice anything like this? Some kind of malicious exploit in a browser's cache or something-other, apparently even an unrooted user got the issue so I just find it really interesting since that rules out changes to the hosts file.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1542804
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD via my tethered HTC Vision
Annoying but works
Someone mentioned in the other post that taking off javascript and putting plugins on demand helps. No lies it does its like night and day. Nothing like just plugins on demand by itself. Im not sure if its Asus or Android but the problem is somewhere in there.
mikeypopps said:
Someone mentioned in the other post that taking off javascript and putting plugins on demand helps. No lies it does its like night and day. Nothing like just plugins on demand by itself. Im not sure if its Asus or Android but the problem is somewhere in there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was me, and indeed ics browser+ without javascript is extremely fast. It's now even faster then chrome on my desktop pc.
It's gone from 5sec loading time for this forum to sub 1sec.
Only problem is that some sites need the javascript. But for that you can use a different browser.
nyijedi said:
Don't blame Google. Blame Asus. I've had a GSM Galaxy Nexus since launch, and the browser works flawlessly - no hangs, no unresponsiveness. This is all Asus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly!! If anyone remembers awhile back I was bragging on how the galaxy nexus running ICS put the iPhone 4s browser to shame & that was with flash running!!
I said once Asus got ICS it would blow Apple away. Well Asus screwed that up big time!
Guys, could someone who knows what he's doing change vm heap size to 128 or even lower and try then? I've done a bit of research and 256 seems way to high.
One thing for sure, its not browsers, chrome or flash fault.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
mgmCube said:
It was me, and indeed ics browser+ without javascript is extremely fast. It's now even faster then chrome on my desktop pc.
It's gone from 5sec loading time for this forum to sub 1sec.
Only problem is that some sites need the javascript. But for that you can use a different browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using it while streaming radio in background. You'll be unpleasantly surprised.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
mgmCube said:
It was me, and indeed ics browser+ without javascript is extremely fast. It's now even faster then chrome on my desktop pc.
It's gone from 5sec loading time for this forum to sub 1sec.
Only problem is that some sites need the javascript. But for that you can use a different browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How exactly do you know if a site uses javascript? Does the site just not load or is it minor? What kind of stuff uses it?
Going to give this a shot on my prime. The hangups are pretty annoying but I have really gotten used to and like the ICS+ browser so don't want to change!

[Q] Can't save Google settings or erase browser history completely.

I just upgraded to the HTC One X+ and have found two problems that are unacceptable.
1. In any browser it seems (I've tried the Default, Dolphin & Firefox) I cannot save the Google Web Site "Search Settings". I always get "Sorry, we failed to save your settings. Try again later.". This has been the case with this phone only for weeks. My old phone, a Samsung Captivate, it works just fine. I have tried many things in the phone settings to no avail. Can anyone help me?
2. In the default browser, I cannot erase the browsing history completely. Even though the history shows as empty, you can still <Forward> & <Back> to ALL previously viewed web pages. It will always open to the last page browsed, not the set home page. I've tried a couple of history erasers but none did anything. Can anyone help here as well?
Thanks.
this is why porn on your phone is bad mmkay
Lloir said:
this is why porn on your phone is bad mmkay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may be a junior member, but I am very far from being a junior. I am also far too old for that kind of childish pursuit.
My question still stands.
well sorry for trying to bring a smile to your thread....anyway close the tabs if they are open in separate tabs... that's what looks like the issue COULD be
Lloir said:
well sorry for trying to bring a smile to your thread....anyway close the tabs if they are open in separate tabs... that's what looks like the issue COULD be
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I tried that for the history problem, it didn't help. I've tried many many things for both problems, too many to list. But I will retry them all just on the off chance I do not remember correctly(very likely).
Can't save Google settings or erase browser history completely.
Does anyone have possible solutions? I really would like to solve this & not let this thread die out. I'm sure that I am not the only person to notice this issue.
Dang, you are right. I've just stuck with the stock "Internet" browser on this device as it works so well/fast for me and also the only one for this device so far with Flash abilities. I also closed all tabs, cleaned history, even used the famous "History Eraser" app from the playstore and cleaned out stock browser history. I then opened up the stock browser, hit menu, back button, what do you know it goes back to previous web page! WTF is right my man. I don't have anything to hide personally to worry about such things but damn this is for sure a bug none the less! Never had a device where i could "wipe" browser history yet the browser still must obviously keep a secret history backup as to why would it know the previous pages if history is truly cleaned out? For sure a bug and hope there can be a fix for this.
I would think if the stock browser gave you the ability to actually close "ALL" tabs then this wouldn't happen. I mean even your intial tab/page which can never be closed. Seems it must have 1 page active when opening up the stock browser. I would think if there would be a way to fully close this tab as well, the browser would then open a fresh initial tab from scratch causing no "back" button capabilities anymore.
Maybe cleaning out the history does so only to all other tabs instead of all including the intial tab or original tab opened?
Can't comment on third party browsers as i don't have a need for them. If it ain't broke don't fix it and the stock browser flys for me and love the interface personally.
rogerw99 said:
Thanks, I tried that for the history problem, it didn't help. I've tried many many things for both problems, too many to list. But I will retry them all just on the off chance I do not remember correctly(very likely).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you list EVERYTHING you've tried... not sure if you have tried this but go to settings > (cant remember the actually menu on sense) apps? > browser > wipe data
Lloir said:
can you list EVERYTHING you've tried... not sure if you have tried this but go to settings > (cant remember the actually menu on sense) apps? > browser > wipe data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes if u go to settings, apps, all, Internet (stock browser), there's the option to clear data. It says it will basically wipe all settings clean. I have too many settings saved in my browser so didn't attempt to do this but if it's important to the OP maybe he will try it?
Either way even if this does work it's not at all a true fix to an obvious problem. If one wants to really clear history they have to wipe the whole app clean? Hopefully a much user friendly alternative will be found or "created."
Lloir said:
can you list EVERYTHING you've tried... not sure if you have tried this but go to settings > (cant remember the actually menu on sense) apps? > browser > wipe data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For problem #2 - My issues with this is that I can't just back out of the app without ending up at the AT&T default home page(or the last page viewed) instead of Google. The app still keeps running even after backing out completely. You have to use 3rd party System Task Manager to kill the app.
Here's what I can remember for sure...(I'm retrying them as I write)
From within Internet - Clear History, Cache, Form Data - Forward/back still there.
Doing a Clear Data from Settings>Apps>All>Internet does work, but it also wipes all my settings & home page.
Disable Google+ & Google Search - no help.
Unchecked everything in Privacy & Security in Internet Settings - no help
Checked & Unchecked all & various combos of settings in Internet Settings>Advanced - no help. (too many combos to remember).
UPDATE - Two things...
1. Settings>Apps>All>Internet>Clear Cache just worked. Why I don't know. I was sure I did this before. multiple times with no change. But I now have my Google home Page with no Forward/back arrows. For what ever reason it works now. I still think it should work inside the app but it does not.
2. All of a sudden I can now save my Google Search Settings. I don't know what happened there because it has not work on this phone since I got it, yet it worked on me old phone during the same time frame so it was not Google itself (I think).
Was there an OTA update? About software shows Android 4.1.1 but I am not sure what I had on it when I got it three weeks ago.
Figured that would work for history bit hopefully we can find a real fox for this.
Found a quick little fix for browser history. Just have to trick your phone a bit. What I did with the stock browser was open an incognito tab. Now close out all other open tans so the incognito tab is the only one. You will see there is now no back or forward options. Now go to settings, history, clear all, open a regular tab, no back or forward buttons.
deeznuts said:
Found a quick little fix for browser history. Just have to trick your phone a bit. What I did with the stock browser was open an incognito tab. Now close out all other open tans so the incognito tab is the only one. You will see there is now no back or forward options. Now go to settings, history, clear all, open a regular tab, no back or forward buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good:Thanks, I tried it & it does seem to work. I just wish Google/Android would fix whats broken instead of worrying over new features. Like all the App/services running in the back ground I will never use, that I can't turn off. I like long battery life.

Need some advice around malware/viruses on android

Hello,
I've been looking around for an application that tracks application installs.
Especially for malware installs.
Let me explain the situation:
I've got a smartphone with installed apks (all legal from the playstore)
After a while I am trying to find out what problems are causing some random ad popups (about dating for those who are interested) it's caused by an apk called recents.
I always delete that program. But it seems that it reinstalls itself, every now and than.
also since today I've got an shortcut on my main screen that is called coobrowser (not coolbrowser although it has the same icon image, tried to find out where it came from but I can't find an apk either)
I know some applications:
os monitor is a good one though it doesn't accomplish my needs. (I can see the connections but there it stops)
Catlog doesn't make me any wiser
I hope someone know what I'm talking about and has this kind of application in reach.
TLDR: In need of an application install tracker that monitors which applications open a port for another application install (read malware)
I have the same issue with my phone.
When I clicked app info it turned out to be called trebuchet.
What type of phone do you have?
Yes exactly that's what I get too,
Jiayu S3
That is built into their os. It is made to reinstall if it detects it is Uninstalled. It's not an app that is doing it but the OEM of the device. It is known that many of the Chinese devices do this to counter the cheap prices of the device. Your only option would be to build an aosp based rom if you can.
jerrefurtor said:
Yes exactly that's what I get too,
Jiayu S3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got the same phone and the same issue started to appear recently. First the "recents" app, now the "coobrowser". The orginal Trebuchet icon is gone. Not sure if this is a virus or feature from JiaYu. How to tacke this without crafting my own ROM as mentioned?
jediz said:
I've got the same phone and the same issue started to appear recently. First the "recents" app, now the "coobrowser". The orginal Trebuchet icon is gone. Not sure if this is a virus or feature from JiaYu. How to tacke this without crafting my own ROM as mentioned?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I've managed to remove recents (since this was causing random ad popups)
I've got the exact same problem. Just want to know how to track it down
I can't see any other option than installing a different ROM, because the stock one is strange regarding security. For example every reboot resets "install apk from unknown sources " to YES, which is fishy. Bye bye stock rom, I liked it at the beginning but with these issues I am forced to switch.
jediz said:
I can't see any other option than installing a different ROM, because the stock one is strange regarding security. For example every reboot resets "install apk from unknown sources " to YES, which is fishy. Bye bye stock rom, I liked it at the beginning but with these issues I am forced to switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just noticed they have published the official rom for android 5.1 http://www.needrom.com/download/17-09-android-5-1-for-the-jiayu-s3/
I decided to avoid the official ROM as the problems I experienced were with the previous official ROM. I went for the "rom-xtreme-rom-tf"
So far so good, but don't you try to uninstall the Google Now app from android 5, I was unable to boot doing so.

The strange case of recurring malware

Ok first let me tell you guys that i have never seen this problem before and all of a sudden TODAY I saw it in two unrelated phones, one huawey ascend 530 something , and the other one a no brand chinese dual sim note 3 or note 4 knockoff , bot phones where stock , and users dont even know what rooting is, let alone custom roms.
The problem was popups , lots of them , some with pr0n ads, others with "security software" ads, some more for games, this popups started as soon as the phone booted, no need to enter a browser or app at all, then it started downloading some more apps with weird names (weird as apparently random garbage names), and some other apps for coupons, games, launchers etc, tons of crap, every time one finished downloading it was asking for which method to use for installation :google verification or something else I think "package installer" that i don't remember now, but that I know both are legit apps from android to install stuff, of course I said no every time but it just kept asking so I figured I will factory reset this because I have no time but he is a friend so I need to help him, but have not much time so I thought that was the best thing to do.
WRONG, after factory reset (from settings menu) popups where still there, so I just figured I would do it from recovery screen, and I did, ... surprise, popups still there and also the downloading notifications of more unknown apps, as I said before some of them had names like games or security software, other were just random gibberish, sometimes an app with chinesse name crashed (force stop) , when I saw that the first time I immediately knew it was some chinesse malware crap, ok I guessed maybe the sdcard had something sticky on it , hidden partition or something, so I removed it, and reset again, ... problem persists, oh and let me tell you, this problem showed up immediately after boot, I didn't even have the chance to register a google account, so crap was not coming from a google sync data or or synced apps or browsers or something , well then I had the idea of turning off the wifi and see if they stop, some of the popups opened browser pages and other popups just opened by themselves as if it was from an already installed app.
results: the damn thing turned wifi ON by itself to keep downloading their ****y apps, so I just deleted the saved wifi networks, and the damn thing started using the mobile data to keep doing its stuff (it even turned data on).
There was only one 2 things left to do, either try to root the phone and dive in the apps to try and remove any suspicious ones, or reflash with stock.
Well I had to leave by that time and told my friend i would like to help him, but it would have to be some other time, coz I know how hard it is to try and find a rom for an unknown chinese manufacturer even if I find one, trying to figure out the links in chinesse pages I doubt it would be an exact match (had done that before, so I know its difficult and takes many hours of your time) it had JB on it.
Then I arrived to work and a coworker asked if I could help him , it was a Huawei ascend G527-U081. exact same symptoms and behavior, ok so again I did factory resets blah blah erase sdcard etc etc, same results malware persisted, but in this case, it took me less than 5 mins to find the stock rom at huawey support page, downloaded it, did update via sdcard, and VOILA FIXED.
So someone who knows more about how could this infection happen can take some time and try to explain me?
My uneducated guess is that some side-loaded app or downloaded app from the webpages ads or something like that got ROOT access to the phone internally or even rooted the phone with their own root renamed app, and somehow put themselves in the system partition or the place where the factory apps are installed from, i guess that's why only a full flash fixed it.
Could that be it?
I hope no one here gets that crap, I have never had any malware in any of my phones and I am even surprised and wonder what people can possible do to get infected that bad, lol, I don't think I could even on purpose, but then again, having an adaway app takes most of the dangerous ads away so no risk clicking them by mistake.
Hi,
By any chance did you save the apks that were the cause of this as I would like to decompile and test them under a VM maybe we could take them offline or attempt to get a warning out there.
BioT3rm said:
Hi,
By any chance did you save the apks that were the cause of this as I would like to decompile and test them under a VM maybe we could take them offline or attempt to get a warning out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt find out wich apps were the cause of this, it was to many apps trying to install themselves and one popup after another from different apps.
the chinese phone still has all the crap, i wouldnt know what to give you from it
arana1 said:
I didnt find out wich apps were the cause of this, it was to many apps trying to install themselves and one popup after another from different apps.
the chinese phone still has all the crap, i wouldnt know what to give you from it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought as much but this is the second time I've seen someone post something similar, brand new install on the phone or factory reset and mileage downloading apps, I do believe this could be a new malware out of China.
This is a common thing with Chinese devices. They mostly contain malware. This is why China based devices are not big with most of the world.
If is built into their os. You can't really remove it.
arana1 said:
I didnt find out wich apps were the cause of this, it was to many apps trying to install themselves and one popup after another from different apps.
the chinese phone still has all the crap, i wouldnt know what to give you from it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To my knowledge it's the one app "pornclub" that installs all those junk applications. This app somehow access the root on non-rooted phones and reinstall automatically even if you hard reset the phone. Removing this app after rooting may be helpful. This malware also appeared in ASUS Nexus tablet and other phones. So it is not linked to some specific make. People who download apps from third party sources should be careful and get them only from sites which display hash info for play store apps. Besides avoid downloading junk porn apps.
I also have a similar malaware on my note5. I did a factory reset and when I checked my chrome I had no ads but when I reconnected to my Internet I instantly started downloading galaxy apps and when I checked my chrome again I had a ad by mgid again.
---------- Post added at 04:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:38 PM ----------
I scanned my phone and it said s health was a threat
Did anyone find a fix to this? Does a FW update help?
rhri3 said:
Did anyone find a fix to this? Does a FW update help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I fixed the huawey "updating " to the same rom version it already had, ie full flash,
i read that there are some utilities and av cleaner in google play sstore that get rid of this, search for pornhub cleaner
arana1 said:
I fixed the huawey "updating " to the same rom version it already had, ie full flash,
i read that there are some utilities and av cleaner in google play sstore that get rid of this, search for pornhub cleaner
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the reply. I'll try flashing the existing ROM again and see if I get rid of it. There's also some info on that on https://blog.avast.com/2013/10/23/no-pleasure-from-this-adult-app-only-pain/
edit: It worked! I flashed the same ROM on the phone again and now the phone responds fast again.
Which AV/anti malware app would you recommend to avoid this incident in the future - and I don't want thousands of other apps that come along with it (battery saver etc.)?
rhri3 said:
thanks for the reply. I'll try flashing the existing ROM again and see if I get rid of it. There's also some info on that on https://blog.avast.com/2013/10/23/no-pleasure-from-this-adult-app-only-pain/
edit: It worked! I flashed the same ROM on the phone again and now the phone responds fast again.
Which AV/anti malware app would you recommend to avoid this incident in the future - and I don't want thousands of other apps that come along with it (battery saver etc.)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I use NONE, the problem was not on my phones, I just dont install anything that doesnt come from trusted sources , be it development forums like this , or play store, or other well known pages, what I do USe is an adblocker, most of this malware comes from popups that suggest you install something else, well with adaway i get rid of most of that and have never had malware on any of my phones
hi i am having a same problems which u've mentioned above. ive tried factory reset ,erasing sd card, reboot and all but it doesnot remove totally from my phone.can anyone tell me how to fix this problem and get rid of this malicious app and virus.
I have same problem, i tried malwarebytes and the following was found backdoor.triada.js, trojan.rootnik.ab, trojan.agent.gc, trojan.sivu.rn, trojan.sinu.c, and bct_service app. I click delete and reboot my phone still not remove.
I've had this problem for a few months, but it was mostly controllable. I was too lazy to fix it, but I have a bit of knowledge about it now.
I got this when I tried installing a hack mod for a dead game. As far as I can remember, the "bad apps" were netalpha, catstudio(these two can only be disabled), com.google.keyguard, and com.android.gesture.builder (there were more, but I can't remember them). Some of the apps that get downloaded are Lazada, Zalora, Battery saver, Apus, Heathstone, 2048, and Township. I also factory reset my phone a few times, and the apps either lessen or increase...
My phone is also Huawei, so I'll just try updating the rom.
Thanks for the info ^^
kitaro11 said:
hi i am having a same problems which u've mentioned above. ive tried factory reset ,erasing sd card, reboot and all but it doesnot remove totally from my phone.can anyone tell me how to fix this problem and get rid of this malicious app and virus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way that solved this problem was to reinstall the ROM trought recovery.
reboot phone to remove malware trojan
Hi I been racking my brain trying to fix my phone with similar issues. On Monday 5/11/17 after doing a update the viruses took over the phone , I have are Trojan Triada and Slocker Back door Ransomware and another viruses I cant remember , I did the same steps you mentioned and nothing. So my last 2 options are the same.. Is it hard to flash a LGG3 att version , or will rooting the phone and manually remove them... i AM SO GLAD I FOUND YOUR POST :angel: Thanks.
edpinal72 said:
Hi I been racking my brain trying to fix my phone with similar issues. On Monday 5/11/17 after doing a update the viruses took over the phone , I have are Trojan Triada and Slocker Back door Ransomware and another viruses I cant remember , I did the same steps you mentioned and nothing. So my last 2 options are the same.. Is it hard to flash a LGG3 att version , or will rooting the phone and manually remove them... i AM SO GLAD I FOUND YOUR POST :angel: Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had this problem and the only way to solve it was to reflash the Rom.
Also experiencing on a Mintt phone
I live in a developing country and had few options when I needed a new phone. I have a Mintt phone which I cannot seem to root. The internet here is terrible so I don't have many apps but have had recurring self installing malware that renders the phone unusable until factory reset at which point the whole process starts again.
It seems to be attached to the inbuilt browser which I can't remove. It starts with a circle on the screen which can't be removed and if touched opens a warning message that WhatsApp has a virus. I don't have WhatsApp. Then chrome tries to install. I don't use chrome. Then the messages become so frequent nothing can be done but factory reset. Any help would be much appreciated!
Samsung GT-N8013
Stock ROM full flash help?
I was wondering if I could get a walkthrough on how to find and do a full flash Stock ROM for my android tablet, similar to what you describe here.
I have had this tablet for years, but years ago, I think I got some malware, and anything I've tried over the years seems to be unable to get rid of it. I've followed many times the clearing cache from pwr/volumn up boot menu, and factory resets from same menu, yet everytime it starts up for the first time, it loads and updates several apps, then when it fully starts to home page, there is always a "lucky try" app.
I can't remove this app, and there are extra settings apps too, and the official google apps don't update properly. All in all it's very fishy, and I would like to try what you are talking about, with a full flash reset, but I have no idea how. I'm at the point where if I totally brick the thing, I'm ok with that. It is pretty much useless and has been for years anyway.
The only way to solve this problem is to flash a stock or a custom Rom.

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