Last week on a business trip to Rome, my XDA got stolen..
Offcourse I had it blocked as soon as possible and have password protection on it, but resetting it would make it usable for anyone.
If anyone sees a secondhand XDA for sale from Italy (where they are not sold) please remember me....
IMEI: 350312010049224
S/N : HT220CC15367
P/N : 99HJ00007-00
So... when is this new model XDA comming on the market?!
We thought of a program to stick into ROM which would, after cold-boot, send one SMS to a pre-determined number. Could be a friend's number, or possibly even a web-service, where you can look up all the phone numbers of all SIMs ever in that phone at cold-boot. You could even wait a few days to see if the owner field was ever filled out...
Please go into that, as I will buy an XDA again but feel quite bad about this one stolen and would very much want something to have a little more protection/means of getting it back.
I saw an advertisement on www.thinkgeek.com about a software that would automatically send emails with IP adresses when a stolen laptop is connected to internet.
Something like that could possibly be an option in a theft-recovery program?
Thanks,
Lx
Great idea XDA developer Peter Poelman...you guys should definitly do that!!
XDA developer Peter Poelman, that is one of the best ideas I have heard of!! If there were a server you could register your XDA on, then install the 'tracking' software it would be very cool.
Would it even be possible to get a fix on the location by picking up the nodes that the XDA is near? Effectively your XDA would text you its location, name of the new owner and new number to server where you could pickup the info. Hay-presto, you can inform the provider and authorities and maybe even get it back. I bet you could even sell the software to the providers!!
Gil.
Hold on guys, if you developed such a ROM, it should be clearly stated that it is doing that. I can imagine, if people started offering ROMS, that made unsolicited calls to premium rate numbers, that would be a great, and illegal, business venture.
Anything, that works behind the scenes must be clearly highlighted if trust is to be maintained in a public community
Sounds good though. If i could find all the people that have stolen bits and pieces from me, revenge would be sweet!
I guess that watching out for ROMs that have spy-wearz or nasty apps in the background ARE possible, there could be something about now. Let’s face it the ROM tool is not that hard to understand. And if someone was really that nasty they could make a lot of money in a very short period. After all a premium rate text number has no price cap. But lets not get in to that right now.
The answer to this, like a lot of things in IT is A trust in the developer, B trust that is has not been hackled – as above and C you have noting to hide.
The provider can already see al the calls and text that the sent from your phone. So the only thing for them to see would be your ROM version.
If this was made a voluntary process and secure I can see it doing a lot more good than harm.
Also another though on the spy wear bit, it would be good to have an app that watches the activity on you device and allow you to see it.
Sorry for the rant, Gil.
Oh yeah, we've thought of nasty things one could do. Possibly more scary still: if you have this Action Engine framework, someone holding a private key somewhere can remotely update your ROM, without telling you.
perhaps thats how o2 intended to upgrade in the future?
is it easy to place the AE exe file back onto the xda? its just the one file right?
No, it's a whole bunch of files. They were installed from the operator section of the ROM, though AutoConfig.exe, into device RAM.
I'm not really into the programming stuff, but I was just thinking...
If such a thing was to be implemented, you would not want it to be active until your device actually got lost. So how do you tell your device (that probably has a different SIM card in it) that it should start to broadcast it's location and new SIM information? And where to?
I was thinking of a site where you should register, very securely and only upon activating the 'tracking' program from this secure site that a constantly updated log file of all nodes where the device is connected to a GSM/GPRS network would state the deveice's location.
With this list (and possibly the information of the new SIM card) it should definatly be possible to retrieve the device, with collaboration from the provider/authorities ofcourse.
Also I heard a provider can locate any GSM down to 5meters accuratly when the phone is being used, about 100 meters when the device is on stand-by. Don't know for shure if this is true though.
If things like these could be incorporated, this would be the best software/ROM update ever to be made in my opinion. If there is any way in wich I could be of any help I would gladly be of service!
Two complimentary options would be:
the XDA sends a message to a server whenever the SIM card is changed, unless you enter a particular password first.
Send a specifically crafted sms to the XDA that causes it to realize that it is stolen. This starts it sending location info to the server.
I think you could switch XDA in to stolen mode using a broadcast directly to the PIN on the phone. This is how P2P works in the US instead of SMS. This could be done from a web site and the user of the stolen phone would not know until it was too late.
But then again I may be wrong?
Gil.
this is all good and well, but there will be always someone out there that says this is a privacy thing and they do not want people knowing where they are using their XDA
What should be developed is a Rom that once the owner name has changed, the XDA will then send a message to a server(if the XDA is registered) informing of the new number of the inserted SIM, the IMEI number and all other numbers/contacts straight to your provider. they then contact the new provider for information on the new owner. send the bissies round and reclaim your XDA.
this would be big money to phone service providers as it would reduce the amount of insuance claims and hastle.
if it can be done, then I will be buying it (once i own the XDA !!)
cheets
Hey XDA!! I came here because I know you're quick to deliver the help. I'm not sure if this should go in Q&A or the Development section, and you'll see why in a bit.
A friend of mine (we’ll call him M for ease) recently came to me with a concern. His coworker's ex-boyfriend has been hassling and harassing her using her Android phone. **BEFORE I go any further, YES I have suggested that the proper authorities get contacted.** At first he was allegedly sending texts to MY friend via the girl’s phone. He had some forwarding/spy type app (that’s all I could figure out from some research) on her phone that would allow him to text it, and then those messages would forward to M as if they came from his coworker. I have no idea how he could have done that, and I couldn’t find a lot of apps in the play store that seemed to have similar functions.
But now, he is apparently trying to get the poor girl to install a GPS tracker on her phone (unwittingly, I assume) so he can, well, know where she is. M can’t tell me the name of this app because he’s unsure.
So at this point I’m thinking that we not only have someone who’s being evil, but who is *maybe* making his own apps to stalk and get this girl, and my friend, in trouble at work.
I found a GPS spoofer on the play store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps&hl=en I have offered to help root phones and install this and do whatever is necessary to get this guy off their backs. I can test it all day long since I have a rooted device—my question is, I don’t have a spy app to spoof, nor do I know what exactly I’m trying to spoof, so how do I know this will be helpful?
I’m also considering finding a custom ROM and helping this girl lock her phone down more. Or telling her to call her carrier and change her number. Beyond that, does XDA have any suggestions or advice? I’m not a coder, but I can follow directions to change things if you tell me exactly where to go and what to change (i have dabbled a teensy bit in android source code before breaking my phone >_>)
The girl has a Samsung Dart, I’m currently unsure of the version of Android it’s running, but should find out soon and will edit the post.
Thanks for all the help!
You can format the phone and see if that works. Plus there are many text blocker apps on market.
Hope i helped .
Sent from my GT-S5360 using xda app-developers app
Yes ,I patiently read the entire story! Wipe the phones data !
As far as the text problem you said I don't think there is anything like that which could receive an sms from a number and then forward it to another number. So there are two options either the girl sent the text or the guy semt the text with a spoof number!
And as far as the GPS is concerned, one doesn't need a GPS tracker to know where one is! Just Google maps is enough if the guy has the girls mail in his contacts. Ask her to change the mail id it should be enough!
Sent from my GT-P3100 using Tapatalk 2
I have found a couple other people talking about this (can't post links yet, sorry), but it seems that people are largely unaware that Android does this (if you look at that other thread it is mostly people suggesting how the TC probably did enter relevant information into google somehow).
So basically it seems that at least some Android phones are listening and interpreting what is said during phone calls. People have said that they would hear about a restaurant from a friend on the phone, and then cards for that restaurant would show up in google now. Or advertisements would start to show up in google ad services. Or in my case, I got an address over the phone, wrote it down on paper, went to google maps and typed the first two numbers of the address (the street number of the address was four numbers long) before the first suggested address popped up and lo-and-behold it was what I was going to type. This was moderately convenient I suppose, but I am a little uncomfortable with how little I know of the extent to which this is happening.
Has anyone else noticed this behavior? Is it somewhere in some permission that I don't remember accepting, or in the general TOU of the OS?
My main concern isn't really THAT Android does this. Like I said, it can be convenient, and I already ignore pretty much all advertisement without even having to think about it at this point so targeted ads don't bother me so much (though there was one instance where someone suspected they started getting spam emails via this method, which sounds annoying). I am more worried that I don't know where ELSE and how ELSE this information is going/being used.
I'm on a Verizon Note 3, for reference.
A bunch of people looked at this but no one responded, so I want to give it a little poke. At this point I am fairly certain that some voice recognition is being done during phone calls. I'm still not certain how I feel about that.
Hi,
I recently met someone online who was a romantic type of encounter but the more we spoke the more creeped out I got by the things hes seemed to know about me.
I finally came to the conclusion the things he said to me were extremely huge red flags, there was no way it was a coincidence anymore, and he knew FAR too much about things personal to me such as separate email accounts, and fake birthdates I use as only the last straw before I concluded to reset my device.
Code:
Alcatel
One Touch
Fierce 2
Kitkat
Thats the device I have. We 1st spoke on Kik and he sent me 2 pictures. One was of him that would not open an image. I tried to open it several times but it was just a blank picture.
The second I was able to view and download.
Does anyone know if this is possible to become infected by those means alone?
Otherwise it is possible he made a fake account and infected me with a link that did not work, but I was always under the impression that it was not possible to become infected by Rat or Keylogger with out installation. I was told in a recent thread I could become infected with opening a false link(???).
Im pretty much 100% sure I was infected. I hard reset my phone, but not the SD card yet. I believe the virus is gone, but I feel very creeped out this happen and do not see this going anywhere further but I would like to know if it is even possible. Theres no way Im being paranoid, but I do get a little over worried sometimes, unfortunately I think this was one of the genuine times.
How is it possible if someone did? Anybody have a link to a good article I could learn more? Thanks. PLEASE FORWARD TO ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE ANY ADVICE AT ALL WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED
Most likely he (or she) learned information about you some other way.
You might be surprised what people can learn from the "right" Google searches using some known info like email and city.
If a password on some account can be guessed, that can provide a flood of info, like reading every email or forum posts.
Most infections are from Android apps installed outside of Google Play. Image file viruses are theoretically possible, but I don't recall hearing of any such thing lately.
Please use this thread to continue this discussion: http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/security/getting-infected-android-device-t2989738
So I have finally given in and been assimilated by the Borg collective (or have I gone to the dark side of the force???) and bought my teenaged daughter her 1st cellphone. I haven't given it to her yet because I am trying to set it up so that I can track/monitor it and her. Is there a way I can hide apps from her & her mother (non-custodial parent), so that my tracking apps won't be changed or deleted? For example, I have Lookout installed on it, abut according to them, they don't offer a way of hiding it. With that said, I don't want her/her mother/her friends seeing it and figuring out how to delete/bypass it.
Sometimes the apps drawer will have the simple option of hiding it from there, but to completely hide it would be trickier.
Google: Google Location History
look at your own, you will probably be surprised
First things first. Do not post guides, apps or links to things that are illegal. This will get you banned without warning.
Now for the threads OP. You will not find any help here on this. As doing so is illegal in many countries in the world and as such is not allowed here.
Now I will give you some advise. From one parent to another. You can take it or leave it. Trust is not easy but it has to be earned on both parts. If you do install them and she finds out then it will not be pretty. Not to mention that if found by the wrong person can cause some major legal troubles. So the best that you can do is that if she has gotten to the point of you trusting her with a cell phone then it is time to trust her to use it properly. (Be honest with yourself at this point. I mean really honest. Kids will be kids and do the same thing we did when we were young. You cant stop it.) I found this out the hard way when my Twins got their first cell phone and I am an over protective parent, mainly when the internet is concerned. They are still kinda mad about it and went out and got their own cell phones so that it couldnt be monitored. So keep your eyes open, but dont take it over board. As I said this is just my advise and not the view of anyone other then my own.
You wont be able to install apps that wont ever be found. Most will be removed with a simple factory reset. Any that wont need root but with root they can be removed and flashing the device will remove them as well.
Thread closed