You have to trust the source where you get your os from. Its known that middlemen insert malware into smartphone firmwares before sale. But if you flash your rom yourself then you have to trust the downloadsource. I searched a lineage or /e/ os rom for galaxy s4 mini and found this site: "lineageosroms com /s4-i9192/" ( I cant post links because i am new here) I doupt that this belongs to LineageOS, because on the LineageOS site there is no download for this device. My question is, what sources are trustworthy, which not? What about the unofficial roms on XDA Forums? What can i do or should not do with a not so trustworthy rom? Insert Sim Card? Chat about personal life, take personal pictures, banking, buying stuff etc. .. And what about old firmwares which do not receive any updates anymore, are there some rules to follow which make the device save although the rom is old?
handynoobinator said:
You have to trust the source where you get your os from. Its known that middlemen insert malware into smartphone firmwares before sale. But if you flash your rom yourself then you have to trust the downloadsource. I searched a lineage or /e/ os rom for galaxy s4 mini and found this site: "lineageosroms com /s4-i9192/" ( I cant post links because i am new here) I doupt that this belongs to LineageOS, because on the LineageOS site there is no download for this device. My question is, what sources are trustworthy, which not? What about the unofficial roms on XDA Forums? What can i do or should not do with a not so trustworthy rom? Insert Sim Card? Chat about personal life, take personal pictures, banking, buying stuff etc. .. And what about old firmwares which do not receive any updates anymore, are there some rules to follow which make the device save although the rom is old?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only official site for LOS is this one: https://download.lineageos.org/
You can find over the internet some unofficial websites, with unofficial LineageOs Builds. Idk about them being 100% safe, but Lineageos has its own privacy features, that may prevent (not at 100% obviously) virus to be silent. On XDA, and especially for popular devices (like yours), unofficial build can be trusted. Because a lot of people download them, and if there is something suspicious with the build, it will be soon called out, and the developer banned. So I'd say unofficial build in XDA can be trusted, outside of xda it's more hazardous, and the official build can be trusted eyes closed. If you don't even trust devs donc XDA, you can always make one build from your device tree in GitHub. It's free, and just requires a 64-bit Device (PC).
Thank you very much for your advice. I have a similar question. I dont like the Playstore, because i dont want to have to login in order to install an app. I use playstore download tools like "apkcombo com apk-downloader" or "apps. evozi com apk-downloader" to create download links. Or Mirrors like APKPure or appsapk.com. I know its easy to bind malware to a program, and it can be cryptet so a virus scanner is not able to detect it. Is there a way to verify these apks? The most easy way i could think of would be a list with the program versions with the correlating md5sum, then i can create the md5sum and see if its the same. Further Question: why are mostly the big phones with the big screens supported by linage os? Because the small phones arent used to surf the internet very much and an old firmware doesnt matter in this case? I like the small phones better.
handynoobinator said:
Thank you very much for your advice. I have a similar question. I dont like the Playstore, because i dont want to have to login in order to install an app. I use playstore download tools like "apkcombo com apk-downloader" or "apps. evozi com apk-downloader" to create download links. Or Mirrors like APKPure or appsapk.com. I know its easy to bind malware to a program, and it can be cryptet so a virus scanner is not able to detect it. Is there a way to verify these apks? The most easy way i could think of would be a list with the program versions with the correlating md5sum, then i can create the md5sum and see if its the same. Further Question: why are mostly the big phones with the big screens supported by linage os? Because the small phones arent used to surf the internet very much and an old firmware doesnt matter in this case? I like the small phones better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instead of Play Store download tools consider to use the Aurora Store (an unofficial OSS Play Store client) by @WhyOrean as I and many other privacy concerned XDA members do.
handynoobinator said:
Thank you very much for your advice. I have a similar question. I dont like the Playstore, because i dont want to have to login in
...
with the big screens supported by linage os? Because the small phones arent used to surf the internet very much and an old firmware doesnt matter in this case? I like the small phones better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can confirm, Aurora store is a good value.
And LineageOs (and other ROMs) support popular devices, which are now bigger screen phone. I got to say tho, I think that the mini form factor of the iPhone 12 Mini revived a nostalgic feeling for actual small phones. So I guess that in 2021 some flagships will adopt this form factor and you'll have a community, and ROMs to interact with.
And IMO, small phones have always been the more "mature taste" lol. No seriously, I miss them, and I don't wanna get myself locked in iOS (although it's a pretty good OS)
Thank you very much for this tipp! I will try Aurora store in the near future. Further Question, why is only android on XDA and not ios? I suppose Apple keeps everything closed and there is no community other than the jailbreak stuff. I have an old iphone 5c, i bought it for cheap to see what apple devices are like. I cant recommend apple, because you have to give all your data in order to install free apps, and even contact the support, this is ludicrous! You cant store files on the device, you have to use itunes to get music on the device, its really not pleasant, the only thing you can do is to download your pictures on windows or linux. I am new to smartphones and i dont know very much about them yet, is there a way to bring this iphone to use? Store files like pdfs on it and install apps without the apple appstore? Only a safe way, without the risc of viruses or malware.
handynoobinator said:
Thank you very much for this tipp! I will try Aurora store in the near future. Further Question, why is only android on XDA and not ios? I suppose Apple keeps everything closed and there is no community other than the jailbreak stuff. I have an
...
appstore? Only a safe way, without the risc of viruses or malware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once there was a xda-developers' sister site called "iphone-developers.com" which is dead as of now.
But the "good" new is that XDA has its first iPhone forum recently. It's the iPhone 12 Forums.
If you're still new around xda, you may check a thread I made to introduce users (originally iPhone users) to xda (https://forum.xda-developers.com/apple-iphone-12/how-to/welcome-hello-iphone-users-quick-t4180667)
It's also very important to read the rules, make sure you do that (link is in my signature).
Also, I don't know much about it but you can jailbreak iPhones and install .ipa files on them. Idk if it's safe and virus free tho. Jailbreak uses an exploit, whereas here on android google let users do this freely, with proper tools (I'm talking about root of course).
Related
I asked so many times and got no response... could someone explain me IF custom roms are secure or not? Im mainly talking about google account security.
Sent from Nexus HD
Up
Yes! You are even more secure with a custom room than with stock. You are perfectly fine. (Unless you download a rom on Windows from an untrusted dev and it contains a virus.) But that is highly unlikely. And only download Roms that people say "work"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Samsung galaxy s2
Rom: Jedi knight 6
kernel: Jedi kernel 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And you thought celebrities weren't smart! =P
But thing i was thinking is :
Ok lets say... htc, could potentialy put an keylogger to soft BUT if ppl see it, well, they sell no more phones.
But a dev could put an keyloger and even if some one eventualy will find it, nothink happens, he dont get money from what he is doing and he also could be anonymous...
Possible, yes, but most devs here don't have any such nasty intentions. They're much more scrupulous than companies, mainly because they're doing it for the fun of it or as a hobby, out of their interest, and are not looking for profit. Donations are just a way for people to show their support and encourage development. You don't usually see a dev going around asking people for donations.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
Yea... i understand however i just dont want to wake up one day and see that some one have access to my google account and i basicly lost all my apps, mail, G+... im sure you understand, it's pretty scary. Other than Custom Roms, i fear that some think like aahk (which i used to root my Desire HD) maybe source of future account security problems (also because they moved from xda).
Well if you're that paranoid then you shouldn't use custom ROMs or anything here on xda.
But that's not really a problem, because hardly any devs will do those kind of things. Also many devs completely open source their projects, and many of the big projects like CM and AOKP are open source too, with their source code fully viewable by anyone. So if anything funny was there in the code, people will find it. Custom ROMs are actually safer than stock in my opinion because they're very clean (google 'Carrier IQ'). Also, it is your responsibility as a user to be sure of what you're flashing/installing on your device. If you install some shady looking thing, then yes you might end up with problems, but if you read properly through the thread of what you're installing, read other people's posts and experiences and then go ahead, you'll have no problem. :thumbup:
AAHK is an excellent tool for unlocking the DHD. The developer attn1 was at one time a CM maintainer for this phone too. The reason he went away from xda was because of some argument with moderators. Most of the people here are anything but stupid. We wouldn't go around recommending AAHK to unlock the phone if it was insecure. Some amount of common sense and trust is required if you want to be part of this community and try out all the great ROMs and stuff. If you're that untrustworthy of even reputed developers, then you're better off with stock (though like I said, not safer. Read about Carrier IQ).
Also, regarding your concerns about Google accounts and services, some of the ROMs here like the Sense ROMs come with all the Google apps included, while most of the AOSP ROMs like CM, AOKP, codefireX need the Google apps (gapps) package to be flashed separately after flashing the ROM. The Google apps zip contains all the stuff from the initial Google setup of the phone to the parts required to sync Google account data and other stuff like Google Talk and Gmail. These are all closed source apps made by Google, so it's not possible to modify them and insert any code for nefarious purposes. They come as-is from Google. So regardless of which ROM they're being used with, they cannot be tampered with and your Google account data will always be safe unless you are victim to an email phishing scam or something like that.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
I bought a Meizu MX4 MT6595 OCta Core model M641 Flyme OS 4.0.2U , Thought it would be great purchase. It seems I was unprepared for how new this phone is and the lack of information on how to optimize it for a US user. I cant update the OS to the Newer version of Flyme OS , though I would prefer to replace the OS with something US friendly. ALso cant install anything because the package installer crashes with everything. I have purchase protection on the phone for one more week, should I just return the phone? Or will their be ROM's available soon to replace FLyme? I like to learn technology is it possible for a novice to learn how to hack a phone and port an available ROM onto a Chinese phone? Or is this something extremely difficult and time consuming? Really just looking for some advice from the informed/ knowledgeable.
lj26ft said:
I bought a Meizu MX4 MT6595 OCta Core model M641 Flyme OS 4.0.2U , Thought it would be great purchase. It seems I was unprepared for how new this phone is and the lack of information on how to optimize it for a US user. I cant update the OS to the Newer version of Flyme OS , though I would prefer to replace the OS with something US friendly. ALso cant install anything because the package installer crashes with everything. I have purchase protection on the phone for one more week, should I just return the phone? Or will their be ROM's available soon to replace FLyme? I like to learn technology is it possible for a novice to learn how to hack a phone and port an available ROM onto a Chinese phone? Or is this something extremely difficult and time consuming? Really just looking for some advice from the informed/ knowledgeable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
China devices are the worst to learn on as there is no kernel source for the device and moat avoid these devices. So you will have to take it on yourself if you want something. Yes it is time consuming and will have a learning curve.
Just got the phone and love it..
You should be able to update Flyme by finding 'upgrade' in your app drawer, but even after the upgrade its just a bit better.
The most current version is 4.0.3i
Not a big fan of Flyme ,I find it very buggy.
Im hoping for a cm rom of some sort. Would love to see something like the version on the onePlus .
LTE works with Rogers and Bell in Canada..
I like the phone as well I have tried the button in the panel to upgrade click it says android settings com has stopped, tried turning it off and upgrading from zip with zip stored in root directory, got nothing. Tried 4.0.3A ,4.0.3i, 4.03U also and everytime it says corrupted. My firmware version is 4.0.2 U . Tried lots of different ways to try and get google services on it and nothing happens. SOme apps from the app store installed like facebook and evernote. So kinda of feeling a little silly about purchasing this phone because the price vs hardware was spectacular. But I cant get everything I want to use on it. Looking for maybe some trouble shooting from experienced users or reassurance that i didnt just make a retarded mistake purchasing a phone i wont ever be able to use an i should just wait until developer community tackles these problems. Though dont know if that will matter if I can never update the thing. I am using windows 8 could could that be causing issues with upgrading my phone over the wire? Or should I try a .bin file ?
lj26ft said:
I like the phone as well I have tried the button in the panel to upgrade click it says android settings com has stopped, tried turning it off and upgrading from zip with zip stored in root directory, got nothing. Tried 4.0.3A ,4.0.3i, 4.03U also and everytime it says corrupted. My firmware version is 4.0.2 U . Tried lots of different ways to try and get google services on it and nothing happens. SOme apps from the app store installed like facebook and evernote. So kinda of feeling a little silly about purchasing this phone because the price vs hardware was spectacular. But I cant get everything I want to use on it. Looking for maybe some trouble shooting from experienced users or reassurance that i didnt just make a retarded mistake purchasing a phone i wont ever be able to use an i should just wait until developer community tackles these problems. Though dont know if that will matter if I can never update the thing. I am using windows 8 could could that be causing issues with upgrading my phone over the wire? Or should I try a .bin file ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to say it but your gonna be out of luck. Developers dont touch these devices. They seldom follow the GPL or have unlocked bootloaders and as they are mainly sold in China which doesnt have agreements set up with google in alot of places it is really a pain to get google services running. We have a forum for it but it has been long dead.
zelendel said:
I hate to say it but your gonna be out of luck. Developers dont touch these devices. They seldom follow the GPL or have unlocked bootloaders and as they are mainly sold in China which doesnt have agreements set up with google in alot of places it is really a pain to get google services running. We have a forum for it but it has been long dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well ill definitely try returning it then go with something a little closer to home. The Hardware vs price sucked me into buying it . What is a good deal on a phone right now? XDA developers favorite phone ? easiest to learn best one to modify. In hindsight probably should have tried finding this forum first rather than after I put money down on a phone but live and learn.
Give this a try.. crap...not letting me post a link...
google 'upgrading flyme to 4.0.3i' and the first link will give you some clear instruction and alternatives to get you going
If NVidia cooperated with Android x86 team to provide a way for end users to install the proprietary drivers, we will get full featured experience from our GPUs. I'm imagining a scenario of a root application or an application pre added to Android x86 and its forks that can download the needed files and place them in system. Also the kernel should be aware how to use the newly added driver. Nouveau and similar one for AMD actually degrades the performance too much. It also overheats and it won't work for all GPU cards. So I made a petition on change.com for this. We need +10k signatures so that we can contact NVidia and AMD to help the android x86 team achieve the change and be able to use the drivers. This petition can change the future of remix OS. We will play ALL games with the highest possible performance. Please people sign this petition, it will take less than a minute. Any suggestions are welcomed.
https://www.change.org/p/mohammed-d...source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink
Moderators: I'm sorry for posting this again. If you find it necessary please delete the old thread not this one.
Look. When was the last time a company was coerced into doing something via a petition? Your effort is laughable. You gather a bunch of teenage kids to sign a fragment of text online hoping rocket science companies will even look at you. NVidia? Really? Asking for open source drivers for Remix OS? Who is Remix OS again? Why don't you stop the non sense and just buy a Google supported device - a chromebook or a chromebox, which will have the Android Play Store in a month anyway. Supported HDMI audio, accelerated graphics, native screen resolution, printing - out of the box.
Why do you Linux guys like to be so sadistic I will never understand. All I read on your forums is how to make your hardware work. Don't you ever get bored of this? Scrap your PC - it's 2016. PCs are falling, Windows is falling. You have no need for a PC. Get a chromebook, officially supported by Google, and get on with your life on a fully working device.
or29544 said:
Look. When was the last time a company was coerced into doing something via a petition? Your effort is laughable. You gather a bunch of teenage kids to sign a fragment of text online hoping rocket science companies will even look at you. NVidia? Really? Asking for open source drivers for Remix OS? Who is Remix OS again? Why don't you stop the non sense and just buy a Google supported device - a chromebook or a chromebox, which will have the Android Play Store in a month anyway. Supported HDMI audio, accelerated graphics, native screen resolution, printing - out of the box.
Why do you Linux guys like to be so sadistic I will never understand. All I read on your forums is how to make your hardware work. Don't you ever get bored of this? Scrap your PC - it's 2016. PCs are falling, Windows is falling. You have no need for a PC. Get a chromebook, officially supported by Google, and get on with your life on a fully working device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is clear that you have no respect for other peoples' hobbies, at least in this case.
Take the thing that you like to do the most, and that you get the most pleasure from doing, and think to yourself that some people would tell something along the same lines of what you had posted here, and you may understand.
I assure you, there is no sadism here (or maschoism), but instead a passion for computers.
While I personally do not think that they will listen, it's worth a try, miracles do happen.
Please do not take this too harshly, I only wanted you to understand the situation and the gravity of what you had posted, not to start a feud.
or29544 said:
Look. When was the last time a company was coerced into doing something via a petition? Your effort is laughable. You gather a bunch of teenage kids to sign a fragment of text online hoping rocket science companies will even look at you. NVidia? Really? Asking for open source drivers for Remix OS? Who is Remix OS again? Why don't you stop the non sense and just buy a Google supported device - a chromebook or a chromebox, which will have the Android Play Store in a month anyway. Supported HDMI audio, accelerated graphics, native screen resolution, printing - out of the box.
Why do you Linux guys like to be so sadistic I will never understand. All I read on your forums is how to make your hardware work. Don't you ever get bored of this? Scrap your PC - it's 2016. PCs are falling, Windows is falling. You have no need for a PC. Get a chromebook, officially supported by Google, and get on with your life on a fully working device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already have a MacBook with everything working out of the box. I'm trying to make remix work on my old laptop, and there is nothing wrong with this. It already has Windows 10 working blazing fast and stable. We - the linux community - find it interesting to 'make things work'. This is our hobby. I don't know why are you replying here, I mean your reply has nothing important. Remix OS is getting more fame and will be competing Windows soon. Please do respect that we are trying to make it work on our devices regardless if NVidia is a large company in comparison to Jide. Learn how to respect others before commenting or replying in XDA please. This place wasn't made for this.
Also did you read the Petition first? It states that we want a way to install the proprietary drivers. I didn't mention we want them open sourced LOL
OK honestly I was not expecting these answers. Indeed, the magic word is hobby. I would never waste my time with old devices. I simply find them obsolete. Hell, I find PCs obsolete now that chromebooks get the android play store. My understanding was that you guys simply want android apps on a desktop PC - and we will have that very soon, like...next month or so in a fully supported official google package. I want that. But you - you want something else. You simply want to tinker with your PCs and you will do that with any occasion. I get that and I respect that.
But as for me, Remix OS, Windows, Linux - whatever, that's not for me. I ran Linux, several distros, I ran Windows, I ran them enough. I need a simple, easy to use, unbreakable device - like a mobile phone, but on a large screen. And I want the android apps ecosystem. But I had enough tinkering. I want something that works. It's 2016 and I've been tinkering for 20 years now. I had enough. I will go the official google devices way. I don't want to loose my time on forums because my NVidia card does not work.
or29544 said:
OK honestly I was not expecting these answers. Indeed, the magic word is hobby. I would never waste my time with old devices. I simply find them obsolete. Hell, I find PCs obsolete now that chromebooks get the android play store. My understanding was that you guys simply want android apps on a desktop PC - and we will have that very soon, like...next month or so in a fully supported official google package. I want that. But you - you want something else. You simply want to tinker with your PCs and you will do that with any occasion. I get that and I respect that.
But as for me, Remix OS, Windows, Linux - whatever, that's not for me. I ran Linux, several distros, I ran Windows, I ran them enough. I need a simple, easy to use, unbreakable device - like a mobile phone, but on a large screen. And I want the android apps ecosystem. But I had enough tinkering. I want something that works. It's 2016 and I've been tinkering for 20 years now. I had enough. I will go the official google devices way. I don't want to loose my time on forums because my NVidia card does not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand how you feel, since I had met many people who went that way.
There's nothing wrong with that, but please don't try forgetting that other people like to use their devices in different ways, whether just using, trying to make (or break) things, trying to to own them, etc..
What is important is that we enjoy whichever way we chose, and that what needs to get done is done.
Greetings,
I'm interested in getting an Galaxy Folder2 (SM-G1650), I see that the phone comes from china and the fw is from china too.
I wonder, can there be an spyware issue with that phone? is so, is there anything I can do to remove them?'
ideally I'd like to run mircog on it without google services at all.
Thanks,
Dagg.
Lineage OS.
The best would be to flash a Custom Recovery and a Custom ROM also gapps.Unless you can't do anything.The Software that comes preinstalled is 1.5-2.5GB while the lineage is 300mb only and works faster with security updates forever.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Greetings,
Atifbaig786 said:
Lineage OS.
The best would be to flash a Custom Recovery and a Custom ROM also gapps.Unless you can't do anything.The Software that comes preinstalled is 1.5-2.5GB while the lineage is 300mb only and works faster with security updates forever.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't seem to find any reference that Lineage OS supports this device, how can I be sure it will work?
does gapps allows me not to connect to google services?
I've seen that there is a Lineage OS bundled with microg, what's the diff?
Unless you're e.g. an investigative journalist, a (human) rights activist etc., the best solution in my personal opinion is to follow @Atifbaig786's valid suggestion. However; if you belong to one of the groups I've mentioned in the beginning, this might not be sufficient as you can't exclude that spyware rests very deep inside of the device but outside of the ROM. Anyhow, I've also my doubts that VR China would raise such efforts for a device like the SM-G1650.
In one respect, I'm not with Atifbaig786's recommendation: For me personally, I consider all services and applications coming from Google as spyware, and in turn don't suggest GApps but a GApps-free device.
Maybe one of the threads I opened are of interest for you: https://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=451896749
Greetings,
Oswald Boelcke said:
Unless you're e.g. an investigative journalist, a (human) rights activist etc., the best solution in my personal opinion is to follow @Atifbaig786's valid suggestion. However; if you belong to one of the groups I've mentioned in the beginning, this might not be sufficient as you can't exclude that spyware rests very deep inside of the device but outside of the ROM. Anyhow, I've also my doubts that VR China would raise such efforts for a device like the SM-G1650.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm neither of them, I just value my privacy enough to care abut such issues.
hw hardware are things I cannot address, thus I don't care much regarding this.
Oswald Boelcke said:
In one respect, I'm not with Atifbaig786's recommendation: For me personally, I consider all services and applications coming from Google as spyware,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here.
Oswald Boelcke said:
and in turn don't suggest GApps but a GApps-free device.
Maybe one of the threads I opened are of interest for you: https://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=451896749
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GApps-free device? I thought microg allows such feature.
I really don't need any of the google apps.
neither whatsapp and such.
I'm using my phone as dumb as possible.
daggs1 said:
...
GApps-free device? I thought microg allows such feature.
I really don't need any of the google apps.
neither whatsapp and such...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Affirmative, GApps-free through the use of µG! I tried to describe my way to GApps-free powered by µG from the very beginning up to now in this thread: GApps free - microG is all you need!
It's certainly easiest achievable by a custom ROM that comes absolutely without GApps. However, I haven't heard about your device before, and I don't know if any custom ROM is available. But you could certainly debloat a stock ROM (there are tools available via XDA, just search for it) or try NanoDroid (my current favourite choice) or this microG unofficial installer. This is what ale5000 says about his tool uninstalling GApps; and this is out of the NanoDroid documentation regarding that issue. Shadow53's website might also be of interest.
Last but not least because I see your approach is very similar to mine, "How did I enhance battery duration, privacy and security?" might be of interest to you, too.
Oswald Boelcke said:
Affirmative, GApps-free through the use of µG! I tried to describe my way to GApps-free powered by µG from the very beginning up to now in this thread: GApps free - microG is all you need!
It's certainly easiest achievable by a custom ROM that comes absolutely without GApps. However, I haven't heard about your device before, and I don't know if any custom ROM is available. But you could certainly debloat a stock ROM (there are tools available via XDA, just search for it) or try NanoDroid (my current favourite choice) or this microG unofficial installer. This is what ale5000 says about his tool uninstalling GApps; and this is out of the NanoDroid documentation regarding that issue. Shadow53's website might also be of interest.
Last but not least because I see your approach is very similar to mine, "How did I enhance battery duration, privacy and security?" might be of interest to you, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here is a thread on the device: https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/rooting-roms/root-twrp-galaxy-folder-2-dual-sim-sm-t3785752
from what I can see, there is no custom rom of this device
For those who are wondering I work for a government Health agency and mostly handle very sensitive data.For which I use a Pixel 3 XL whose hardware the agency approved recently.In my field if my phone gets stolen or hacked I'll be leaking 50-100 projects which will effect only the poor competition.So,for the past 7 years I've been teaching myself to be careful and too careful.And the chinese have sometimes holes in their hardware that helps them and others to exploit them.I have removed all the google apps along with the boot loader and the whole firmware except recovery partitions and replaced it with my own.I have an encrypted debian installation on it which runs natively and Quite well.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Atifbaig786 said:
For those who are wondering I work for a government Health agency and mostly handle very sensitive data.For which I use a Pixel 3 XL whose hardware the agency approved recently.In my field if my phone gets stolen or hacked I'll be leaking 50-100 projects which will effect only the poor competition.So,for the past 7 years I've been teaching myself to be careful and too careful.And the chinese have sometimes holes in their hardware that helps them and others to exploit them.I have removed all the google apps along with the boot loader and the whole firmware except recovery partitions and replaced it with my own.I have an encrypted debian installation on it which runs natively and Quite well.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my issue with the Pixel 3 XL is the size, too big for my taste, I hate big phones.
Perfect for me.
daggs1 said:
my issue with the Pixel 3 XL is the size, too big for my taste, I hate big phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a big man who needs big stuff.I love big phones but hated battery usage but this one is decent enough.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
Atifbaig786 said:
For those who are wondering I work for a government Health agency and mostly handle very sensitive data.For which I use a Pixel 3 XL whose hardware the agency approved recently.In my field if my phone gets stolen or hacked I'll be leaking 50-100 projects which will effect only the poor competition.So,for the past 7 years I've been teaching myself to be careful and too careful.And the chinese have sometimes holes in their hardware that helps them and others to exploit them.I have removed all the google apps along with the boot loader and the whole firmware except recovery partitions and replaced it with my own.I have an encrypted debian installation on it which runs natively and Quite well.
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I'd personally immediately cancel any coorporation or affiliation with an agency that allows and not clearly prohibits my personal sensitive and/or confidential data to be stored or handled on an Android or iOS device. Actually, it'd be sufficient for me to react this way if I become aware that this agency approves hardware in that respect.
Yeah But
Oswald Boelcke said:
I'd personally immediately cancel any coorporation or affiliation with an agency that allows and not clearly prohibits my personal sensitive and/or confidential data to be stored or handled on an Android or iOS device. Actually, it'd be sufficient for me to react this way if I become aware that this agency approves hardware in that respect.
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I don't use Android or Apple OS.I use debian as my OS so I am safe and sound.
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Hi everyone,
I can't find a satisfactory answer on my favorite search engines, so I thought I'd come here and ask. Sorry if this question has already been put on the table, carved, sliced and gobbled, I couldn't find trace of it in the forum's search engine either.
My phone's a Leagoo T5c that will forever be stuck on Android 7.0, it seems, because the OEM has already lost interest, and because its SoC makes it difficult, if not downright impossible, to find a suitable custom ROM.
The latest ROM I could find and install on this phone goes back to August of 2018 (no-no, no typos), and its Security Update is even one month older (July 2018).
My question is in the title: Is it possible to install Security Updates without reinstalling/updating/upgrading the firmware itself, like you would in, say, Windows or any other OS, I presume?
UglyStuff said:
Hi everyone,
I can't find a satisfactory answer on my favorite search engines, so I thought I'd come here and ask. Sorry if this question has already been put on the table, carved, sliced and gobbled, I couldn't find trace of it in the forum's search engine either.
My phone's a Leagoo T5c that will forever be stuck on Android 7.0, it seems, because the OEM has already lost interest, and because its SoC makes it difficult, if not downright impossible, to find a suitable custom ROM.
The latest ROM I could find and install on this phone goes back to August of 2018 (no-no, no typos), and its Security Update is even one month older (July 2018).
My question is in the title: Is it possible to install Security Updates without reinstalling/updating/upgrading the firmware itself, like you would in, say, Windows or any other OS, I presume?
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With android 10 were introduced Google play security updates that lets you received security updates (not all of them unfortunately, some requires to upgrade) without updating the full OS. You can't do it because you're stuck with the wrong Android version
Hopefully you won't have any issues with hacking but consider buying a new phone when you'll get a chance
Security updates get rolled out as OTA by OEM/Carrier if they consider it's necessary. You can't force it. Theoretically, all Android smartphones should get around two years of security updates. However, the reality is often very different.
The Leagoo T5c is a small-budget phone what was sold for 99 USD - so more or less a disposable item. You cannot expect OEM/Carrier to have any interest in providing updates for such a phone.
Thank you both for your explanations. I understand that Android works differently when it comes to updating itself, mostly because Google isn't the only party to have a voice in the chapter; still, it's unnerving to see that the end-user is more or less captive anyway.
It kinda defeats the very purpose of an open-source OS, to have to wait for an OEM to release (or not) an update, when you could install the patches yourself.
As for buying another phone, well, as soon as I've got the dough, I will, believe me. Not because I'm dissatisfied with this one, but because I don't like the idea of totting around with a phone that hasn't seen a security update in over two years.
I'm also seriously considering moving to Ubuntu Touch, though there again, my phone's exotic platform could be problematic. Custom ROMs seems to be as complicated an avenue as others, too.
All in all, Android isn't what they sold me: It's not secure, it's not "free", it's just another way to make you shell out bucks for new hardware every couple years.
Android is just iOS without the eye-candy, you ask me...
UglyStuff said:
Thank you both for your explanations. I understand that Android works differently when it comes to updating itself, mostly because Google isn't the only party to have a voice in the chapter; still, it's unnerving to see that the end-user is more or less captive anyway.
It kinda defeats the very purpose of an open-source OS, to have to wait for an OEM to release (or not) an update, when you could install the patches yourself.
As for buying another phone, well, as soon as I've got the dough, I will, believe me. Not because I'm dissatisfied with this one, but because I don't like the idea of totting around with a phone that hasn't seen a security update in over two years.
I'm also seriously considering moving to Ubuntu Touch, though there again, my phone's exotic platform could be problematic. Custom ROMs seems to be as complicated an avenue as others, too.
All in all, Android isn't what they sold me: It's not secure, it's not "free", it's just another way to make you shell out bucks for new hardware every couple years.
Android is just iOS without the eye-candy, you ask me...
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Android isn't iOS precisely because you can break free from your OEM by flashing a custom ROM. You can develop one for almost any device as long as the OEM releases the kernel source code. And most OEM do (expect for some very unknown phones).
Custom ROMs like GrapheneOS are made to free you from google Services and are truly privacy oriented. And all of that is possible because Android is open source.
Trust me, the Android community has always worked actively to counter aging of their devices (including me).
Just buy a phone with a solid community behind and you'll be able to keep it up to date a looong time
Raiz said:
Android isn't iOS precisely because you can break free from your OEM by flashing a custom ROM. You can develop one for almost any device as long as the OEM releases the kernel source code. And most OEM do (expect for some very unknown phones).
Custom ROMs like GrapheneOS are made to free you from google Services and are truly privacy oriented. And all of that is possible because Android is open source.
Trust me, the Android community has always worked actively to counter aging of their devices (including me).
Just buy a phone with a solid community behind and you'll be able to keep it up to date a looong time
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I agree with you in principle, but if I must take an example: I have this Early 2006 MacBook Pro with a Core Duo CPU that precludes me from even installing Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" on it, because the CPU is 32-bit-only, and Lion requires a 64-bit CPU.
The machine itself works very well, albeit a bit slowly, but then it's got only 2 GB of RAM and a 120-GB SSD. When I got fed-up with OS X applications not updating/upgrading and Firefox addons not installing because my copy of Firefox was too old, I partitioned the SSD, installed rEFInd as boot manager, and installed Zorin 15.2 (now 15.3) Lite 32-bit.
I now spend more time on the Linux side of this Mac than on the OS X side, and updating/upgrading it is a breeze, either via the dedicated application or in Terminal. I know there'll be an end-of-the-line there too, someday, but at least I'll keep using this Mac until it truly dies on me, not when Apple tells me it's dead.
This, for me, is the very essence of open-source: Not just the fact that it's free, but that you can revive an old machine and keep it running long after Apple et al have decided that it had gone the way of the dinosaurs.
The same doesn't apply to Android, alas. Here, you must have a compatible SoC/chipset/what-have-you, a Treble-compatible device, you must have this, you must have that...
In the end, only a fraction of Android users really get to enjoy everything their device has to offer for as long as they choose; the others just pop into the nearest phone store, be it brick-and-mortar or cyber, and must produce their credit card.
My question was as much a challenge to myself as anything else. I would really like to learn how Android works, but the tutorials and articles I've found here and there are all a bit cryptic.
That's why I'm regularly prowling this forum, I guess.
"Hunting high and low", as the song goes... :laugh:
yep, good question but google & manufactures are in it for the moola not the users 2 yr old phone.
hiitsrudd said:
yep, good question but google & manufactures are in it for the moola not the users 2 yr old phone.
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Don't I know it! It's true that even budget phones have decent specs nowadays, still, why dump a perfectly functioning phone simply because you can't update/upgrade the software?
I understand Google's rationale, of course: They invest tons of money year after year after year to keep the whole boat afloat, and they need a steady income. OK. Still, to not be able to keep your phone ***safe*** is a no-go for me.
I'm seriously beginning to think about installing Ubuntu Touch on the device. I think I'm going to try that next weekend.
I'll probably come back here with my eyes red, asking for help in unbricking my phone, though.
Stay tuned! :good:
A followup, if you are mindful of your own security it's conceivable to get more usage of that android. I don't use a banking app, but if need be use a good browser( thats updated of course) And update all often used apps via playstore. I'm still running Oreo on my phone. FYI you iOS ppl need to do critical updates asap