First of all, why don't I just write this in an existing thread? Because I don't want this post to get buried. I think I've come up with a perfect anti-theft setup.
(1) Go to google and setup a new account. Password for this account should be something easy for you to remember. Do not add this account to your tablet. You also do not want to use this account for your everyday emailing.
(2) Go to market and buy the app "gotya". It's only $2 or so. Come on, morning coffee costs more than this.
(3) Go into gotya and setup so that gotya will email a picture and gps coordinate every time the tablet is turned on or brought out of sleep. Delay taking a picture by a few seconds to make sure the user is looking into the tablet.
(4) Put the email account you just setup into gotya. This email is a complete record of who's been using the tablet. Most of the time, it will be you. But if your tablet is ever stolen or lost, all you have to do is go into this email account and look at the last time it was turned on for picture of user and location.
(5) Don't forget to password protect gotya.
(6) DO NOT password or lock your tablet. The point of this setup is you want the thief to be able to log into your tablet so he can log into wifi so gotya can email the info to you. If the thief is logged out, he can simply nvflash, factory reset, hard reset, or sell it at a pawn shop. You want to encourage him (or her) to use the tablet at least once so you can get a good picture and gps coordinate of the thief for the police.
(7) The app gotya will run quietly in the background for all times. It consumes the absolute minimal resources. In fact, your tablet can even go into deep sleep. Gotya really is a well written app.
(8) Again, do not put the gotya email into your email account to sync on your tablet. You don't want the thief to know you're keeping track of his whereabouts and his face.
hmm. this may be cool to setup in the future. my tf doesnt leave the house at all really so theres no need quite yet. lol good post though OP!
very interesting, thanks for sharing. Would be interested in what fellow xoomers or eepaders have to say about this setup
definitely getting this for my tablet
cerberus is pretty much the same as this and as alot of nice features
salbalboa said:
cerberus is pretty much the same as this and as alot of nice features
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please elaborate.
locks the device,emails you the location and takes pictures also can wipe data all from a web page. i use this on my phone aswell as the tf.
salbalboa said:
locks the device,emails you the location and takes pictures also can wipe data all from a web page. i use this on my phone aswell as the tf.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does it know when to lock the device?
It wouldn't stop the thief to boot into recovery right away and wipe the device, would it? So, it might be a nice protection against a crime of opportunity, but nothing against someone who knows what he's doing.
pypen said:
It wouldn't stop the thief to boot into recovery right away and wipe the device, would it? So, it might be a nice protection against a crime of opportunity, but nothing against someone who knows what he's doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just for kicks, I've been asking random people the past 5 days or so if they know how to boot into recovery on an android device. So far, no one has said yes.
What are the chances that the thief would know how to wipe the device?
Any security system can be bypassed if you have the know-how. This doesn't prevent we have security systems all over the place. Why? Because not many have the know-how.
goodintentions said:
I think I've come up with a perfect anti-theft setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think your name fits you well. It is obvious you have the best of intentions. However, a thief that knows ANYTHING about tech would open it up, and then before doing anything else (such as connecting to wifi) would just factory reset it. At least that is what I would do with any stolen tech I took (assuming I would...and if our economy keeps tanking I might have to become a thief). Even with open wifi, if you don't already have that SSID setup, it wouldn't connect without input.
So unless the person was dumb enough to not only open it up, but then connect to a wifi source first, this would never work. Your best bet would be to hope they were either really stupid in general, or a really stupid identity thief that would want your personal data intact while using it.
Basically, your best anti-theft practices would be to always keep your **** with you. Don't leave it in the car, don't leave it sitting on a table at a coffee shop while you go take a piss, etc. Mine never leaves my side when I'm out and about with it. So the only way someone is getting it from me is either by gunpoint or magic.
I have a story to tell. So, a long time ago in another life I worked as a cop. Patrolled along the highway during the nighttime. One night, and it was a boring slow night, I decided to pull over a car that was going about 15 or so over and was going to give him a warning. Nothing else to do. When I walked up to him, the first thing I saw was him eating something. As we talked, I could see weed all over his teeth. The guy ate a bag of weed. Told him to step out. A bag of rock cocaine fell out of his pocket.
I walked away from my law enforcement career knowing most criminals out there are stoopid. And no matter how tough or tough looking they are, they all cry once busted. Sure, there are some brilliant ones out there. But I'm sure chances are you will lose your TF to a dumb one. The odds are against a smart criminal stealing your TF.
Anyway, you are absolutely right. My method isn't fool proof. But think about it for a moment. The email account for this purpose will have a detail record of who and where turns the TF on or bring it out of sleep. All it takes is a connection to wifi and the app will email all its records.
That said, my TF doesn't leave my side either LOL.
I really wish they would enable wireless/GPS tracking right into the ROM so you can look it up based on serial number. I wonder if I should patent the idea so I can sue Apple and others when they finally get around to implementing it on tablets... Hmmm....
Not sure if it works on tablets, but my wife lost her Android phone and I used Android Track to get it back - I even installed it after the phone was lost. It does quite a bit like location tracking, remote wipe, takes pictures, records audio, will say something using text-to-speech, can view the call log, etc. Free too
-- Sent from my HP TouchPad using Communities
ExploreMN said:
I really wish they would enable wireless/GPS tracking right into the ROM so you can look it up based on serial number. I wonder if I should patent the idea so I can sue Apple and others when they finally get around to implementing it on tablets... Hmmm....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isnt that already in the iphone? They had that big invasion of privacy thing on the news.
If you made it an optional etc though that would be cool and different.
Sent from my tf101 using xda premium 1.54Ghz
A good companion for this is App Locker. It pops up a fake FC screen. You can lock stuff you don't want them to see. pic/mail/ect. It has a feature that if you unlock one app, they all unlock, then locks when screen turns off/on.
Check it out.
https://market.android.com/details?id=net.xdevelop.protector&hl=en
I like the OP's idea. I also think this thread betrays some peoples naiveity. If you are going to steal someones computer: go for broke. See what data of value you can scavenge out of it, THEN do a factory reset. You might find more ROI on the risk of having stole the darn thing, and hey, if you're gonna be a thief, may as well do it right lol.
Does anyone else wonder if ICS's face unlock stuff can handle beards or just photo prints? LOL. Edit: Looks like the photo-print idea has already been tested.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Related
i want to know if there is a app that i could install on there phone that will let me track them with GPS?? that will tell me there location on my incredible.
does a app like this excest?
What about google location with google latitude that allows you to share your current location?
i will try that. thanks.
Careful relying on Latitude though, it's easy to turn off. Hope he/she doesn't get too smart!
realy? its easy to turn off. is there a app more secret? a app that hides in back ground.?
look at Washdroid.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
You mean Watchdroid, it'll give the location in response to a SMS.
Works great!
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Does no one else think this is wrong?
As a father myself I can honestly say that this is pretty messed up.
If you don't trust your kid don't let them out the house.
Don't for 1 second think that your "protecting" them. Because your not.
Please excuse me for preaching. I'm not telling you how to raise your kids and don't mean to cause any offence. Its just a subject I feel strongly about.
As a father myself, I don't see how this is wrong.
1.) It's for a teen. Of course you don't trust them. It's the nature of the beast. I was a pretty good kid for the most part, but hell, even I didn't trust myself.
2.) I don't really see it so much as protecting them, but it definitely helps to keep them accountable. And if, "god" forbid, they should go missing, at least you'd have somewhere to start looking. Just because your kid is "trustworthy", doesn't mean the bad guys out there are going to take that into consideration.
If the kid knew about it I don't see a problem (regardless of weather they agree or not). Its the whole hiding it I have a problem with.
Why stop there? You could record all sound heard by the phone aswell.
Good point about them being aware of it. I think the recording audio option would be too invasive.
Sent from my MB300 using XDA App
Keeping tabs on the kid aside, I'd do it just for tracking a $500 piece of hardware. Other kids at school would probably love to have a Droid to play with. As one who had my locker routinely broken in to when I was in high school, I'd defiantly use it on my daughter's device!
well personally i think youve gotta let your kid out from underneath a rock at some point. if he/she is old enough to have a 500 dollar smartphone i would think he wouldnt need tabs kept on him/her.
unless this kids an idiot thats made alot of mistakes id say your just as dumb for buying him/her the phone in the first place.
but im not a parent and im only 18 so what do i know.
If your kid found out about it they would have a hard time trusting you with anything afterwards and it would distance you as a parent. Back in the days without cell phones with gps tracking, i bet you were allowed out of the house without a trace being put on you. This is your kid we are talking about , not a prisoner, trust them a bit and give them some freedom because sooner than later htey will be moving out and you will wish your relationship was closer.
mike390 said:
If your kid found out about it they would have a hard time trusting you with anything afterwards and it would distance you as a parent. Back in the days without cell phones with gps tracking, i bet you were allowed out of the house without a trace being put on you. This is your kid we are talking about , not a prisoner, trust them a bit and give them some freedom because sooner than later htey will be moving out and you will wish your relationship was closer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree.
GPS Tracking is for me a really bad thing, I would hate my parents if they had done that to me !
Even if I have some idea of applications, I won't help you because it's really (for me) a bad idea to do that ^^
There are apps that let you track other phones but I think both phones have to have the app or am I wrong?
I would get your teen the original droid because it has a keyboard (for texting) and I bet the price will drop because of the Droid X. Also the Droid X has a 4.3 in touchscreen, a bad drop means a completely shattered screen.
Morals aside, https://www.wavesecure.com/ is a good app for this, among other things. And yes, it hides itself on the phone pretty well, and is protected with a PIN.
Regarding the ethics, I don't think its right to do without your child's consent. But if you explain it is a security measure I'm sure they'd agree to it if the other option was a £10 crappy Nokia.
As for the issue at hand,... I second wavesecure, its bang on all you need in terms of security....
Sent from my HTC Hero using XDA App
If you are getting the Droid X. Motoblur tracks you can login to motoblur and choose locate phone.
I'm installing tracking tools on my Xoom but someone could easily do a factory reset to get rid of them.
Is there a way to prevent a factory reset or make it realy hard to do? or is there a way to modify the rom image so that these apps are installed by default?
Essentially i want to make sure that the only way to get rid of the tracking tool is to flash the roms...
note: I have a rooted Xoom with Android 3.2
If you want to prevent people from clearing the device memory from the Settings UI, you can simply password protect your entire tablet (or portions of the software using App Protector or similar software). You may also want to lock down ADB and Android Market app installs
I don't think that most people would be smart enough to know how to get to the recovery screen from a fully powered down device, since it's model specific.
willverduzco said:
If you want to prevent people from clearing the device memory from the Settings UI, you can simply password protect your entire tablet (or portions of the software using App Protector or similar software). You may also want to lock down ADB and Android Market app installs
I don't think that most people would be smart enough to know how to get to the recovery screen from a fully powered down device, since it's model specific.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While this is a good suggestion, I could quite easily figure out how to get to recovery from any given device. It's really as simple as Googling it. Granted though, most people won't even know what recovery is!
OP, I'm not sure that what you want is available but I'd be very interested in finding this out also!
The thing is that i want people to be able to use it or more specifically connect to a wifi allowing me to...
- Remotely take picture of them...
- keyloging all their facebook/twitter/paypal passwords
- get the location of the device with the gps
And use the information to destroy their life before sending the cops in for the picking...
If the device locks completly they would more then likely trow it in a garbage or have somme tech wiz manualy reset/flash it. My main goal is to bait an idiot into using it and raising the difficulty of resetting the device.
Vellius said:
The thing is that i want people to be able to use it or more specifically connect to a wifi allowing me to...
- Remotely take picture of them...
- keyloging all their facebook/twitter/paypal passwords
- get the location of the device with the gps
And use the information to destroy their life before sending the cops in for the picking...
If the device locks completly they would more then likely trow it in a garbage or have somme tech wiz manualy reset/flash it. My main goal is to bait an idiot into using it and raising the difficulty of resetting the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This strikes me as you wanting to leave a trap allowing you to phish someone's details, more then you wanting to protect your device from theft. Perhaps you are planning to leave the Xoom out for the use of coworkers or fellow students, and harvest their data?
Up until the "keyloging all their facebook/twitter/paypal passwords" you seemed a bit paranoid and draconian, but reasonable...after that, I got a bad feeling about this. Even if you do want it to deal with a possible thief, keylogging their Paypal passwords would make you just as guilty of a crime as the tablet thief...and likely just as open to prosecution.
...leave a trap allowing you to phish someone's details...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL! i admit it may sound like it at first glance. I dont plan leaving it or go "phishing" like you said. I'm not the kind of having the money to trow 500$ and crossing fingers.
All i want is raise my chances of recovering the device should it get stolen. If it's locked then they will just trow it in a garbage or have someone flash it. If it's unlocked then they can use it allowing me to trace it.
would make you just as guilty of a crime as the tablet thief
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont plan using the data my self... I was thinking more like posting the thief details on 4chan or other sites like these and post banking info free on underground sites. I dont want their money.
You cant blame me wanting to turn the life of a thief into a living hell for stealing from me
actually we can, you're allowing him to be stolen from all because he stole your tablet? Anyway, just flash tiamat rom 2.0 and add all of those apps to the "first install" or something folder and be done with it.
Just because he stole something of yours doesn't mean you should be alright with him being stolen from. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind dude.
Vellius said:
I dont plan using the data my self... I was thinking more like posting the thief details on 4chan or other sites like these and post banking info free on underground sites. I dont want their money.
You cant blame me wanting to turn the life of a thief into a living hell for stealing from me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, we can. That's still considered identity theft to a certain extent thus him stealing a 500$ tablet (which may be illegal but no where near identity theft) and then you posting about it in a public forum, thus incriminating yourself. You're pretty open to prosecution now.
Guide: How to haxor anyone that takes your tablet!
Alright, how you want to do this is by taking your left shoulder and putting it infront of you, running at maximum speed, then colliding with a wall. This guide was made to show you, GROW UP AND DEAL WITH YOUR TABLET BEING TAKEN! There are methods for you to be able to get it back if someone does a factory wipe (Tiamats install on first boot folder comes to mind) but aside from that, you shouldn't really have to worry about this, I mean grow up, people have -cars- stolen every day and not all of them have onstar. Deal with the fact your tablet got stolen, file a police report, and cry yourself to sleep. That is all.
OK, this is getting a bit sketchy here. We're not going to discuss how to commit identity theft on XDA, even if the person who steals the tablet is a criminal.
Well I had the misfortune of getting all of my stuff stolen by some crooked F****r
This happen to include my Infuse, nice and shiny
I am really... really ticked... so I was curious
Is there such a thing as a program or condition that one could put into their phone where a security test would be frequently asked (something that isn't annoying but catches unauthorized users) to verify the authorized user ie owner of the device?
Also the program would have to be have some leniency as I don't want it to brick itself when I ask somebody to check my messages of course I would tell them the code or trick whatever it may be.
I need something that when the phone is in jeopardy, it will destroy the device as well as all of the data that has accumulated on this device...
I just hate... absolutely hate with the blackest black like a black hole of hatred, when I have this feeling of "some bastard out there is freely running through my device" and I can't do **** about it.
Which happens to have past data on it, even if my SIM is terminated and my phone is cut off... there is still the numbers, photos, messages and such
Man I tell you, these lowlife scums... really? I was in a college cafeteria, I have my coat sitting there in front of everyone, I was sitting alone, I get up to get some fruit, when I come back, the coat is gone.
Yeah I left it unattended but at the same time you have to consider the fact that maybe these humans have something called morals in their little brains.
It's like... WTF
Plus the University Police's cameras suck... you would think that their capability of funding a $60 million dollar building, that perhaps they could install cameras which could do more than just differentiate whether a human is a girl or a guy.
Anyways... aside from all this bull
What can you guys think of... is there something like this?
I may just make it myself if something like this isn't already made, I'm so pissed
I just wanted to kill whoever this person was (not really as I could never do that) but man I was about ready to pick up this desk and hurl it at the window...
Thank you guys in advance for the read and perhaps an answer to my question.
Sorry for your loss.
SeekDroid is my phone's best friend. You can locate, lock, force an alarm, and wipe the phone from a computer. You can also see the phone number of the sim, along with a list of the last 10 placed calls. On top of all this, you can also force the app to hide on the phone so that nobody can uninstall it. Insanely cheap for what it offers.
GreenAce92 said:
Well I had the misfortune of getting all of my stuff stolen by some crooked F****r
This happen to include my Infuse, nice and shiny
I am really... really ticked... so I was curious
Is there such a thing as a program or condition that one could put into their phone where a security test would be frequently asked (something that isn't annoying but catches unauthorized users) to verify the authorized user ie owner of the device?
Also the program would have to be have some leniency as I don't want it to brick itself when I ask somebody to check my messages of course I would tell them the code or trick whatever it may be.
I need something that when the phone is in jeopardy, it will destroy the device as well as all of the data that has accumulated on this device...
I just hate... absolutely hate with the blackest black like a black hole of hatred, when I have this feeling of "some bastard out there is freely running through my device" and I can't do **** about it.
Which happens to have past data on it, even if my SIM is terminated and my phone is cut off... there is still the numbers, photos, messages and such
Man I tell you, these lowlife scums... really? I was in a college cafeteria, I have my coat sitting there in front of everyone, I was sitting alone, I get up to get some fruit, when I come back, the coat is gone.
Yeah I left it unattended but at the same time you have to consider the fact that maybe these humans have something called morals in their little brains.
It's like... WTF
Plus the University Police's cameras suck... you would think that their capability of funding a $60 million dollar building, that perhaps they could install cameras which could do more than just differentiate whether a human is a girl or a guy.
Anyways... aside from all this bull
What can you guys think of... is there something like this?
I may just make it myself if something like this isn't already made, I'm so pissed
I just wanted to kill whoever this person was (not really as I could never do that) but man I was about ready to pick up this desk and hurl it at the window...
Thank you guys in advance for the read and perhaps an answer to my question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure there is a lock out there that will wipe data or whatever you want if you get the passcode wrong a certain amount of times. You should use a screen lock from now on though... quick and easy for everyday use. And when something happens like this at least you know the dickhead has a paperweight and can't get past the lockscreen. You can also password lock the sim card too. I'm sorry about your stolen device. :/
Sent from my Samsung Infuse
Thank you guys for the condolences
DangKid
How much is this app? It's a one time buy right?
The thing is, how helpful are these things when the phone is off? I guess the criminal would have to turn the phone on at some point
The main thing that concerns me (besides the fact that it's stolen) is the data still being on there, it's my privacy you know? I am entitled to it just like everyone else, as private as one can get here in the US anyways which I would say is pretty good... anyways
slapshot30
I used to use screen locks, I just got annoyed by it
I just have the little puzzle piece (or had)
I just want the phone to be useless, although if there was a chance for me to get it back, I'd like to be able to restore it (bricking I guess is what this is)
I just want to scream "MY BABY!!!! IT'S MISSING!!!!!" In a girl shrieking voice hahaha
Anyways, thanks guys I will heed your warnings and look into this app
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What about the condition that the phone would terminate itself when it detects that someone else is using the phone
Say it gives you three tries to enter the authorization code
The unbricking would be easy (due to the way the app is programmed) so that if I accidentally bricked it on myself by not entering the code right, it wouldn't be a hassle to restore it.
GreenAce92 said:
Well I had the misfortune of getting all of my stuff stolen by some crooked F****r
This happen to include my Infuse, nice and shiny
I am really... really ticked... so I was curious
Is there such a thing as a program or condition that one could put into their phone where a security test would be frequently asked (something that isn't annoying but catches unauthorized users) to verify the authorized user ie owner of the device?
Also the program would have to be have some leniency as I don't want it to brick itself when I ask somebody to check my messages of course I would tell them the code or trick whatever it may be.
I need something that when the phone is in jeopardy, it will destroy the device as well as all of the data that has accumulated on this device...
I just hate... absolutely hate with the blackest black like a black hole of hatred, when I have this feeling of "some bastard out there is freely running through my device" and I can't do **** about it.
Which happens to have past data on it, even if my SIM is terminated and my phone is cut off... there is still the numbers, photos, messages and such
Man I tell you, these lowlife scums... really? I was in a college cafeteria, I have my coat sitting there in front of everyone, I was sitting alone, I get up to get some fruit, when I come back, the coat is gone.
Yeah I left it unattended but at the same time you have to consider the fact that maybe these humans have something called morals in their little brains.
It's like... WTF
Plus the University Police's cameras suck... you would think that their capability of funding a $60 million dollar building, that perhaps they could install cameras which could do more than just differentiate whether a human is a girl or a guy.
Anyways... aside from all this bull
What can you guys think of... is there something like this?
I may just make it myself if something like this isn't already made, I'm so pissed
I just wanted to kill whoever this person was (not really as I could never do that) but man I was about ready to pick up this desk and hurl it at the window...
Thank you guys in advance for the read and perhaps an answer to my question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sooooooooooooooo sorry to hear that!. I use Android Lost on the market...IT IS FREE and it is the most awesome thing and dev is VERY responsive too. I recommend it to anyone!
GreenAce92 said:
Thank you guys for the condolences
DangKid
How much is this app? It's a one time buy right?
The thing is, how helpful are these things when the phone is off? I guess the criminal would have to turn the phone on at some point
The main thing that concerns me (besides the fact that it's stolen) is the data still being on there, it's my privacy you know? I am entitled to it just like everyone else, as private as one can get here in the US anyways which I would say is pretty good... anyways
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hated lock screens also. I'm constantly opening my phone out and to have to spend 3 seconds unlocking it gets annoying. I used to use WheresMyDroid (free on the Market) and its nice for finding the phone. By texting the phone (from any number) a special code, the phone will send gps latitude/longitude of the phones location and another special code will force the phone to play an alarm. It's not so great compared to SeekDroid, but it doesn't need data.
SeekDroid needs data, so if you send a bunch of commands, it won't be recognized until the phone establishes an online connection. So if the phone is off, then nothing can be done. But there's a high chance that they'll turn it on eventually. And there's an even higher chance that they'll try going online with it. From what I remember, it was $1 for the app. It was on Amazon's FAD a couple of times. Looks like the app is now $4.99 on the Market, but there is a lite version that you can try out. I think it's a steal even at $4.99.
get an app called seek droid
only cost a buck and works great
log into their webiste and you can wipe your internal and external memory cards, make an alarm go off even of phone is on silent (this lost phone) and other stuff.
also lets you set a password remotely. pretty awesome
DangKid said:
Sorry for your loss.
SeekDroid is my phone's best friend. You can locate, lock, force an alarm, and wipe the phone from a computer. You can also see the phone number of the sim, along with a list of the last 10 placed calls. On top of all this, you can also force the app to hide on the phone so that nobody can uninstall it. Insanely cheap for what it offers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah SeekDroid is the way to go. it was free a while back on the amazon app store.
Where is my droid pro also gives you the location off the device. but SeekDroid offers more.
DangKid said:
SeekDroid needs data, so if you send a bunch of commands, it won't be recognized until the phone establishes an online connection. So if the phone is off, then nothing can be done. But there's a high chance that they'll turn it on eventually. And there's an even higher chance that they'll try going online with it. From what I remember, it was $1 for the app. It was on Amazon's FAD a couple of times. Looks like the app is now $4.99 on the Market, but there is a lite version that you can try out. I think it's a steal even at $4.99.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last few releases of SeekDroid have included SMS, in-case the device has no data connection. Its not very well advertised right now, but some documentation can be found here: http://help.seekdroid.com/kb/features/sms-how-to-and-help
Glad to hear everyone likes the app. If anyone has any questions, shoot us a line at http://help.seekdroid.com
PS: We should be going on sale on the Amazon Appstore within the next few day. If you wait you might be able to save a few bucks.
sycko said:
Last few releases of SeekDroid have included SMS, in-case the device has no data connection. Its not very well advertised right now, but some documentation can be found here: http://help.seekdroid.com/kb/features/sms-how-to-and-help
Glad to hear everyone likes the app. If anyone has any questions, shoot us a line at http://help.seekdroid.com
PS: We should be going on sale on the Amazon Appstore within the next few day. If you wait you might be able to save a few bucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh dammmmmmmmmn, SeekDroid now has the ability to wipe the phone through a text message? That's so awesome. Will the phone show that a text conversation has initiated? The person could turn off the phone if they somehow saw that someone was trying to find it.
DangKid said:
Oh dammmmmmmmmn, SeekDroid now has the ability to wipe the phone through a text message? That's so awesome. Will the phone show that a text conversation has initiated? The person could turn off the phone if they somehow saw that someone was trying to find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you send a SMS to SeekDroid (with the correct SMS pin and all), we will block that message from going to the phones SMS app. This means it still stays hidden from a thief that they are being tracked.
Phone tracking/wiping
sorry to hear about stolen phone, but folks dont go out and spend money on those apps. Did I not read the reply or did I just miss the one that reminds us all they are 95% USELESS. They are P.O.S!!! They will only work if the phone 1) is powered on 2) has cellular coverage 3) has your sim in it.
All anyone has to do is turn it off, travel out of coverage range, or simply take out or replace the sim.
socialal said:
sorry to hear about stolen phone, but folks dont go out and spend money on those apps. Did I not read the reply or did I just miss the one that reminds us all they are 95% USELESS. They are P.O.S!!! They will only work if the phone 1) is powered on 2) has cellular coverage 3) has your sim in it.
All anyone has to do is turn it off, travel out of coverage range, or simply take out or replace the sim.
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We get success stories of people recovering their devices all the time. Also, as long as the device has a network OR data connection it can be tracked. SeekDroid will still track the device if the SIM is replaced.
socialal said:
sorry to hear about stolen phone, but folks dont go out and spend money on those apps. Did I not read the reply or did I just miss the one that reminds us all they are 95% USELESS. They are P.O.S!!! They will only work if the phone 1) is powered on 2) has cellular coverage 3) has your sim in it.
All anyone has to do is turn it off, travel out of coverage range, or simply take out or replace the sim.
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Lolwut? I can gurantee that 99% of phone thieves will at least connect it to a network of some sort. And that's when SeekDroid will strike. I'd take SeekDroid over any app out there on the market. It's simply the best at what it does and then some.
socialal said:
sorry to hear about stolen phone, but folks dont go out and spend money on those apps. Did I not read the reply or did I just miss the one that reminds us all they are 95% USELESS. They are P.O.S!!! They will only work if the phone 1) is powered on 2) has cellular coverage 3) has your sim in it.
All anyone has to do is turn it off, travel out of coverage range, or simply take out or replace the sim.
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at least this gives you a chance as long as your proactive and get on it fast.
you get the choice to locate it, or completely wipe everything off the phone, which is what i would do because i wouldn't want someone to be able to screw with my email account, facebook, contacts, and everything else on my phone.
not to mention being able to set off an alarm on my phone even when its on silent has helped me find it a few times when it decides to go deep sea couch diving
hmm Really? might make it worth looking into then. Because according to big brother (ATT) and apple. The only was those work is by sending a message/signal to the device. if the device is off or has no signal there is no way to for the service. if its a free download. I'll download it and then remove my sim and try pinging it
---------- Post added at 08:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 AM ----------
What identifier is it using? Because i thought once the sim card was swapped it became essentialy a different phone
Check out an app called plan b on the marketplace website. You can install it from there and it will show you where the phone is an you can wipe it clean. It's free.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
The stuff with the locations "longitude and latitude" doesn't the GPS have to be turned on the phone?
What about if the sim card was removed?
I had looked on my AT&T records and the 'criminal' did go online for a bit until the phone was turned off
But damn... the thought of having my email accounts logged in, my messages, phone numbers, personal notes and voice recordings etc... pictures...
Oh man it's like someone has just stripped me naked and posted my image on somebody's bedroom wall (ha)
Anyhow it would have been nice to have any of these apps on my phone, though my phone sticks to me like a cancer
Thank you guys for your input
I'll try to be wiser next time
Just a side question
What's the cost of switching devices if your last device was stolen? I like the sound of the "skyrocket" though I wouldn't mind getting my old Infuse back either and trying the ubuntu os
That looks sweet
john21511 said:
Check out an app called plan b on the marketplace website. You can install it from there and it will show you where the phone is an you can wipe it clean. It's free.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
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Ha! Plan B now that's an app name
Much like many of the similar threads I've read, I'm looking for some advice on what to do regarding a missing phone.
Over the holidays my wife's phone, a MyTouch 4G (with Creamed Glacier 4.0.3) was left on a plane in NYC and we live in Ohio. Over the next few hours I installed Plan B, Android Lost, and got nowhere. Coincidentally I had bought my wife a Nexus 4 for Christmas so after a few days we gave up on it. Then about a month after that, some photos started showing up in the Dropbox Camera Uploads folder!
Reinvigorated I started up Android Lost again and got a status reply! It is in NYC, I've got a subscriber ID, an IP from T-Mobile, and the IMEI, plus some other things. Although I can't get an exact GPS lock, I'm hopeful I can.
In principal I would like to have her phone back as it probably has some pictures of our baby on there and well, because it's ours. However, I'm not likely to go track this down in another state and NYC of all places.
So my question is, should I use Android Lost to try and display a message, offering maybe $50 for the phone back hoping for the best? Should I try to remote wipe it and give up on it? And/or contact T-Mobile and report the IMEI as stolen so it's hopefully unusable?
Any other suggestions?
Take care,
Steve
I wouldn't go looking for it in person or suggest another civilian do so - that's just an awful idea. Sure, it might be in the hands of a kind little old lady, but taking that kind of risk for $50 is pretty foolish.
Contact carrier and local law enforcement - I'd talk to the carrier first as they might be able to take care of the latter without you having to do anything.
I also wouldn't try to request a reward. I mean, maybe if they were harmless, but I'm personally a bit paranoid about giving my address to random people - especially those who'd just take a lost phone instead of turning it into a lost-and-found.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
Pennycake said:
I wouldn't go looking for it in person or suggest another civilian do so - that's just an awful idea. Sure, it might be in the hands of a kind little old lady, but taking that kind of risk for $50 is pretty foolish.
Contact carrier and local law enforcement - I'd talk to the carrier first as they might be able to take care of the latter without you having to do anything.
I also wouldn't try to request a reward. I mean, maybe if they were harmless, but I'm personally a bit paranoid about giving my address to random people - especially those who'd just take a lost phone instead of turning it into a lost-and-found.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app
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Your first concern i have edited out. I was hesitant after typing it but couldnt make an edit within 5 minutes. I certainly dont want someone trying to look for it for me.
I did contact Columbus police but understandably not much they will do for a phone. But back to the message i can use a disposable email and the address of a PO Box. But it comes down going to the trouble and having to let go of it.
I think I'll attempt a wipe then submit it as a stolen imei.
steve
Ok, so I don't think the wipe is going to work because I didn't set up the admin rights from the start.
Our main concern is getting her data off there or at least preventing access to it. Is there another application I can remotely install that will do this without having to be present to activate anything? Or I would assume just changing all the passwords should force the application to log out next time it phones home. For example, Dropbox, Skype, and GMail are think are everything. Plus, would like to wipe her old SMS messages too.
We haven't changed the Google password yet just because I had the hope of pushing down more apps if necessary. Or will it affect my ability to reach Android Lost?
Thanks again.
so this is just a general message to all android users. something everyone SHOULD know about but most (non-tech) smartphone users fall short and victim to... the reason im posting this is because the wifes phone has been acting wierd lately, by wierd i mean apps have been opening up by themselves, internet browsers opened to websites that she would never go to, wallpapers keep getting changed, phone randomly being turned off, all of this happening most of the time while shes at work. now just so we know her wasnt rooted till two days ago which i did to see if maybe there was just something wrong with the stock crap that she had. turns out this wasnt the case. so i decided to post this just to make people more aware and hopefully prevent this from happening to anyone else.
what you can do to prevent this invasion
first and foremost PUT A PASSWORD ON YOUR PHONE!!! even if you have nothing to hide this will help from major things like bank accounts and passwords from emails getting stolen!
make the password hard to guess by this i dont mean use your kids names or birthdays but something no one would ever guess and use a combination of numbers and letters and never use the same password twice!
change your password atleast once a week! this will help to keep potential hackers guessing and make it harder for them to figure it out and hey if they figure it out this week they may not next week.
try to stay off of unsecured wifi networks, most routers these days have a firewall built in and if the network is protected by a password this will make it that much harder for a hacker to get into your files!
make sure you have your bluetooth set up so that other devices can only see you if they are paired or just keep it turned off when its not being used! same goes for NFC, Smart Beam, Bump, things of that nature...
dont let browsers like firefox, google chrome, e.g. save password this will also help to prevent the hacker from getting access to your email's and bank accounts! also a good idea to make sure you sign out of apps when you close them instead of leaving them open.
i hope this helps anyone else who may have had or has a problem with this from it ever happening again!
Common sense, that's all you need.
Changing your password once a week is a bit drastic in my opinion.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Just don't install wonky apps and dont connect to public networks. As simple as that.
Does setting a password really block remote access to your phone? I thought it only blocked a user from operating the device. I think you have to set up full encryption to protect yourself from invasions. Also. Google offers 2 step verification from the play store, which makes your accounts more secure.
So how did someone get remote access to the device? Maybe if you told us the cause and how it happened it would help the rest of us to not get caught in that situation.
if this is happening mainly at work is it possible she's using there wifi and if she is how do you know a fellow employee is not hacking in to her phone.
phatmanxxl said:
So how did someone get remote access to the device? Maybe if you told us the cause and how it happened it would help the rest of us to not get caught in that situation.
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Unfortunatly I dont know the answer to this question as its her phone. I know she doesnt have any "remote access" apps installed.
biker4033 said:
if this is happening mainly at work is it possible she's using there wifi and if she is how do you know a fellow employee is not hacking in to her phone.
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no she has confermed that she doesnt use the wifi at work doesnt even have it in her connection list so no fellow employee is doing it even though I suspect this one guy that seems to sit up there all day just for the free wifi, even though wifi isnt the only way a hackwr can get into ur files its just easier.
sauprankul said:
Just don't install wonky apps and dont connect to public networks. As simple as that.
Does setting a password really block remote access to your phone? I thought it only blocked a user from operating the device. I think you have to set up full encryption to protect yourself from invasions. Also. Google offers 2 step verification from the play store, which makes your accounts more secure.
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setting a password doesnt block total access no but it would help to detur hackers and yes encryptions would prolly be better! Disnt even thing about that!!!
Da Kine said:
Common sense, that's all you need.
Changing your password once a week is a bit drastic in my opinion.
Exactly common sense... unfortunatly the world is filles with retards which was the main point of this post. Smartphones where made for "unfortunatly" stupid people... yes changing the password may be a bit drastic but maybe it would detur said hacker long enough to bore him with trying to figure it out and make him leave u alone... :/
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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This message was sent from the a satellite in the sky.
Most of it is just common sense. Who leaves open connections unattended, anyway? Bloody hell, I turn 3G off when I'm not using it... (Mainly for battery life and the near border, but the fact stands.)
As for the passwords. Once a week is more than a bit paranoid, once every three months is a better aim.
And Don't use ridiculous sentimental passwords, such as your pets or family names and birth dates. A quick Facebook search and some logical thinking is all that's needed to figure out your password. You do not wish to know how many times I've had to do it for people who've forgotten theirs or when I needed access to a computer without the owner present. It's laughably easy, people are far too simple for their own good.
Another stupid thing I've seen people do: Leave their phone unattended in good faith or sheer negligence. Leaving your phone on your desk, or in your bag near your desk, when you go grab a new cup of tea, print something, speak with someone or visit the loo is just asking for someone else to mess with your phone. People can't be trusted. Nobody! Also, do not lend it to someone without supervision, Do Not Let It Out Of Your Sight!
I suspect that is also how your wife got her phone hacked; she probably left it in her bag or on her desk for a few minutes as she went to do something out of the line of sight.
I don't know if someone has stated this already but something that can also help out a lot and I know that a lot of people do it including myself on one or two occasions is staying legit. Meaning do not go online looking for an app for free to save yourself a dollar or so. Just pay for the app because it took time to develope and the creator deserves the donation, not to mention the apk could contain malware!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
ShadowLea said:
Most of it is just common sense. Who leaves open connections unattended, anyway? Bloody hell, I turn 3G off when I'm not using it... (Mainly for battery life and the near border, but the fact stands.)
As for the passwords. Once a week is more than a bit paranoid, once every three months is a better aim.
And Don't use ridiculous sentimental passwords, such as your pets or family names and birth dates. A quick Facebook search and some logical thinking is all that's needed to figure out your password. You do not wish to know how many times I've had to do it for people who've forgotten theirs or when I needed access to a computer without the owner present. It's laughably easy, people are far too simple for their own good.
Another stupid thing I've seen people do: Leave their phone unattended in good faith or sheer negligence. Leaving your phone on your desk, or in your bag near your desk, when you go grab a new cup of tea, print something, speak with someone or visit the loo is just asking for someone else to mess with your phone. People can't be trusted. Nobody! Also, do not lend it to someone without supervision, Do Not Let It Out Of Your Sight!
I suspect that is also how your wife got her phone hacked; she probably left it in her bag or on her desk for a few minutes as she went to do something out of the line of sight.
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This was already stated.... you basicly reiterated
what I already said but made it sound smarter... and she works at a fast food joint so it stays in her pocket or in the locked car when charging...
XBearingArmsX said:
I don't know if someone has stated this already but something that can also help out a lot and I know that a lot of people do it including myself on one or two occasions is staying legit. Meaning do not go online looking for an app for free to save yourself a dollar or so. Just pay for the app because it took time to develope and the creator deserves the donation, not to mention the apk could contain malware!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda premium
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I must admit I am one of rhose people that downloads the .apk but not to one up google play or the dev but simply cus google doesnt give u but 15 mins to get a refund and lets face it thats no where near enough time to test an app to see if its something that will suit ones needs, so I download the apk file to see if its something that I would wanna keep and if it is then I go back whrn I have the extra cash to buy said apps...
This message was sent from the a satellite in the sky.
Rookie407 said:
I must admit I am one of rhose people that downloads the .apk but not to one up google play or the dev but simply cus google doesnt give u but 15 mins to get a refund and lets face it thats no where near enough time to test an app to see if its something that will suit ones needs, so I download the apk file to see if its something that I would wanna keep and if it is then I go back whrn I have the extra cash to buy said apps...
This message was sent from the a satellite in the sky.
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This is probably where your malware came from. I'd suggest doing a factory reset and stop downloading pirated apps. If you want a refund after the 15 minute trial period just email Google or the developer, they are usually pretty good at giving refunds.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
gc84245 said:
This is probably where your malware came from. I'd suggest doing a factory reset and stop downloading pirated apps. If you want a refund after the 15 minute trial period just email Google or the developer, they are usually pretty good at giving refunds.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
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I know it wasnt the downloading of apps as my wife is one of those non-techy people ive been talking about... it could have however been from her dl'ing music from unreliable websites.
This message was sent from the a satellite in the sky.
If anything suspicious was happening to my phone I would immediately wipe/flash a new rom.
Banking apps are pretty risky too if they are easily logged into.
nmur said:
If anything suspicious was happening to my phone I would immediately wipe/flash a new rom.
Banking apps are pretty risky too if they are easily logged into.
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Sadly if you were hacked you would need to do alittle more then just wipe and reflash, u would need to delete all email accounts tied to said phone and apps used in the past + get a new number basicly start EVERYTHING new!
This message was sent from the a satellite in the sky.
If u happen to know the hackers ip address and or phone number you could always call your provider and have them block it also
This message was sent from the a satellite in the sky.
I could recommend to you wifi protector against hackers via wifi.. and also an antivirus for safety purpose
Wifi protector is available here in xda..
Sent from my A618 TV Duo using xda app-developers app
FROST_wyrm said:
I could recommend to you wifi protector against hackers via wifi.. and also an antivirus for safety purpose
Wifi protector is available here in xda..
Sent from my A618 TV Duo using xda app-developers app
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Didnt know there was an app like that ty for this post! And we have lookout so we are covered on the anti virus part...
This message was sent from the a satellite in the sky.
That app was actually an anti.wifikill and for other apps that will try to access your phone just like hacking your fb account and others.
Sent from my A618 TV Duo using xda app-developers app
Thanks
nice tip..gona take ur advice
Talking about being hacked, I fell victim to this too a year ago and I was able to put a stop to it. But first I'll explain my ordeal. One night I started getting calls from friends very pissed off that I kept calling them at 1 and 2 in the morning and waking them up and hanging up the phone. I kept telling them I swear I never called you. This went on to the point I lost a few friends until I saw it happen right before me eyes. Bet I know what your thinking, Pocket dialing? NOPE. My phone was dialing on it's own while sitting on the table at night charging.
So here it is 1 AM in the morning and I notice the light on my LG Optimus's screen coming on. I walked over and took a look, and to my surprise!! The darn thing was opening up the dial pad, moving to callers on my list and calling each one. This freaked me out. I thought I had ghost in the house. haha.
I reported this to Virgin and yea right, not much help. They must of thought I was on drugs. I decided to research this and low and behold, others were having this same problem with all models of phones. So someone did something about this and written an App called, "Called Confirmed Code." Nice thing was every time my phone attempted to make a phone call on its own, a password box appears asking for the pin number. Wrong pin rejects the call and closes the dial-er.
So I installed in hopes to find out if this is a glitch in Froyo 2.2.1 or a hacker. It happened once again. Phone woke up on its own that night and I watched in horror as the password box came up and someone was attempting to guess the pin number. each time he failed, the dial-er closed. I knew now someone was in my phone.
Did more research and read that there are open ports used a remote OTA Virgin uses to update your software over the air was being exploited and allowing hackers to fool my phone into thinking I had updates and allowing software to install on the phone. I took my phone to my local police dept and have a detective look into it and sure enough, it was a piece of software that got into the phone through the OTA port. Another words, What I though was a legit security update was nothing more then a backdoor installed.
So, I made copies of the police reports and faxed everything to Virgin's headquarters and weeks later, said there is no proof such a thing can happen.
WHAT!! Weather or not this is possible guys, it happen to me and that's what pushed me to root and flash my phone. Never did update through the OTA again. That's o.k. because Virgin Mobile did away with OTA updates because why??? Exploits. They still wont admit it today. And it doesn't stop there. That's my story how I got hacked. Maybe your's is different.
Do you always turn your wifi on?
hackers can only hack you if you are connected
No harsh feelings please, smile ka din