Related
Greetings,
I recently had my phone stolen when someone smashed my car window and grabbed my phone and GPS unit. I was thinking about ways to either deter theives or perhaps even catch them after the fact.
My first thought was some sort of program on the phone that would send information about the phone back to a user specified email address. For example, let's say the person installs a new SIM card and powers up the phone. The program could auto-run and send you the new phone number now assigned to the phone. I am not sure how this would work for non-SIM phones as I don't understand how those phones get their "phone number". In addition to the phone number it could send any informaiton like Owner Info that also might help identify the person now in possession of the phone.
My second thought was why not tap into the GPS device that so many phones are now equipped with and send GPS coordinates as well. This might be difficult if the phone company locks access to the GPS functionality.
Last but not least I was wondering if there might not be a way to determine that a new SIM card was installed, even if a master reset was done on the phone. The big problem here is that you would need to have the code included as part of the firmware as a master reset might possible wipe out any internal memory on the phone. It might be interesting to flash a warning on the main screen of the phone indicating that "This Phone is Stolen" if someone tried to put their own SIM or reprogram the phone with their phone number.
Naturally I know you can "lock" the phone which will render it useless but that won't necessarily help you get it back. I figure most of these "smartphones" have enough intelligence to at least send out a text message or something.
Has anyone seen anything like this or have any ideas on what might be possible?
Thanks
TC
There are several different software packages that already do this. One is called W.I.M.P. - Where Is My Phone:
http://www.wimp-software.co.uk/
Doh! I should have used Google.
Thanks for the tip.
Anyone using WIMP? I have the demo version and am having issues getting the GPS to work. Windows Live and Google Maps work fine. Not sure why WIMP is having issues.
What???
cowboyshootist said:
I recently had my phone stolen when someone smashed my car window and grabbed my phone and GPS unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you leave this laying around in you car? My Tilt (or any phone for that matter), electronic device, and wife () always leave the car with me....
mchapman007 said:
Why would you leave this laying around in you car? My Tilt (or any phone for that matter), electronic device, and wife () always leave the car with me....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I was heading into the LA Fitness gym in Mill Creek WA. There are generally lots of people coming and going in and out of the gym and Mill Creek is not what you would call a high crime area. The phone was not in plain sight but in the cup holder between the front seats and you would have to look real hard to even know it was there.
It was actually the GPS unit that attracted the thief. Normally I put that in the glove box and take my phone with me but as I mentioned above I didn't think I was in an area where I had to worry about car break-ins.
Even so, phones get stolen all the time. My daughter had hers stolen right out of her purse at her High School. It can happen even when you don't think it can. Applications like WIMP or PhoneBak are the only defense you have against something like this. Given the technology that exists in smartphones there's no reason they can't report themselves stolen and if they have gps (like the Moto Q9) even give you their location.
The funny thing is the thief was stupid enough to put his contacts onto the phone without having done a hard reset. The next day all his contacts were synch'd to my new phone and I now know who stole the phone.
Sprite Terminator is another one that does all of the things you want, remote lock / wipe / gps , etc
Thanks Dave.
KMS
Dave G said:
Sprite Terminator is another one that does all of the things you want, remote lock / wipe / gps , etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's also Kaspersky Mobile Security for XDAs - you can block sms acces, wipe PIM data and it has a nice little feature that will send out SMSs to two numbers of your choice if the SIM is swapped, then block the unit until you enter a code - thus giving you the new mobile number to take to the police! only takes them about 20 mins to find the name and address of the thief!
http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/kaspersky_mobile_security
And it's got a firewall and antivirus thrown in, too!
Bird
Bird_FAT said:
There's also Kaspersky Mobile Security for XDAs - you can block sms acces, wipe PIM data and it has a nice little feature that will send out SMSs to two numbers of your choice if the SIM is swapped, then block the unit until you enter a code - thus giving you the new mobile number to take to the police! only takes them about 20 mins to find the name and address of the thief!
http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/kaspersky_mobile_security
And it's got a firewall and antivirus thrown in, too!
Bird
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I was aware of this product. I am not too keen on annual subscriptions but it certainly seems to have all the features you might want for cellular phone security.
Mobile justice, it's freeware.
Bye
Hi if you installed kaspersky mobile security latest version, and you forgot the code? how can you reset code or change code to newone?
Thanks
Well lets assume your android device has been stolen! Good lord !! . Not to worry, this guide should hopefully help you recover it. Even if its a thief.
PS: This contents of this read may bear resemblance to the reddit thread i created
A about two weeks ago (17th April to be exact) one of my friend lost his Samsung GT-I9003 from his dorm room at 0200hrs. Today when i was scanning my latitude, i saw him position a few hundred meters from me. Problem is, we are on a university campus. 500+ students, staff, kitchen, cleaning - basically lot of people. I suggested we check Google Latitiude's location history and sure enough for the past 15 days, the phone's location is spread all over the campus.
Premise of the crime
The phone is ON and is connecting to the Wi-Fi.
The phone is still tied to the primary gmail account and is thus reporting location.
The SIM has been removed or changed since the original number is now switched off
The person does not have good knowledge of using a smart phone (maybe helping staff)
Steps we have taken
Since we assume it is in the possession of either a student or helping staff we don't want to startle him.
Tried Plan-B on my phone. However the location it was reporting was the same as Google Latitude.
The phone does have Where is my Droid installed but the web interface says invalid email ID. So that option is ruled out unless you have pre configured Where is my Droid previously.
How we found the phone
After Where is my Droid failed us, we started looking for other applications. We found this application called Android Lost. Unfortunately we hit a dead end when we realised that it needs to be activated by sending an SMS. Since we dont know the phone number, or that there is even any SIM card in the phone, that application also seemed useless.But turns out the developer of Android Lost has also made a nifty app called AndroidLost Jumpstart which is can trigger Android Lost without the need of an SMS.
According to the description
This app will wake up the registration process on the androidlost app when ever a phone call is made, an SMS received, battery is low, a package is added, removed or changed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So we got android lost installed. Trust me, its a life saver. We got calls logs, sms, pictures, voice recordings. We tracked the person with the help of this.
Hope this helps anyone in the future!
maverick340 said:
Well lets assume your android device has been stolen! Good lord !! . Not to worry, this guide should hopefully help you recover it. Even if its a thief.
PS: This contents of this read may bear resemblance to the reddit thread i created
A about two weeks ago (17th April to be exact) one of my friend lost his Samsung GT-I9003 from his dorm room at 0200hrs. Today when i was scanning my latitude, i saw him position a few hundred meters from me. Problem is, we are on a university campus. 500+ students, staff, kitchen, cleaning - basically lot of people. I suggested we check Google Latitiude's location history and sure enough for the past 15 days, the phone's location is spread all over the campus.
Premise of the crime
The phone is ON and is connecting to the Wi-Fi.
The phone is still tied to the primary gmail account and is thus reporting location.
The SIM has been removed or changed since the original number is now switched off
The person does not have good knowledge of using a smart phone (maybe helping staff)
Steps we have taken
Since we assume it is in the possession of either a student or helping staff we don't want to startle him.
Tried Plan-B on my phone. However the location it was reporting was the same as Google Latitude.
The phone does have Where is my Droid installed but the web interface says invalid email ID. So that option is ruled out unless you have pre configured Where is my Droid previously.
How we found the phone
After Where is my Droid failed us, we started looking for other applications. We found this application called Android Lost. Unfortunately we hit a dead end when we realised that it needs to be activated by sending an SMS. Since we dont know the phone number, or that there is even any SIM card in the phone, that application also seemed useless.But turns out the developer of Android Lost has also made a nifty app called AndroidLost Jumpstart which is can trigger Android Lost without the need of an SMS.
According to the description
So we got android lost installed. Trust me, its a life saver. We got calls logs, sms, pictures, voice recordings. We tracked the person with the help of this.
Hope this helps anyone in the future!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or install Avast anti theft before your phone gets stolen ;D never the less, very useful, thank you.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
okmijnlp said:
Or install Avast anti theft before your phone gets stolen ;D never the less, very useful, thank you.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep always good to be safe before hand. After this incident lot of my friends have installed or gotten some security app.
Although, aren't security suite like Avast, McAfee and overkill for finding lost phones?
And who was the thief?
Sent from my LG Optimus 2x with xda premium app
another possibility is to instal Cerberus App
Hi everyone. I have recently been the victim of theft for my nexus 7. I had the device locked with the pattern so there is no way that the thief could get into it unless they do a software reset from the recovery mode. The thing is, either way there is no way i would be able to recover it because if in fact they do a factory reset my lookout security would be uninstalled and my nexus would be lost forever, also if they can't get through the pattern and find a way to connect to Wi-Fi, it will still be lost forever. I have read about installing lookout in the system/app folder of a rooted device so its not easily uninstalled by normal means or factory reset. But do you think it is possible to have android lost and lookout pre-configured and installed in the system/app folder so that even if the device is factory reset, the credentials will remain?
is it factory-reset proof?
Just a quick little question: How did you get the phone to register on Android Lost? I can't get a friend's phone to be recognized in the web app, after installing the Jumpstart and another app...
Thank you
Very good contribution, gratz! i will follow your steps in case my android get stolen!
How did it fail?
You say that "after Where's my Droid failed us"...what do you mean by that...how did it "fail"? I would like to know before installing it. What exactly happened that it "failed" you?
Thanks
Losing a phone is irritating
I lost my phone sometime back. I didn't have the time to do research and maybe these apps weren't available at the time of theft. I got the SIM de-activated and tried to track my phone via IMEI number.
So, a few questions
1. Have they changed its IMEI number ?
2. Have they removed my Google account ?
This pretty much messes it up. If you can't track it via IMEI nor can you use any network then its as good as history. These were the only remaining identification tags that could have got your phone back and the thief would know of it. The moment I called on my own number he switched it off. He logged into my account and posted crap(not that I knew any of it had it not been for my friend who reported some strange FB and Twitter status) as if it wasn't enough that he had my phone.
One of the most disturbing things that they can do is play with the IMEI. Older phones were more susceptible to that kind of thing but a Nexus ? P990 ? GT19100? I thought they were much harder to hack. Not only can you NOT track your phone but also lose all other alternatives because the phone is now linked to another google account. I was searching for a post that would walk me through a process of changing the google account currently associated with the phone. In an attempt to understand if this indeed was the case. I wanted to try this app so badly but now I blew it off, my only chance.
Hardware based identification is the only way to go about fixing this issue. Any low level process that runs off some hard coded tag independent of software control known only to the owner of the phone. I just don't know what other options are left with person who lost it. I think there is no other way.
Time for a new phone, I guess
Edit: I guess I was right about that. They had done a hard reset but the IMEI associated with my account is intact. So there are two ways of messing it up. One, you change the IMEI(which sounds ridiculously dumb). Second, you change the primary account(more believable). How stupid of me to think of the first one
i think if a android phone is lost and a guy with a bit knowledge of flashin roms gets it then we might have to forget our phone.. if the phone has screen lock the guy can reset the phone through stock recovery and all security apps like where's my droid,avast etc get wiped off.. i personally don't install any anti-theft apps. i beleive in being EXTRA CAREFUL than installing any anti theft apps
And you are damn right bro, its good to be careful than putting all your believe in one anti-THEFT software which can easily get wiped off.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
That's useful, thanks !
How did you get the Logs.
Hi Maverik,
My phone was robbed yesterday & the SIM card was removed,
I wanted to know how were you able to get the call logs, pics etc of your lost phone to ........
Very useful! Thanks!
we have Find My Phone
you can have a try
Find My Phone - find your misplaced phone/stolen phone/lost phone easily
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phonefindandlock
Thanks for share your experience with AndroidLost.
Inviato dal mio K00E utilizzando Tapatalk
AndroFind is the best
i highly recommend AndroFind to find stolen phone.
you can find it in android market :good:
Hi, but It's possible to find any kind of phone also with older Android version?
Thanks!
Hi developpers. I
My droid phone verson 4.1.2 was stolen last friday. But I was able to track the phone, confront with the thief and recover my phone two days later.
And that's why I am writing in this forum, because I want to share my experience and see if things can be done.....
The thief, stupid guy, removed all my sim cards (dual sim) and removed the memory card, but failed to do the necessary resets and did not remove my google account.
I don't want any lock screen system on my phone. And I strongly recommend everybody not to put a lock screen protection on your phone, because if there is one, the phone might just end straight into the trash bin, and you'll be left with no chance to find back your beloved Droid.
Let the thief in his beliefs it's his lucky day.... he has a nice unprotected full useable phone....
Also have Remotely locate this device enabled in the google settings, or get one of these hidden tracking apps on your phon.. Also enable allow remote lock and factory resets. The thief was so stupid he forgot to disable this feature of the phone.
Now here is my point. The Google Settings should be password protected. And it should be a shared password with the phone settings/Personal/ BACKUP AND RESET option.
At least, password protecting these two sections of the phone will avoid the thief to:
1. Disable the geo location of your phone
2. Doing a factory reset or remove any of the accounts on your phone.
Unless the thief is also a hacker, you will always be able to track your phone and get it back.
In my case, I tracked down the thief, up to 4m accuracy. I also have a Bluetooth speaker. I went to the Geo location and my Bluetooth speaker confirmed big time the phone was at this location.
Another thing to consider is to build INTO the OS itself is the option to track your phone. There are many programs on Google Play, but they can all be removed easily with a simple factory reset. This kind of software should be build in INTO the phone's OS itself.
Good luck to all of you who get your phone stolen!
oz457 said:
Hi developpers. I
My droid phone verson 4.1.2 was stolen last friday. But I was able to track the phone, confront with the thief and recover my phone two days later.
And that's why I am writing in this forum, because I want to share my experience and see if things can be done.....
The thief, stupid guy, removed all my sim cards (dual sim) and removed the memory card, but failed to do the necessary resets and did not remove my google account.
I don't want any lock screen system on my phone. And I strongly recommend everybody not to put a lock screen protection on your phone, because if there is one, the phone might just end straight into the trash bin, and you'll be left with no chance to find back your beloved Droid.
Let the thief in his beliefs it's his lucky day.... he has a nice unprotected full useable phone....
Also have Remotely locate this device enabled in the google settings, or get one of these hidden tracking apps on your phon.. Also enable allow remote lock and factory resets. The thief was so stupid he forgot to disable this feature of the phone.
Now here is my point. The Google Settings should be password protected. And it should be a shared password with the phone settings/Personal/ BACKUP AND RESET option.
At least, password protecting these two sections of the phone will avoid the thief to:
1. Disable the geo location of your phone
2. Doing a factory reset or remove any of the accounts on your phone.
Unless the thief is also a hacker, you will always be able to track your phone and get it back.
In my case, I tracked down the thief, up to 4m accuracy. I also have a Bluetooth speaker. I went to the Geo location and my Bluetooth speaker confirmed big time the phone was at this location.
Another thing to consider is to build INTO the OS itself is the option to track your phone. There are many programs on Google Play, but they can all be removed easily with a simple factory reset. This kind of software should be build in INTO the phone's OS itself.
Good luck to all of you who get your phone stolen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why you should use Software to prevent this. There are lots of tracking/AntiThief Software available. Noone will put it to trash when its locked,
mynote said:
This is why you should use Software to prevent this. There are lots of tracking/AntiThief Software available. Noone will put it to trash when its locked,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The question is if software will really help....
You're lucky.
The thief, stupid guy. If He smart than, he can google and reboot your phone in to recovery, and he can Wipe all of your data.
And your phone will gone forever
andy-q said:
The question is if software will really help....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. It is. 9 of 10 of my customers are happy and got ist device back after stolen/lost.
Just for the statistics..
The only shortcoming with the tracking/remote lock/wipe abilities is that they can still be defeated through CWM or whatever recovery is being used. That said, in most situations involving theft the thief doesn't have this level of knowledge to consider this step.
What's interesting to me is that so many people still steal phones for personal use, but I guess the stolen ESN database isn't far reaching enough yet to make it a stolen phone worthless for use yet. There is still some cash to be made selling them off for the hardware, but grabbing someone's phone doesn't seem worth a felony IMO.
As to the OP, a lock screen isn't worthless, especially if you have a non-removable battery. Most phones with them--an active lock screen I mean--either won't allow or can be set to disallow the phone being turned off without the code/pattern/password being entered, meaning if your phone is tossed in the trash it can still be recovered. That is one feature that will always make an integrated battery a plus. Even without one, there's the chance that the thief isn't going to take the time to pull the battery once he see's there's active security anyway.
MissionImprobable said:
The only shortcoming with the tracking/remote lock/wipe abilities is that they can still be defeated through CWM or whatever recovery is being used. That said, in most situations involving theft the thief doesn't have this level of knowledge to consider this step.
What's interesting to me is that so many people still steal phones for personal use, but I guess the stolen ESN database isn't far reaching enough yet to make it a stolen phone worthless for use yet. There is still some cash to be made selling them off for the hardware, but grabbing someone's phone doesn't seem worth a felony IMO.
As to the OP, a lock screen isn't worthless, especially if you have a non-removable battery. Most phones with them--an active lock screen I mean--either won't allow or can be set to disallow the phone being turned off without the code/pattern/password being entered, meaning if your phone is tossed in the trash it can still be recovered. That is one feature that will always make an integrated battery a plus. Even without one, there's the chance that the thief isn't going to take the time to pull the battery once he see's there's active security anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, true. Anyway. Even if you are just loosing your phone instead of getting stolen..
I consider that the thief will trash the phone when there is a lockscreen. Mostly the thief will try to look for "Reset-Possibilities". If you have a good AntiThief Software you may also disable the lockscreen when you feel that its the only way to get it back.
Anyway, there is Google Android Device Manager now which can get your device back easily..
When stolen/lost phone comes back I would check it for spyware
2 stolen phones never came back to me. :'(
Grievances. RIP .
alaminok said:
2 stolen phones never came back to me. :'(
Grievances. RIP .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never got my stolen items back either but grats to the OP
This is the perfect thread for a question I've had ever since I came to the Android family from my iPhone.
On my Jailbroken iPhone I was able to download an app that took a picture with the front camera and sent it to the email of my choice every time the wrong password was entered, the photo came along with the GPS location of the phone and time.
Is there anything like this available for us
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk now Free
yoboyheartless said:
This is the perfect thread for a question I've had ever since I came to the Android family from my iPhone.
On my Jailbroken iPhone I was able to download an app that took a picture with the front camera and sent it to the email of my choice every time the wrong password was entered, the photo came along with the GPS location of the phone and time.
Is there anything like this available for us
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk now Free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here Try Ceberus, its a paid app but worth it and you can have up to 5 devices at once, it even disguies itself as a system app you can view calls, text messages and even make the phone call any other phone track it via GPS..... a bunch of features
(Heres some features It has three ways to protect your device:
- Remote control through the website www.cerberusapp.com
- Remote control via text messages
- SIM Checker (for devices that have a SIM card): you will automatically receive alerts if someone uses your phone with an unauthorized SIM card
Remote control allows you to perform many operations on your device, like:
- Locate and track it
- Start a loud alarm, even if the device is set to silent mode
- Wipe the internal memory and the SD card
- Hide Cerberus from the app drawer
- Lock the device with a code
- Record audio from the microphone
- Get a list of last calls sent and received
- Get information about network and operator the device is connected to
- And much more!)
Link---> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus
if thieves are smart, they would have been reading xda
but thanks
If thieves were smart, they would be educated enough to get a job and buy their own sh*t!
I use Cerberus as well on both my droids. Very neat app, and even more advanced than FindMyiPhone or whatever it's called again. Recommended with root for all features though.
Glad you got lucky and a non-tech savvy thief stole your phone.
cerberus
Cerberus celebrates 3rd birthday with free licenses for the next 30 hours
http://phandroid.com/2014/04/24/cerberus-3rd-birthday-free-license/
I had a phone lost/stolen. It is such a personal item it is like having your wallet stolen. Fortunately I never use the remember password feature for any apps, and have an encrypted password file I keep up to date and backed up.When I lost my phone I went to all the sites and changed my passwords. What a pia, but it is some peace of mind. Took many hours.
With t-mo, they have this feature available that takes a picture after 5 mis-trys and emails it along with the location, T-mo will also erase the phone and reset the lock screen pattern, It works pretty good because I have sent numerous pics of myself from fatfingerin the unlock.and checked the map to verify.
I prefer Cerberus...
oz457 said:
Hi developpers. I
My droid phone verson 4.1.2 was stolen last friday. But I was able to track the phone, confront with the thief and recover my phone two days later.
And that's why I am writing in this forum, because I want to share my experience and see if things can be done.....
The thief, stupid guy, removed all my sim cards (dual sim) and removed the memory card, but failed to do the necessary resets and did not remove my google account.
I don't want any lock screen system on my phone. And I strongly recommend everybody not to put a lock screen protection on your phone, because if there is one, the phone might just end straight into the trash bin, and you'll be left with no chance to find back your beloved Droid.
Let the thief in his beliefs it's his lucky day.... he has a nice unprotected full useable phone....
Also have Remotely locate this device enabled in the google settings, or get one of these hidden tracking apps on your phon.. Also enable allow remote lock and factory resets. The thief was so stupid he forgot to disable this feature of the phone.
Now here is my point. The Google Settings should be password protected. And it should be a shared password with the phone settings/Personal/ BACKUP AND RESET option.
At least, password protecting these two sections of the phone will avoid the thief to:
1. Disable the geo location of your phone
2. Doing a factory reset or remove any of the accounts on your phone.
Unless the thief is also a hacker, you will always be able to track your phone and get it back.
In my case, I tracked down the thief, up to 4m accuracy. I also have a Bluetooth speaker. I went to the Geo location and my Bluetooth speaker confirmed big time the phone was at this location.
Another thing to consider is to build INTO the OS itself is the option to track your phone. There are many programs on Google Play, but they can all be removed easily with a simple factory reset. This kind of software should be build in INTO the phone's OS itself.
Good luck to all of you who get your phone stolen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for all the info. My biggest concern would be confronting the thief. What did you do? Wait for them to leave their house/apartment and confront them? Or did you confront them in some other way? I guess I would struggle between wanting my beloved phone back and being worried about the thief being a crazy person who might shoot me or something.
This Was Very Helpful
This is Very Helpful, We Wish We Had Known this when we had our phone stolen, I spent endless hours trying to locate my phone to no avail, thank goodness the Police were able to recuperate the phone, but only because the thief had stolen a number of other devices in the area, if I had known this information I would have saved myself hours of frustration !! BTW, Thank You For Sharing This !
I have unknown activity on my phone.
Along with numerous "unknown" outgoing calls with no number shown on my device (and 2 other M9 phones on the same plan) or any number registering on my carrier's system (when I called R, they said their system did show connected calls lasting various amounts of time, the could not determine what number the calls were going to), there's also a call in the log going to "(unknown)" "***,144***"
Anybody have any clue what's going on? R gave the bs answer that all 3 of us were calling our VM, even while we were sleeping. However, the times we did check our VM, the number did register on the phones and with the carrier's system.
Thanks!
Im adding a question. My M9 was unlocked without my knowledge. I'm guessing that ***,144*** might be the secret unlock code. IS there a way I can determine if it's been rooted as well?
--
squidstings said:
I have unknown activity on my phone.
Along with numerous "unknown" outgoing calls with no number shown on my device (and 2 other M9 phones on the same plan) or any number registering on my carrier's system (when I called R, they said their system did show connected calls lasting various amounts of time, the could not determine what number the calls were going to), there's also a call in the log going to "(unknown)" "***,144***"
Anybody have any clue what's going on? R gave the bs answer that all 3 of us were calling our VM, even while we were sleeping. However, the times we did check our VM, the number did register on the phones and with the carrier's system.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting issue. I am not sure about the rooting. You are probably going to need to ask experts around here. Hopefully, they can help you with that. As for security, you could try checking if you have any suspicious apps running in the background or installed (You might be using same GPS or another app for example). It could be that one of the malicious apps had access to your calls which lead to them outputting calls to somewhere. You could try disconnecting your internet for a day and see if the calls persist (That is probably not an option for you, but it is an idea). Additionally, you could try a factory reset on one of the phones and see if the problem is still there.
squidstings said:
Im adding a question. My M9 was unlocked without my knowledge. I'm guessing that ***,144*** might be the secret unlock code. IS there a way I can determine if it's been rooted as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just saw this,
https://www.xda-developers.com/htc-says-the-ads-in-its-keyboard-are-a-mistake-fix-icoming/
which reminded me of your issue, though I don't suppose it's linked, but it does make you wonder WTF HTC are up to!
Anyhow with your issue I wasn't going to answer as I don't know the answer but my thoughts may help in some small way. I don't thank the 144 is a phone developers code to "root" or turn of security in some way as that would not show on your provides call logs as they stay internal to the phone (mostly). Also I don't think it's adware callng a premium number as your phone company says it does not register properly, so nobody will be paid.
That only leaves a more malicious form of hacking, I would say. So maybe that code does enable your data to be sent but untrckable over a network. That suggests to me it's possibly your actual network (who are R? What country, is it?) or maybe even your government if you are an activist or something? Though more likely is a criminal or business competitor, assuming the other people affected are business colleagues. So could be your boss trying to snoop on you all, if not HTC or the Chinese Communist Party aparatus!
What to do? As Ross says disconnecting is probably not practicable. If you have malicious activity they probably are using data as well as calls. So I would install a firewall to block most apps and log attempted connections (normally have to pay for this) then check IP addresses tell see if they are legit. However this may not show anything as data may go via root. So setting up a proxy to route traffic to your PC and use a sniffing program to see traffic or at least I P addresses.
You can download root checking apps from play store. Also check your security settings any app with admin rights? Also use a good antivirus you might get lucky, but even if negative you may still be infected.
Only way to really clean your system is to reinstall your OS, though a factory reset will fix often. But first you need to know how you were all compromised and fix that else it will just return, I would think it's most likely your local work network, (but could be your provider R or even something else you connect to in sore way eg Bluetooth, or an app you all have (you can boot into safe mode to disable 3rd party apps, but with HTC system apps possibly containing apps that use the Baidu apk etc that still has a possible backdoor unpatched (as far as I know) safe mode will not help white those!)
You might have to look into freezing/uninstalling all HTC installed apps.
IronRoo said:
just saw this,
https://www.xda-developers.com/htc-says-the-ads-in-its-keyboard-are-a-mistake-fix-icoming/
which reminded me of your issue, though I don't suppose it's linked, but it does make you wonder WTF HTC are up to!
Anyhow with your issue I wasn't going to answer as I don't know the answer but my thoughts may help in some small way. I don't thank the 144 is a phone developers code to "root" or turn of security in some way as that would not show on your provides call logs as they stay internal to the phone (mostly). Also I don't think it's adware callng a premium number as your phone company says it does not register properly, so nobody will be paid.
That only leaves a more malicious form of hacking, I would say. So maybe that code does enable your data to be sent but untrckable over a network. That suggests to me it's possibly your actual network (who are R? What country, is it?) or maybe even your government if you are an activist or something? Though more likely is a criminal or business competitor, assuming the other people affected are business colleagues. So could be your boss trying to snoop on you all, if not HTC or the Chinese Communist Party aparatus!
You might have to look into freezing/uninstalling all HTC installed apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
Rogers, Canada. But I've switched carriers within the last few days.
I've actually done the FR 5 times now. Disabeling the pre-installed "Gmail" (I think it's more Google thn HTC related seems to have stopped the calls. I've disabled as much as I could.
so here's the kicker. I'm literally nobody! On disability, no exciting employment history and those In my family who have, aren't in contact, nor do I have contact info. And it was my wife and daughter who had the other phones, but mine was central i think. daughters phone was locked. So nothing so exciting. Which is why I even bothered asking lol
squidstings said:
Thank you!
Rogers, Canada. But I've switched carriers within the last few days.
I've actually done the FR 5 times now. Disabeling the pre-installed "Gmail" (I think it's more Google thn HTC related seems to have stopped the calls. I've disabled as much as I could.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah! Rogers Canada should be a well controlled and trustworthy provider, so probably not them, though a rogue employee or having their network compromised can't be ruled out.
Also if official Gmail app it should be safe though it does have some quite intrusive permissions like full network access, view confidential info etc, but all are legit if you want the full functionality of Gmail. But it shouldn't have access to place phone calls, so should not be able to create the behaviour you describe.
That leaves a rouge app, but you would all need to have it I suppose, HTC app (or system behavior) or local hack ie via your router or via your PC. A good anti virus should find rogue app on phone and similarly on PC. HTC system apps hard to spot without doing the firewall etc etc. So I would also be double checking your local router for firmware update and resetting it with a new strong password, to prevent possible return, so to any Bluetooth devices.
Hope it doesn't return! All the best
been a while but, just how does one get a "," in the phone keyboard? long press * for P, but no ",".
Now that time has passed and more people might be awake and less likely to make excuses, I'm wondering if this issue can be solved, or at lest thought about intelligently. Maybe someone who knows how it CAN happen, instead of trying to find ways I'm mistaken. this was on THREE SEPARATE PHONES in 2 separate cities.
squidstings said:
been a while but, just how does one get a "," in the phone keyboard? long press * for P, but no ",".
Now that time has passed and more people might be awake and less likely to make excuses, I'm wondering if this issue can be solved, or at lest thought about intelligently. Maybe someone who knows how it CAN happen, instead of trying to find ways I'm mistaken. this was on THREE SEPARATE PHONES in 2 separate cities.
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Click to collapse
Check with a root app to see if your device is rooted
check permissions also you can take back permissions with a app on fdroid
unknown app check with virus total or
IF someone has root on your phone they can do what they want and when they want
a app that has call access they can transfer information over a phone connection which can be anything
The troubling thing here is that your phone was unlocked w/o you which implies root access
IF you bought your phone new you might not be anybody but to be put in perspective amazon lets you steal $500 if you use another id and they say it is not you so you do not lose out
but if it is used this can be from the previous user.
The best thing to do if it does not stop is to upgrade the software on the phone if you have already done that then use a Root firewall or change to a rom here on xda (you can all change making the transition easier).
Applied Protocol said:
Check with a root app to see if your device is rooted
check permissions also you can take back permissions with a app on fdroid
unknown app check with virus total or
IF someone has root on your phone they can do what they want and when they want
a app that has call access they can transfer information over a phone connection which can be anything
The troubling thing here is that your phone was unlocked w/o you which implies root access
IF you bought your phone new you might not be anybody but to be put in perspective amazon lets you steal $500 if you use another id and they say it is not you so you do not lose out
but if it is used this can be from the previous user.
The best thing to do if it does not stop is to upgrade the software on the phone if you have already done that then use a Root firewall or change to a rom here on xda (you can all change making the transition easier).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for taking the issue seriously and not trying to force kool aid down my throat (if carrier was "trust"worthy, THEY would have solved it).
It didn't show root. 2 of 3 m9s were mysteriously unlocked. the 3rd did prompt for a code, but did also show those "unknown #" calls. However, I'm still stuck on the code. I can't even enter a ",". Didn't check the other units for it, but it's still the only unanswered issue that could explain the unlock (aside from your suggestion). No one's even heard of it, but programmers are known for adding backdoors. If anyone's got a new, s-on unit and feels like trying it, that's about the only way to get an answer.
It's dead now anyways. Battery won't charge unless powered off and went from 24+hours regular standby to about 3 hours with extreme powersave on, overnight and doesn't extend with usb power. usb data comm isn't even recognized. All 3 have failed actually (different ways) so I'm going back to my m7 which still works great. Except, it says s-on but works with different carriers and I can't even enter the code I paid for (no prompt. is there another way?)
So, here's the tinfoil hat part. Although I'm nobody, This all started around the time of the '16 election. when I was arguing with a youtube account named (not looking to attract attention so no name, but you know it) for the person who came 2nd.
Thank you for your help. It's a shame it's pooched before solving the issue. But hopefully, the code will be solved.
But any help entering my sim unlock code a different way would be appreciated. But if other carrier sims work, should root be doable while showing s-on?
Thanks a TON!!
squidstings said:
Thank you for taking the issue seriously and not trying to force kool aid down my throat (if carrier was "trust"worthy, THEY would have solved it).
No one's even heard of it, but programmers are known for adding backdoors. If anyone's got a new, s-on unit and feels like trying it, that's about the only way to get an answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would seem in your case that it is a setting change that was made and not comparable to other phones. Probably what we are talking about is a connection to a command server. S-on is a protection so that one cannot change the state of certain partitions namely the recovery boot and system however their are ways to get around this. You would need to get a root app to do that.
As a general rule you need to prove something is going on and funny numbers are a indication but nobody in the security community would touch it because it is very open. What you need to do however is
Get a copy of the calls use pcap and
check your firmware with the standard HTC firmware
this will show you what the phone call is doing and will help the android community overall (improved security)
Also programmers do not try to add backdoors they try to have a good product it is the hacking/security teams of _________ that do that. This being a programmer myself.
I've been wondering lately, is there any solution to make a lost/stolen phone really unusable even after flashing etc?
Yes i know a couple method about google dashboard or google email verification, but as a flashing junkies, i look at that method is easily crackable.
I've been wondering too, is there any tech to make the phone unusable via IMEI blocking (user requested)? Unusable means like maybe the phone will no longer getting SIM services even after switching to any SIM cards -or- better if it still locks the phone and showing user editable lockscreen info - both even after flashing/changing email (since IMEI will still intact even after flashing unless you format the EFS which will resut in blank IMEI = no SIM services).
Then the phone manufacture support it by making an imposible (or hardly possible) IMEI changes, it can do via software or dedicated IMEI chip hardware.
The point i'm trying to make is if there is a tech like that, it will surely making a higher chance of someone retruning an accidentaly found phone and wishing for a reward afterward rather than having a thought of flashing it then re-use/sell it. The cost of making a locked lost/stolen phone usable again should be high enough that people wont bother to do it.
Well i believe i'm not searching enough to found the answer, but i guess there isn't yet exist any techonlogy to make a lost/stolen phone barely/fully unusable even after changes via software/hardware. It's been almost 10 years since android cames up,
I think we should push this to google/phone manufacture.
It's just my opinion, let me hear what is your thought.
And i'm wishing too somebody get inspired and take an action (since i'm just a lazy guy)
PS: sorry if there is a grammar mistake.
Can do nothing with IMEI there are many easy ways to change IMEI number of android device ???