Database Info

intercept text messages? or sniff packets sent by phones?

Is there a app that sniff packets sent by cell phones, my whole goal would be to intercept text messages or the data thats sent by cell phones. I came up with this idea when I was messing around with packet sniffer and thought about the idea but on cell phones. Is there something already out like this?

Wireshark at a "router"
While not an on-device solution, I use this setup when I want to watch the traffic between my phone and the network:
"sorry, apparently I can't post a link to this forum, it's at my site droidhacks.com, click on the wireshark tag in the sidebar and you'll find the post"
Having a full Wireshark install running on the desktop is great for poking through the data. I think some folks do the capture on the device and then just move the capture file across. Also helps sometimes to pull the SIM to make sure all the traffic goes through the laptop and not through the network. Sharing on OS X with an handset can be a bit fidgety when first starting up.

Find shark for android and sharkreader. Both of which can be found in this forum.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

can this be countermanded? stoped, disabled somehow? encrypted packets? someone's safety could be at risk.

Are you looking to capture the communications of other phones, rather than your own? If so, good luck, it's encrypted traffic.

Sounds pretty stupid and no, it is not possible. I would rather want a network sniffer for android. Connect to your local coffee shop network and start sniffing.

rTiGd2 said:
Are you looking to capture the communications of other phones, rather than your own? If so, good luck, it's encrypted traffic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, i'm just curious how this can be done.
if its encrypted how can you read the packets with your program then ?
some kind of id or serial number?

tmpmailone said:
no, i'm just curious how this can be done.
if its encrypted how can you read the packets with your program then ?
some kind of id or serial number?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I think we need a rather large dose of reality here. You'll not manage it, simple as that, certainly not from a consumer device. I suspect you are thinking along the line of WiFi wireless, where you can monitor what other devices are sending. If you really wish to know more then google 'usrp' and you'll soon see you'll need far more hardware and software to start capturing GSM traffic.

ok so you're saying with my router i can't capture my text messages, like those sent and received with the YMesenger app ?
so its possible to sniff datalines?

tmpmailone said:
ok so you're saying with my router i can't capture my text messages, like those sent and received with the YMesenger app ?
so its possible to sniff datalines?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's possibly to sniff datalines, as well as WiFi.

I think you should break out with you gf

this thread is too funny ( lol )
encryption - lol
cant sniff - lmao!!
link1
I am a network security specialist and you people are just too funny saying "cant" "impossible" "illegal" .. .. ..

morning_wood said:
link1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice info.
Packet sniffing over public wifi is well known, but I learnt something new today

Chris Paget hapens to be a personal friend of mine

I'm pretty sure intercepting phone calls would still be "illegal", regardless of the fact that you're a network security specialist.
But yes, nothing is impossible, that's pretty much a given. Give someone enough expertise and resources, anything can be hacked. Encryption is actually important, so the general, uninformed riff-raff can't access anything they want. Like my previous statement, it can still be hacked, but it's better that not being encrypted at all.
morning_wood said:
this thread is too funny ( lol )
encryption - lol
cant sniff - lmao!!
link1
I am a network security specialist and you people are just too funny saying "cant" "impossible" "illegal" .. .. ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

So, my ex husband is using a packet sniffer to read all of my info that I txt over my phone. He is living with me until he closes on his new house (30 days out). I have installed a VPN on my phone. What else do I need to do? He says he can see all messages that I send, both txt and messenger as well as my calls?? He is a programmer, so I know he knows what he’s doing, how can I get my privacy back? I’m afraid that he will always be spying on me and it’s very frustrating.

Sunshine08 said:
So, my ex husband is using a packet sniffer to read all of my info that I txt over my phone. He is living with me until he closes on his new house (30 days out). I have installed a VPN on my phone. What else do I need to do? He says he can see all messages that I send, both txt and messenger as well as my calls?? He is a programmer, so I know he knows what he’s doing, how can I get my privacy back? I’m afraid that he will always be spying on me and it’s very frustrating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you use Google Messages app for text messages? If so check if it is connected to Messages for web. Also if you use Whatsapp check if it is connected to Whatsapp web. I recommend to change password for all the services, Google, Facebook and so on and reset the phone to factory defaults. I don't think this has anything to do with packet sniffing.

[Q] suggested app for remotely tracking/locking/wiping phone

Just wondering what app people suggest for being able to remotely find a lost phone and lock/wipe the lost phone?
The only one i know of is wavesecure - I haven't given it a try yet. Just wondering if there's anything else out there i should look at besides wavesecure.
Something like androidwebkey would also be cool, except it generates a random password each time it's started, which i would need to know ahead of time before being able to use it. Plus it doesn't hide itself so if the phone were stolen, someone might realize it's being tracked.
If not something that gives me stealth remote control of the phone, then something that will stealthily give me it's location and the ability to lock/wipe it. As a bonus, being able to use one of the two cameras (evo) to snap a pic or vid/audio of what's going on would be a nice bonus.
thanks

Anyone? is wavesecure the only one?

Lookout is good and it's free

thanks - definitely not bad for the price Although i can't find the option to remotely wipe the phone even though their site says you can do that. The locate function seems to work - i haven't tried the 'scream' function yet, probably should wait until i'm out of the office to try that

i jus downloaded norton......im about to try it out now! its in the app market free beta version

drelmarley said:
i jus downloaded norton......im about to try it out now! its in the app market free beta version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
doesn't seem to work for me. Or at least the remote lock isn't working. didnt try remote wipe yet.

Try Super Security
I think this app is a good option for the purpose mentioned. It has a set of utilities including Strongbox (where you can password protect files. Also there is an option for "missing device"- Here you can set a lock pin and unlock pin for your mobile. You can lock your mobile through 'sms'ing the lock pin as soon as you lost it. Then it will show a custom message like "return this mobile to X, contact in this number...." Only after you give the already fed unlock pin can your mobile be unlocked. This app also is a task killer and has a scanner to suggest problamatic software.

I wonder if there's something i am doing wrong. Both norton and super security fail to lock the device when i send a txt message.
With super security, the text message is just the PIN i picked to lock the phone, correct?
I sent a txt message via email to myphone#@messaging.sprintpcs.com
I got the txt message, but nothing happened as far as locking the phone goes.

I like Remote Wipe & SIM Checker. I also move both to the /system/apps directory so even a wipe won't remove the apps.

tjhart85 said:
I like Remote Wipe & SIM Checker. I also move both to the /system/apps directory so even a wipe won't remove the apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you move apps? Is it done post or pre install
btw: I just rooted my phone yesterday
Thanks
Steve

tjhart85 said:
I like Remote Wipe & SIM Checker. I also move both to the /system/apps directory so even a wipe won't remove the apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What remote wipe program do u use? I tried searching "Remote Wipe" and found a "Remote Wipe For Root Users".

Android Rom and Banking Fraud?

Hello to all,
first of all forgive me if i am in the wrong forum. Second I am not an authority with ROMs and developing. I can flash a new ROM and follow guidance easily but that's it. Up to that.
I will tell you my scary experience with a specific rom which i installed a couple of days ago on my S3. First off all this post is not suppose to be rude to anyone or anything. I am telling you my story and I would appreciate your input as you are the experts.
3 days ago I installed the MIUI (http://miuiandroid.com/community) ROM on my S3.
As soon as I turned the phone on to run it for the first time I went to the typical set ups but then I noticed something.
On he top right corner of the status bar the a green phone icon appeared meaning that the phone was automatically set on "Call-diverting" .I dint pay any attention for about 30 mins as I was setting up the phone.
When I decided to see what the icon does to my sock and horror I realised that my phone was pre setted to call diverting automatically to a specific mobile number in the UK.
I quickly disabled the call diverting and dint think anything more. All of that happened around 12:30 in the afternoon (pay real attention to the times here).
about 10 minutes later I was at the office. around 2 hours after that I got a text message from my Bank to call them about a suspicious money transfer.
I called the bank and the told me that a few minutes earlier someone attempted to transfer 2000 pounds from my account. Of course my on-line banking was frozen and I was lucky not to loose the money.
Now, during these two hours my phone never rang just the text message from my bank. The bank security employee told me that it looked suspicious to them because whoever was trying to transfer the money asked for the 4 digit number via the automated bank security system to be diverted to another mobile number. The bank advised me to call my mobile carrier as I did.
The mobile carrier , when i talked to him, confirmed that someone called them and accessed my account by giving them all the right info, and requested that every time my phone was out of coverage all calls to be directed to another mobile!
have you guess what was the other mobile?? It was exactly the same mobile number as the pre-set on the ROM which I had installed 3 hours earlier!
And my bank confirmed that the same mobile was used in order to get the 4 digit pin.
I was shocked to say the least!!
When after a few minutes I managed to talk to my girlfriend , she told me that she was calling me earlier for about an hour. These phone calls never made it to my phone. As the phone was pre-setted to call diverting it was ringing to the diverted phone and not mine.
It is obvious that as I do mobile on-line banking and I access my accounts from my mobile (as many do), somehow they managed to get all the information about me and I am suspecting dodgy applications on my phone. I hope I am wrong but this experience has really shocked me.
I love android phones I love what you developers do but I am after you opinion in this one.
I am not here to offend any developers but to have a genuine answer and a sensible discussion about this issue. I am not a kid I am professional and this experience has really made me think twice about smart phones.

nice.! install only trusted ROMs with a lot of feed back
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

jowett69 said:
nice.! install only trusted ROMs with a lot of feed back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the miui-rom made by miuiandroid.com is a "trusted rom with a lot of feedback" and has a long history and a community with over 50.000 members.
mtdgr said:
I am suspecting dodgy applications on my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think you're right, it wasn't the rom but some malware-/spyware-app.
assuming your phone was rooted, it would be easy for an app to do all kind of bad stuff once it got root-privileges, eg hiding on your sdcard and spying your data and after that establishing the call-divert to catch the 4digit-pin and the rest would be history.
only thing you could do is think what questionable apps with root privileges you installed in the last days before this happened, try to get a copy of it and have a closer look on it, maybe installing it without a simcard inserted or with a simcard without charge on it, to see what happens...
a big piece of luck would be some kind of log from about 1230h to see what established the call-divert, but if i would do such app i would ensure to delete all logs with traces afterwards, but who knows?
though, all of that are just the ideas that came to my mind as i read your post...
good luck for the investigation, would be interesting to know if you could get any information about what happened, so keep us updated, ok?
greetz,
sUsH

It would be difficult for me to know which custom ROM is safe and which one is not! I am not an expert you see. And the same goes with apps. I don't think anyone can state with certainty that any are safe.
It is just shocking to know how easy it is for your details to "escape" !
I will keep you informed about how this goes.
jowett69 If you can tell me how to get that log you are talking about, that would be great.
In the meantime can anyone advise on a descent mobile data protection application? something which will prevent any sensitive data from leaking from my phone? Payware or freeware I don't mind.

some ideas
mtdgr said:
It would be difficult for me to know which custom ROM is safe and which one is not! I am not an expert you see. And the same goes with apps. I don't think anyone can state with certainty that any are safe.
It is just shocking to know how easy it is for your details to "escape" !
I will keep you informed about how this goes.
jowett69 If you can tell me how to get that log you are talking about, that would be great.
In the meantime can anyone advise on a descent mobile data protection application? something which will prevent any sensitive data from leaking from my phone? Payware or freeware I don't mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A start might be to check the Superuser app and click on Log and see what apps received su permissions.
Also, from a cmd prompt you can enumerate all the running processes by running:
Code:
adb shell "busybox ps -A > /mnt/sdcard/process.log"
adb pull /mnt/sdcard/process.log
View process.log for anything suspicious, or post it up and I'll have a look.
fluxist

fluxist said:
A start might be to check the Superuser app and click on Log and see what apps received su permissions.
Also, from a cmd prompt you can enumerate all the running processes by running:
Code:
adb shell "busybox ps -A > /mnt/sdcard/process.log"
adb pull /mnt/sdcard/process.log
View process.log for anything suspicious, or post it up and I'll have a look.
fluxist
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think I could do that my friend. As soon as I suspected that something with that ROM was wrong I performed a full wipe and installed omega 9.1 rom.
My question is this. By performing a full wipe should really erase any malware from the previous installation right? Can anyone advise on a descent antivirus/firewall application which will help me (and others like me) monitor and "block" unusual application behavior?

oh and one more question for my information...sensitive personal data can only be leaked when the device is rooted ? if it is not rooted am I safe?

mtdgr said:
I don't think I could do that my friend. As soon as I suspected that something with that ROM was wrong I performed a full wipe and installed omega 9.1 rom.
My question is this. By performing a full wipe should really erase any malware from the previous installation right? Can anyone advise on a descent antivirus/firewall application which will help me (and others like me) monitor and "block" unusual application behavior?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you wipe your internal and external sdcards too? how did you wipe? cause it depends where the malware was hiding, if it is erased now or not.
a simple, yet powerful firewall is droidwall. you can find it in the market. put it in whitelist-mode and allow only the stuff you know. but droidwall controlls "only" internet-connections (wifi and 3g or such). for full controll over every permission of every app and connection of your phone you sohuld use pdroid, but i don't know if that's really necessary, though i understand your fear. but if someone really wants to harm you and has some knowledge, there are always ways, i think...
mtdgr said:
oh and one more question for my information...sensitive personal data can only be leaked when the device is rooted ? if it is not rooted am I safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not really, think of those apps you can use to root your device. think a bit further and one could make an app that roots your device and afterwards does the stuff it wants. but seriously, though it is possible, who would do that to you? that's what you should think about...
greetz,
sUsH
ps: cause you did a wipe, there's no possibilty of going through some logs, sry. (though this too depends on the way you wiped and what exactly you wiped...)

I did a full wipe to install the new rom...wipe cache data ...devlink and one more but cant remember it
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

mtdgr said:
I did a full wipe to install the new rom...wipe cache data ...devlink and one more but cant remember it
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sry, then your try to get rid of the problem also got rid of possible evidence. just try to forget it and be more careful in future with suspicious apps from questionable sources and similar.
greetz,
sUsH

"spy"-app without encryption

Hi guys,
i'm currently preparing a presentation for university (about mobile device security).
I would like to demonstrate how an app sends collected data (contacts, browser history, ...) to an remote server.
Like the Barcode Scanner.
Seeing the transmitted data (man in the middle) just works.
But my main problem is to find an app which sends the data not encrypted.
Do you know any?
I am not able to and do not want to spend a lot of time on decrypting the encryption.
Hope you can help.
thx! :good:
edit:
i am not talking about apps like mspy.
the app should seem to be usefull.
the mobile os should be android.

leAndroid91 said:
Hi guys,
i'm currently preparing a presentation for university (about mobile device security).
I would like to demonstrate how an app sends collected data (contacts, browser history, ...) to an remote server.
Like the Barcode Scanner.
Seeing the transmitted data (man in the middle) just works.
But my main problem is to find an app which sends the data not encrypted.
Do you know any?
I am not able to and do not want to spend a lot of time on decrypting the encryption.
Hope you can help.
thx! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck. No real Developer would send any info un-encrypted.

zelendel said:
Good luck. No real Developer would send any info un-encrypted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah. i know that.
but i also guess that there are "crap-apps" in the market, probably with no or very weak enrcryption

leAndroid91 said:
yeah. i know that.
but i also guess that there are "crap-apps" in the market, probably with no or very weak enrcryption
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe but you will be hard pressed to find one that passes Googles requirments. If I remember right when I looked into building an app for sending data the SDK sets up the encryption for you so it is done for you to prevent info hi-jacking.

yep. looks like i have to write my own one

[Q] Track a phone using the mobile #

I was recently told that there is an app that tracks any phone using the mobile number.
Apparently you dont need it installed on the phone your tracking all you need is to know their mobile phone number.
Is this even possible?
Can anyone tell me if this person is talking out of their A$$ or if this app ever existed? because it would be amazingly helpful in finding an Optimus G that was recently stolen from me. (I know who has it and know the # associated with their sim.)
If you can confirm this, can you also provide a link for download please? many thanks.
EDIT: I never wrote down my IMEI or serial #.. so Im kind of hooped.. Is there anyway to push an app to someone elses phone? or someway I can get this dealt with that I may not have thought of yet? My carrier has no log of the phone because I didnt buy it through them.

Tracking mobiles!
KXIX said:
I was recently told that there is an app that tracks any phone using the mobile number.
Apparently you dont need it installed on the phone your tracking all you need is to know their mobile phone number.
Is this even possible?
Can anyone tell me if this person is talking out of their A$$ or if this app ever existed? because it would be amazingly helpful in finding an Optimus G that was recently stolen from me. (I know who has it and know the # associated with their sim.)
If you can confirm this, can you also provide a link for download please? many thanks.
EDIT: I never wrote down my IMEI or serial #.. so Im kind of hooped.. Is there anyway to push an app to someone elses phone? or someway I can get this dealt with that I may not have thought of yet? My carrier has no log of the phone because I didnt buy it through them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can track a mobile using ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER which is pre-installed in mobiles if the play store gets updated.
ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER can be accessed through
SETTINGS --> SECURITY --> DEVICE ADMINISTRATORS
Once you activate ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER, you can track your mobile, erase datas from your lost mobile by logging in to ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER in a web browser by giving the email id and password which you used in your mobile.
However i dont recognize any app that tracks a mobile using IMEI number..

KXIX said:
I was recently told that there is an app that tracks any phone using the mobile number.
Apparently you dont need it installed on the phone your tracking all you need is to know their mobile phone number.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be very very careful with apps advertized having this feature.
In theory, the mobile provider can track your phone, because they issued the SIM and phone number to you. But the providers don't supply this information to anyone but law enforcement/NSA/other three letter agency. Imagine the stalking possibilities...
Why I'd be very careful (as in: not downloading and installing at all...) about this is, that I've seen websites advertizing this service, and when you enter a phone number, you're asked to download and run an exe file. It probably won't work but infect your computer with malware.
I doubt it's any different with android apps.
If you install a tracking app on your phone yourself that reports to somewhere (e.g. google device tracking, "lost my iphone"), that's a whole different situation - you're voluntary giving your position to someone to keep, and that's sensor data acquired from your phone.

The truth
Everyone needs to know the truth that is sometimes hidden behind the most deceptive appearances. Everyone, too, needs to be certain of the sincerity of their relatives...
SpyBubble is likely to become the best smartphone application for that => phoneservicetracker.com

KXIX said:
I was recently told that there is an app that tracks any phone using the mobile number.
Apparently you dont need it installed on the phone your tracking all you need is to know their mobile phone number.
Is this even possible?
Can anyone tell me if this person is talking out of their A$$ or if this app ever existed? because it would be amazingly helpful in finding an Optimus G that was recently stolen from me. (I know who has it and know the # associated with their sim.)
If you can confirm this, can you also provide a link for download please? many thanks.
EDIT: I never wrote down my IMEI or serial #.. so Im kind of hooped.. Is there anyway to push an app to someone elses phone? or someway I can get this dealt with that I may not have thought of yet? My carrier has no log of the phone because I didnt buy it through them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think tracking a phone using the mobile number is possible for consumers, if you lodge a police complaint they may go through your mobile carrier and then track it (depending on how much effort the police in your country put in for a lost phone). But if you know who stole it and their phone number that's a good enough basis to talk to the cops, you're going to need some proof of purchase of the phone though...
Just in case the guy hasn't wiped the phone and one of your accounts is still active on it, you can push apps through that account on Google Play by going to the Google Play website on your pc and logging in with that account. Then you can push one of many tracking apps and figure out where your phone is. My personal favourite is an app called 'android lost' through which you can do the usual - track, wipe, ring, vibrate etc but you can also access the mic and the cameras.
Also, you can maybe play it smart with some social engineering. Get a girl to call up the guy and ask him out at some place and you'll find him there!

do u got a way for the Iphone too?
kavb1986 said:
You can track a mobile using ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER which is pre-installed in mobiles if the play store gets updated.
ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER can be accessed through
SETTINGS --> SECURITY --> DEVICE ADMINISTRATORS
Once you activate ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER, you can track your mobile, erase datas from your lost mobile by logging in to ANDROID DEVICE MANAGER in a web browser by giving the email id and password which you used in your mobile.
However i dont recognize any app that tracks a mobile using IMEI number..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do u got a way for the Iphone too?

Please give me download app

ishaang said:
Also, you can maybe play it smart with some social engineering. Get a girl to call up the guy and ask him out at some place and you'll find him there!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.

ramiabouzahra said:
This.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As if they'd keep the original number? Can't call if the number has been changed.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk