I am running cm10 with CWM recovery. I am looking to make my phone secure in the case it gets stolen. Pretty much everything is accessible through the recovery what can be done about it? Can we put a password on the recovery? Can i go back to stock recovery using cm10?
I know there is no such thing as fool proof but i would atleast want it to be a little difficult for a thief to get into my phone.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app
Have you tried looking at the encryption option? I think once enabled you will need a password even before getting into recovery.
Sent from my Nexus S
anshumandash said:
Have you tried looking at the encryption option? I think once enabled you will need a password even before getting into recovery.
Sent from my Nexus S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did.
It says it needs an hour to complete and that one cannot go back. Does it have any drawbacks to the user itself? Or is it just whenever you reboot the phone that it needs a password?
Gambler_3 said:
I am running cm10 with CWM recovery. I am looking to make my phone secure in the case it gets stolen. Pretty much everything is accessible through the recovery what can be done about it? Can we put a password on the recovery? Can i go back to stock recovery using cm10?
I know there is no such thing as fool proof but i would atleast want it to be a little difficult for a thief to get into my phone.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put pin, password or pattern and relock bootloader. That's the only real secure way. With an unlocked bootloader there's always a way.
polobunny said:
Put pin, password or pattern and relock bootloader. That's the only real secure way. With an unlocked bootloader there's always a way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have already put pattern but locking the bootloader seems too much no? Is it even possible with CM10?
And I keep USB debugging off so no one can use adb.
Gambler_3 said:
Have already put pattern but locking the bootloader seems too much no? Is it even possible with CM10?
And I keep USB debugging off so no one can use adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if you keep the bootloader locked if you got a custom recovery, it is not safe. The only way to make it real safe is to flash stock recovery, lock bootloader and then put a pin or pattern password.
Gambler_3 said:
Have already put pattern but locking the bootloader seems too much no? Is it even possible with CM10?
And I keep USB debugging off so no one can use adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too much? It takes someone knowledgeable 5 minutes to destroy a password, pattern lock or pin if the bootloader isn't locked.
Say you flash back to stock recovery. That's fine, but with an unlocked bootloader I can flash back to a custom recovery, get full adb access, mount your SD card, peruse your stuff, remove the lock and boot the phone if I want to. If you lock the bootloader, I can't flash a custom recovery.
The downside is pretty evident. With a locked bootloader + a stock recovery, you can't update your custom ROM, not without unlocking the bootloader. And if you do that, you wipe your stuff.
I'm with polo on this. Like he said, someone with a minimal amount of skills can do whatever. If your phone gets stolen, the phone would get blacklisted and if it's gsm it might work on another carrier. If you had lookout, you can find the phone through gps on their site and remotely wipe it.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app
Thanks alot guys. Okay i know how to lock the bootloader but can someone tell me how i flash back stock recovery? As in where to find the file?
I know the not being able to flash anything without reset is the bummer but i will still be able to update the cm rom through ota right?
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Gambler_3 said:
Thanks alot guys. Okay i know how to lock the bootloader but can someone tell me how i flash back stock recovery? As in where to find the file?
I know the not being able to flash anything without reset is the bummer but i will still be able to update the cm rom through ota right?
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Your better off not doing it, is just to much hassle for what? A thief doesn't care about your data so it doesn't matter to them about passwords etc. They'll just wipe the phone and sell it.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Cerberus App
How about installing the Cerberus app, you can do a remote format/wipe
NIMBAH said:
Your better off not doing it, is just to much hassle for what? A thief doesn't care about your data so it doesn't matter to them about passwords etc. They'll just wipe the phone and sell it.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you guys are right I might be taking this too seriously. I dont keep any confidential pictures on my phone and I unlinked my google account from my phone with a simple change of password from the desktop just to check if it really works. So all my accounts will be protected. Whatsapp will be taken care of by blocking the sim.
Thanks anyways everyone.
NIMBAH said:
Your better off not doing it, is just to much hassle for what? A thief doesn't care about your data so it doesn't matter to them about passwords etc. They'll just wipe the phone and sell it.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Depends what kind of data you have. It's not about the thief and if that person cares about your data. It's about if YOU care about your data. Some people have critical information on work projects or similar on their phone, and the worst thing that could happen is for that information to get published/shared.
Personally, I keep nothing too important on my phone, I have a remote wipe installed, pattern lock, but my bootloader is unlocked and i have a custom recovery. It's good enough for my needs, but I understand it's not the ultimate security either.
Ultimate solution I've found. I have a small amount of c4 inside the battery compartment linked to my unlock code. Wrong code.... BOOM!
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app
n2d551 said:
Ultimate solution I've found. I have a small amount of c4 inside the battery compartment linked to my unlock code. Wrong code.... BOOM!
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer thermite.
polobunny said:
Depends what kind of data you have. It's not about the thief and if that person cares about your data. It's about if YOU care about your data. Some people have critical information on work projects or similar on their phone, and the worst thing that could happen is for that information to get published/shared.
Personally, I keep nothing too important on my phone, I have a remote wipe installed, pattern lock, but my bootloader is unlocked and i have a custom recovery. It's good enough for my needs, but I understand it's not the ultimate security either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only really personal thing on my phone is my convo with my girlfriend but i am no celebrity so i am sure it won't be published.
And i have always been very particular about not keeping compromising photos or videos on my phone or pretty much anywhere. See them once on the big screen and then destroy the SD card if you know what i mean.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app
install security software, i remember there was a Reddit thread
Install any secure app like lookout so that you can wipe remotely. Also, record your IMEI so that if your phone gets stolen, you can call your carrier and block it.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app
Related
Hi,
I was just wondering if it is absolutely REQUIRED to unlock the bootloader to flash a rom on the nexus s and why? Can I use Clockwork recovery image without unlocking the bootloader?
Thanks!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1060974
Thanks,
but what are the advantages of unlocking the bootloader instead of using some other exploit like this?
Thanks!
Unlocking the bootloader deletes all user data on your device and resets it to factory defaults.
Hi,
But what is the advantage of losing that data and unlocking the bootloader than using the exploits?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
None that I can tell. If you stay on stock rom, I would consider it an advantage NOT to lose all data and settings.
If you want a different rom like cyanogenmod, then you will likely have to wipe your device anyway to avoid random problems. Then you can unlock the bootloader, too, while you are at it, because you have to backup everything (you don't want to lose) anyway.
Unlocking the bootloader allows you to flash stuff directly on the phone from your computer, things like a custom recovery, radio image, fully stock roms and so on.
This in turn allows you to root of flash another rom.
Otherwise, rooting without unlocking probably entails exploiting a security flaw of your device, something I'm not too uncomfortable with.
Before 2.3.2 though you could boot a custom recovery from a file on your computer without unlocking. This was fixed as it was a big privacy and security issue...
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
So does that mean if I don't unlock the bootloader, I can't use Clockwork mod and flash a rom like cyanogenmod?
Not exactly. You can gain temporary root and install clockwork recovery by means of various exploits of security holes.
You can then use that to install any rom you like.
So pretty much unlocking the bootloader is the easy and safer route.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Exactly. Since you should backup your data anyway before you tinker with your rom, you might do it anyway.
You can lock the bootloader after you finish flash a new ROM
Yeah, but with clockwork mod you can run a nandroid with or without an unlocked bootloader, so what's the point?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
patrixl said:
Before 2.3.2 though you could boot a custom recovery from a file on your computer without unlocking. This was fixed as it was a big privacy and security issue...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everybody with an USB cable has full root access to any Nexus S running CM7 (using CWMs ADB capability) and nobody seems to care?
1st: You don't need CWM for CM7, AFAIK.
2nd: The same is true for any NexusS with unlocked bootloader.
3rd: The attacker could also use the gingerbreak exploit or similar to gain root access and neither a locked bootloader nor stock recovery will protect you.
It is the same as with your computer. Someone who has physical access to the machine usually can do anything he wants.
The solution is quite simple too: don't give anyone unsupervised access to your phone. That includes of course not losing it...
So its safer to unlock it?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Yes and no. It depends on what kind of security you mean, too. The unlockable bootloader is a feature. Using it is the standard way to go.
An exploit could install keyloggers or spyware or whatever without you knowing.
However, an custom rom from somewhere could have keyloggers or spyware preinstalled, too.
Basically you have to decide yourself, how much risk you are willing to take.
I still can't get the advantages of unlocking it.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I mean, can you flash clockwork mod with a locked bootloader?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Only with certain versions of the bootloader, not all. It was a security hole like others have mentioned. It was later fixed.
I just realised that you can still get into recovery and download mode while the screen is locked (passcode lock). Whats the point of the passcode lock when the thief (if phone is stolen) can get into recovery and wipe everything and put a new rom on the phone from an external sd?
Because people who go low enough to steal are too dumb to know what recovery is.
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
99% of phone users do not know what recovery is or how to boot a phone in it. Also you need to install recovery on hour device to boot in recovery. So what is your question? Do you want to lock your self out of your device? Or do you think someone who is experienced in boot loading will steal your device because they know you have recovery on your phone and than just boot your phone in recovery and use your device as their own?
Reason the lock screen doesnt run on recovery is because it would be a waste of time and contradict the entire point of "recovery"
Also when you think about it iPhone is worse since people just have to plug the phone into iTunes and have the ability to wipe everything.
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
jasonstackhouse said:
So what is your question? Do you want to lock your self out of your device? Or do you think someone who is experienced in boot loading will steal your device because they know you have recovery on your phone and than just boot your phone in recovery and use your device as their own?
Reason the lock screen doesnt run on recovery is because it would be a waste of time and contradict the entire point of "recovery"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you misunderstood. When you swipe to unlock and it asks for a passcode you can just hold home+up+power (on SGS3) and it will go into recovery. What is the point of a passcode lock when you can bypass it by going into recovery.
Also is there a way that you cant bypass it?
uf21 said:
I think you misunderstood. When you swipe to unlock and it asks for a passcode you can just hold home+up+power (on SGS3) and it will go into recovery. What is the point of a passcode lock when you can bypass it by going into recovery.
Also is there a way that you cant bypass it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well we already said 99% of people don't even know what recovery is, much less how to get into it
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
More importantly you data is a little safer. Ok they could make a backup from recovery but they are fsr more likely to just wipe which at least means any login info etc is gone and they cant gain access to a large section of your life
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
As said a few times before, most people don't know what recovery is let alone how to boot into it.
sent from my Infuse running UnOfficial CM10 Jelly Bean. You Jelly bro?
Try lmaxi anti theft, tons of options as far as locking theives out of your phone and alerting you when its stolen.
i just used that stupid ez unlock app. my phone needed to be rebooted so I rebooted it. I tried turning it on but theres nothing. I take the battery out and the red light turns on for like a minute then turns back off. I put the battery in and connect it to my laptop and it recongnizes it but I don't know if I can put it in download mode. can someone please help????:crying:
foton92 said:
i just used that stupid ez unlock app. my phone needed to be rebooted so I rebooted it. I tried turning it on but theres nothing. I take the battery out and the red light turns on for like a minute then turns back off. I put the battery in and connect it to my laptop and it recongnizes it but I don't know if I can put it in download mode. can someone please help????:crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sound like a hard brick but it cant hurt to try to put it in download mode and see if odin sees it. Just keep trying until it works or you get sick of doing it.
edit
Never mind I didn't read your post good enough. That's weird but i stand by my try statement. Never hurts to try try again especially when you cant see if you pushed the buttons at the right time or not.
If the led lights up red there is still hope. You need a class 10 SD card the exact same size as your internal memory and Google debrick.IMG for the S3. I cannot remember the link at the monument but it is possible to bring it back from the dead at this state.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using xda app-developers app
foton92 said:
i just used that stupid ez unlock app. my phone needed to be rebooted so I rebooted it. I tried turning it on but theres nothing. I take the battery out and the red light turns on for like a minute then turns back off. I put the battery in and connect it to my laptop and it recongnizes it but I don't know if I can put it in download mode. can someone please help????:crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not even sure a debrick image will fix it. If you were on stock 4.3 and used ez-unlock you basically screwed up your bootchain by flashing an incompatible bootloader.
You flashed an insecure aboot image that won't work with the 4.3 bootchain. Using the debrick image probably won't work in this instance. You can try to send it in for a jtag, but that might not work either.
Apparently a jtag should theoretically work because there shouldn't be a qfuse on the s3. If this happened on an s4 for instance, there's probably no way to recover from this situation. If a jtag can rewrite your base commands, you should be able to get it working again. However, it's very possible that a jtag won't work either.
Anyone reading this who has 4.3, please read everything over and over again before you root the device or do anything with it.
1. Once on 4.3 you are unable to revert back to an earlier version.
2. You are unable to use custom roms because our previous bootloader unlock involved using an old aboot image to bypass the kernel check, 4.3 needs the entire boot chain to function and modifying it in any way will cause an instant hard brick.
3. Do not use ez-unlock!! The entire purpose of it is to flash the modified aboot file to allow custom roms and kernels to boot, this will cause an instant brick by breaking the 4.3 bootloader.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Eodmule said:
If the led lights up red there is still hope. You need a class 10 SD card the exact same size as your internal memory and Google debrick.IMG for the S3. I cannot remember the link at the monument but it is possible to bring it back from the dead at this state.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just ended up sending my phone to samsung and luckily I didn't get charged. Know what NOT to do. Anyway thanks guys
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foton92 said:
I just ended up sending my phone to samsung and luckily I didn't get charged. Know what NOT to do. Anyway thanks guys
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you couldn't man up and pay for your mistake? Insurance fraud is wrong. This is why VZW lock our bootloaders
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Sandman-007 said:
So you couldn't man up and pay for your mistake? Insurance fraud is wrong. This is why VZW lock our bootloaders
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was not really insurance fraud. I told them my phone won't turn on and I sent it in. They said my phone was still under warranty so they fixed it for free and they ended up changing the logic board instead of replacing the whole phone. If they were going to charge me. I would pay for it just so I could get my phone back. But I just got lucky on this one and they said it was free
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Sandman-007 said:
So you couldn't man up and pay for your mistake? Insurance fraud is wrong. This is why VZW lock our bootloaders
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got the feeling that next time I do this. Samsung will catch my ass and charge me for what I've done to the phone. So for now this was a lesson learned. Don't use unheard of apps that need root access to your device
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Is there a way of password protecting bootloader and recovery, so if my phone gets stolen there is no way of someone factory resetting it.
Sent from my Arc using xda app-developers app
powerwill said:
Is there a way of password protecting bootloader and recovery, so if my phone gets stolen there is no way of someone factory resetting it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simple answer - no. But I have seen this asked many times and it would be nice if it could be done.
I suppose it would be a complicated procedure if it was possible I would of thought that recovery would be easier to password protect.
Sent from my Arc using xda app-developers app
something like BIOS password protection on PC - that would be nice.
Just to ensure full protection in case of stolen phone.
I'm RMA my nexus so I tried to flash stock thru wugfresh kit but it gets stuck and won't do it . so I remember I did a back up as soon as I rooted my phone so I restored that . I unrooted thru the superuser app its self , I went thru advance options on the root kit and flashed stock recovery and then relocked my phone.
My question is if that's enough to send it back? Will they be able to tell I rooted ? After I relocked it it said it reset the flag as well so I guess that's good .
The reason I use tool kits because its easier and I'm nervous to try it without a tool kit.
Thanks
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Not sure why it would t let me edit...
Also can I use my back up that I did with the new phone that's coming in?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
If you're on stock rom, kernel, recovery with a locked bootloader and "false" tamper flag, you're good to go!
Can't help you out with the toolkit problem as I don't use them and I feel it does more bad then good! :silly: You yourself aren't able to make out what part went wrong with wug's toolkit whereas if you have downloaded the stock factory images and did it manually, we could help you out with the error on that particular step!
g2uzer said:
Not sure why it would t let me edit...
Also can I use my back up that I did with the new phone that's coming in?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can but make sure you don't restore the EFS.. If you do. Then your new phone is SCREWED! That's why I never recommend anyone restoring backups of different phones!
vin4yak said:
If you're on stock rom, kernel, recovery with a locked bootloader and "false" tamper flag, you're good to go!
Can't help you out with the toolkit problem as I don't use them and I feel it does more bad then good! :silly: You yourself aren't able to make out what part went wrong with wug's toolkit whereas if you have downloaded the stock factory images and did it manually, we could help you out with the error on that particular step!
Yes, you can but make sure you don't restore the EFS.. If you do. Then your new phone is SCREWED! That's why I never recommend anyone restoring backups of different phones!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went I to recovery and it's the little android with the triangle so I'm sure that's stock correct ? And here's a pic of the phone info ,im thinking its stock also
OK I'll won't restore it just to be sure. Thanks for the help .
And yes it said something about resetting tamper flag when I relocked boot loader and now it won't show a lock when I boot up so its locked now.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
g2uzer said:
I went I to recovery and it's the little android with the triangle so I'm sure that's stock correct ? And here's a pic of the phone info ,im thinking its stock also
OK I'll won't restore it just to be sure. Thanks for the help .
And yes it said something about resetting tamper flag when I relocked boot loader and now it won't show a lock when I boot up so its locked now.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, everything looks peachy!
If you're not sure whether the tamper flag is reset or not.. Head over to bootloader and use this command : fastboot oem device-info
If the tamper flag is set to "true" then you haven't reset it correctly. If it's "false" then it's all good!
BTW, why are you RMA'ing the device?
vin4yak said:
Yes, everything looks peachy!
If you're not sure whether the tamper flag is reset or not.. Head over to bootloader and use this command : fastboot oem device-info
If the tamper flag is set to "true" then you haven't reset it correctly. If it's "false" then it's all good!
BTW, why are you RMA'ing the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK I'll try that. I can do that thru the tool kit ?
Dead pixel . not a Hugh deal but still kind of annoying I'm getting tired of looking at it for the past 2 months lol
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g2uzer said:
OK I'll try that. I can do that thru the tool kit ?
Dead pixel . not a Hugh deal but still kind of annoying I'm getting tired of looking at it for the past 2 months lol
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey bro in the near future try not to use tookits for toying around for with these phones!! "Nexus" It's a lot easier to figure things out the fastboot way and cmds. As the other user stated they do more harm than good:silly: Good luck with ur RMA:good:
yyz71 said:
Hey bro in the near future try not to use tookits for toying around for with these phones!! "Nexus" It's a lot easier to figure things out the fastboot way and cmds. As the other user stated they do more harm than good:silly: Good luck with ur RMA:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I need to learn how to do it that way. I'm more of a visual learner so I have to look up a video on how to do it. I have read it but still nervous of trying it
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g2uzer said:
Yeah I need to learn how to do it that way. I'm more of a visual learner so I have to look up a video on how to do it. I have read it but still nervous of trying it
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trust me when you learn this way it's a lot fun.. And in the process you come to know a lot about your phone:good: It's fun flashing things! But you need to know what your flashing and what it's doing on your phone..
g2uzer said:
Yeah I need to learn how to do it that way. I'm more of a visual learner so I have to look up a video on how to do it. I have read it but still nervous of trying it
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And plus you feel like a hacker when doing it
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So I tried to factory soft reset but for some reason it wouldn't , I tried hard resetting and it just froze , now its just I'm a bootloop , I'm able yo get in to boot loader but since my device is locked already can I still reflash stock? I tried unlocking boot loader but the computer won't recognize the phone , its saying o need to check developers option which I can't .. Any help?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
This are the errors I'm getting and it just gets stuck on this screen. I'm able to reboot in to recovery but that's about it
Finally it let me edit...
Well never mind peeps I figured it out. Thanks
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app