Database Info

[Q] Browsers overruling Hosts file?

I've edited my hosts file, with various different methods... signed flash, rooted copy, adb push, move, and EVERY time, it is a partial success. ALL of the hosts in the file successfully direct to 127.0.0.1 when I ping them from Terminal Emulator. They show as they should from nano. However, when I try any and all of them in any browser (Safari, Opera Mini, Dolphin HD), it connects fine to everything in the file!
One of the blocks are suggestqueries.google.com - Since I have no choice, I use this to block Google search suggestions from the YouTube application. This does its job in YouTube, but you guessed it, I can connect (and get redirected) in the browser perfectly.
"Anything" browser related to my hosts file are not working. Namely, the one I want to block the most is clients1.google.com. It's in there in the hosts file, and pings back to 127.0.0.1, but of course, the browsers redirect this to Google.co.uk, and picks up suggestions normally. The same goes for all of the sites in the file.
DroidWall wouldn't solve this issue either as I can only block applications, not hosts. I tried fixing permissions, changing APN maybe it would clear DNS cache I don't know?? (if it really makes any difference). Tried with and without Adfree with/without symlink. The behaviour does not change. If it pings back to 127.0.0.1 and works for all other applications, I don't think there is anything wrong with the file or its operation. Can someone please advise me why this is happening and how to solve it? I've spent about a week searching, editing, flashing and more searching.

So I take it nobody knows? Is it supposed to be like this?
Sent from my HTC Magic/Dream using XDA App

[Q] Ads.bin file auto downloading in chrome for android

Sometimes when I am using google chrome ads.bin file auto downloads on my phone. It seems like the problem occurs on very different web pages (happened here on xda too). I already checked my phone with avg and malwarebytes but nothing showed up. Is anyone else having the same issues or has any info about that?
EDIT: Okay, I discovered that Chrome automatically saves .apk files as .bin files (security related?). So .apk file is actually trying to get on my phone. I found a verry similar issue here, but without any real explanation: forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one-x/210532-url-bin-download-finished-what.html

nejc921 said:
Sometimes when I am using google chrome ads.bin file auto downloads on my phone. It seems like the problem occurs on very different web pages (happened here on xda too). I already checked my phone with avg and malwarebytes but nothing showed up. Is anyone else having the same issues or has any info about that?
EDIT: Okay, I discovered that Chrome automatically saves .apk files as .bin files (security related?). So .apk file is actually trying to get on my phone. I found a verry similar issue here, but without any real explanation: forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one-x/210532-url-bin-download-finished-what.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you solve this?
I have the same problem, it's really annoying

Random mysterious files appearing in Downloads folder

I keep experiencing mysterious, extensionless files that appear in my downloads folder. Sometimes one, sometimes more. I have confirmed that they only appear after I open the Snapchat app, even for just a brief second.
When I open the files as text I get random Chinese characters that don't seem to want to be decoded.
What are these files? And how do I remove them for good? I can hide them, but they reappear under different names.
Is there any way to either
A) prevent an app from creating files in the download folder
B) change the directory where Snapchat creates these files
C) stop Snapchat from making these files altogether
I am using Snapchat Beta on an unrooted Droid Turbo 5.1

SOLUTION: Using es file explorer, I highlighted the unwanted files and selected Menu > Hide. They're gone now and they don't seem to be coming back even though I've been using Snapchat numerous times per day. Still, if anyone knows why these files exist, how to get rid of them, or how to prevent an app from creating a file like this in the first place, this information would be appreciated.
Thx bruhs

It may very well be spyware, like the one at mspy dot com, or a government spyware app distributed via Snapchat.
Based on the file sizes people are reporting and the way it changes, I'd say this file in particular is probably an encrypted log file for a key logger. That is: It is everything you've typed, and it's sent to the one who's spying on your phone activity.
Hint: Hiding the file won't solve the problem (for the person who's being spied on anyway...).

|ROOT/ADB?| Fully stopping Instant Apps from installing ever again

Hey guys, this is my first thread, and I'm a bit confused on the app. Today I'll tell how did I stop the freaking google 'malware' from installing and updating every single day. This would work on any rooted device that has access to the data partition, maybe it could be reproduced via adb without root.
First off, I searched everywhere looking on how to disable, uninstall, break, or do anything to this forced battery hog. The best answers were using 'pm hide' on the package but this caused a very high battery usage, due to the file dependencies. So I searched where it was installed. Luckily enough, it is an user app, so it means I would find it on /data/app and /data/data. I will use solid explorer, but any file manager with root access and chmod to change permissions should do just fine.
Once we locate the folder (/data/app/com.google.android.instantapps.supervisor-1 in my case) we delete it. Utterly. After that, we will create a file, and name it exactly the same as the folder did. This is a dummy file that the system will believe it is a folder, and will try to install the application inside it. We fill that file with enough random characters for making the system think it can't just delete it (sometimes cleaners point empty files as worthless and wipe them out)
Now we need to make the dummy file unremovable for anyone but us, by using chmod. Solid explorer has a nice interface for that. We long press the file, enter to properties and set the permission to 0 0 0 (attributes tab). This makes play store unable to delete the file to recover the old folder, and when it tries to download the package, it will fail because it won't have a respective folder to be sent to.
After this, we reboot the phone and see that google play services for instant apps has lost roughly 90% of it's size, and when we enter settings>google>google play instant it'll ask for installation. I was bold enough to accept, just for getting an error dialogue when it tried to install itself.
Known issue: The app reinstalls once again after reboot. The cause is that, when android can't install the app in the first folder (the one that ends with a -1), it can create a second one (ending with a -2 instead), like an alternative. This is solved by just doing the same procedure above on the second folder, and you will end up having two dummy files instead of one. A third folder cannot show up, or at least it didn't in my phone.
Notes: You can repeat this with the folder in /data/data and any other data partition level instant app folder, but I wouldn't do it because I already broke all functionality since I deleted the base apk, and the app size is less than 300KB now so I don't think the trouble is worth it.
You must whitelist these files from any memory cleaner, i.e SD maid corpse finder will delete it thinking it's a leftover of an old app
WARNING; I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISLEADS, WRONGS, OR PLUTONIUM-UNSTABLE ROMS THAT MAY EXPLODE IN ANY WAY. YOU ARE THE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DEVICE'S SAFETY AS THIS ISN'T EVEN FULLY TESTED IN MY PHONE AND I DON'T KNOW THE ULTIMATE CONSEQUENCES OF DOING THIS. YOU ARE WARNED.
PD: Please make some suggestions about how I made the thread, I did what I think it's my best

Programmatically add wifi networks on OP7 with Android Q

Hi!
I have a list of about 100 WiFi SSIDs and passwords that I've extracted from my old phone and I want to add them to the new phone that runs Android 10 and I couldn't find any useful information on the internet as everything seems outdated and not working.
The closest thing I've found is this: https://github.com/steinwurf/adb-join-wifi but I had to write a script, it adds only one network at the time and it doesn't work very well because often the networks aren't added and I also have problems escaping the SSID and passwords.
I've also tried to look for wpa_supplicant.conf but apparently it's not used anymore on Android 9 and 10, instead I've found a file called WifiConfigStore.xml but I'm not sure if and how it can be edited manually. Then I read I should use wpa_cli to add the networks but I get a service error when I run it. I also looked for Android apps but nothing like I need.
How can I add programmatically my networks? Is there an adb command, a file I could edit on the phone or an app that can help me with this?
Thanks in advance

ColOfAbRiX said:
UPDATE: I created this thread again on the development section because more pertinent but now I can't find how to remove this one here!
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: The thread in the development forum has been deleted as not qualifying for that forum.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-j/development/rules-posting-development-t3601282

ColOfAbRiX said:
Hi!
I have a list of about 100 WiFi SSIDs and passwords that I've extracted from my old phone and I want to add them to the new phone that runs Android 10 and I couldn't find any useful information on the internet as everything seems outdated and not working.
The closest thing I've found is this: https://github.com/steinwurf/adb-join-wifi but I had to write a script, it adds only one network at the time and it doesn't work very well because often the networks aren't added and I also have problems escaping the SSID and passwords.
I've also tried to look for wpa_supplicant.conf but apparently it's not used anymore on Android 9 and 10, instead I've found a file called WifiConfigStore.xml but I'm not sure if and how it can be edited manually. Then I read I should use wpa_cli to add the networks but I get a service error when I run it. I also looked for Android apps but nothing like I need.
How can I add programmatically my networks? Is there an adb command, a file I could edit on the phone or an app that can help me with this?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, there's one way: Titanium Backup
It can restore your wifi SSIDs and passwords from an xml file named
com.keramidas.virtual.WIFI_AP_LIST-20191012-065050.tar.gz
(file is inside the archive). This file contains SSID and password in plaintext.

strongst said:
Well, there's one way: Titanium Backup
It can restore your wifi SSIDs and passwords from an xml file named
com.keramidas.virtual.WIFI_AP_LIST-20191012-065050.tar.gz
(file is inside the archive). This file contains SSID and password in plaintext.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Inside the archive there's WifiConfigStore.xml which I've already found it. The format doesn't look trivial to me so this idea is not really usable. But thanks!