Database Info

[Q] App install issues (Amazon, specifically)?

First off, two things. Thanks to the folks who replied last night about my two-step Google auth issue. You were spot on.
Second, these forums are great and thanks to those who built them up. The "instant search" of your subject line is amazing. I've canceled two posts just based on that.
So, I've got one I can't seem to sort. I'm a big Amazon guy, for general shopping, MP3s, and EC2. I've attempted to install two or three different Amazon apps (basic, MP3, etc) and when I click one of the apps in the Market, I'm getting a "Sorry, details page for the requested item could not be found." Any ideas?
To be honest, I have searched on a few other items, but not the error message. I'll do that now, but thanks in advance if you have any insight.

Just an FYI, I searched on the error message (shortened) and can't seem to find much, and I also have been able to install other apps successfully (non-Google/native).

Try installing from the web at market.android.com I will say that the basic Amazon app will not install on Honeycomb (shows as not avail, not sure why)
scooternj said:
First off, two things. Thanks to the folks who replied last night about my two-step Google auth issue. You were spot on.
Second, these forums are great and thanks to those who built them up. The "instant search" of your subject line is amazing. I've canceled two posts just based on that.
So, I've got one I can't seem to sort. I'm a big Amazon guy, for general shopping, MP3s, and EC2. I've attempted to install two or three different Amazon apps (basic, MP3, etc) and when I click one of the apps in the Market, I'm getting a "Sorry, details page for the requested item could not be found." Any ideas?
To be honest, I have searched on a few other items, but not the error message. I'll do that now, but thanks in advance if you have any insight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Just a follow up, it seems some other folks are getting this error message on various app installs.
But to naturefreak85, I will try your recommendation and let you know. Thanks!

Thanks, Nature. I was able to install the MP3 app from the web (and it works)...the general Amazon app tells me it's already installed, but I sure as hell can't find it.
I'm on my way...thanks.

scooternj said:
Thanks, Nature. I was able to install the MP3 app from the web (and it works)...the general Amazon app tells me it's already installed, but I sure as hell can't find it.
I'm on my way...thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so some friendly advice. If your tablet can see some apps and not others that are definitely in the market, it more than likely means the apps aren't compatible for some reason, so incompatible that Google's decided to make it so they can't be installed into tablets from the market. Sure you can sideload and they may work, but just understand that if you get a ton of FCs on the device from unrelated stuff down the road you realize that the culprit could be these forced apps. So, be careful or at least record whatever you sideload so that if you get lot of FCs you can backtrack and remove the possible problem apps. I'm reading where people are having slowdowns and fcs and I'm fairly certain it's because these people have installed incompatible apps designed for pre 3.0 Android that are now playing havoc in their Honeycomb system.
GL

I had to use the amazon appstore to install amazon.com. It's not bad to install the second market especially for their free app a day.

My Apps missing apps?

This morning, went to market->My Apps on my Xoom, and it's only showing about half of my apps. No apparent pattern to what is missing (and I can see that market still has them, just its not seeing them associated with my account.) It was fine yesterday, and no updates on my end.
Anyone else seeing this?
eric

ericbergan said:
This morning, went to market->My Apps on my Xoom, and it's only showing about half of my apps. No apparent pattern to what is missing (and I can see that market still has them, just its not seeing them associated with my account.) It was fine yesterday, and no updates on my end.
Anyone else seeing this?
eric
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you scroll down your list in MyApps, do you see a list of uninstalled apps after the installed apps? If not, look at the menu (the 4 stacked up lines in upper right hand corner) and click on purchase history. That should have all the apps you've downloaded and you should be able to reinstall the missing ones, unless Google Market thinks they are no longer compatible with your Xoom.

okantomi said:
When you scroll down your list in MyApps, do you see a list of uninstalled apps after the installed apps? If not, look at the menu (the 4 stacked up lines in upper right hand corner) and click on purchase history. That should have all the apps you've downloaded and you should be able to reinstall the missing ones, unless Google Market thinks they are no longer compatible with your Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, they aren't listing as uninstalled, not listing at all. Purchase history on the market.android.com web site is showing them, with install completed. So far, I think I've only seen free apps missing, but need to check more closely. But it's not all free apps, some remain.
Ok, one new data point. My market account is shared between my Xoom and my Photon. Just checked on the Photon and it is still showing apps in my apps that are not showing up on the Xoom (like Adobe Flash.) Very strange...
eric

ericbergan said:
No, they aren't listing as uninstalled, not listing at all. Purchase history on the market.android.com web site is showing them, with install completed. So far, I think I've only seen free apps missing, but need to check more closely. But it's not all free apps, some remain.
Ok, one new data point. My market account is shared between my Xoom and my Photon. Just checked on the Photon and it is still showing apps in my apps that are not showing up on the Xoom (like Adobe Flash.) Very strange...
eric
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A simple reboot should solve the problem. It has happened to me a few times at random, but not as of lately. Not sure if the market runs into some issues or the system itself, but after a reboot everything should pop up and be just fine. It always did for me when I had this issue.

diablo2224 said:
A simple reboot should solve the problem. It has happened to me a few times at random, but not as of lately. Not sure if the market runs into some issues or the system itself, but after a reboot everything should pop up and be just fine. It always did for me when I had this issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rebooted, no change. Dug further, I'm only seeing paid apps, plus Google Maps and Videos in the list. But if I go in market to one of the other apps (for instance, Kindle), the market page offers open/manage, not install, so at that level it knows I have downloaded/installed the app.
Sent off a "Contact Us" to Google.
eric

Response from Google yesterday asked me to remove updates to Market. Problem was, I haven't received any updates to Market. So latest is that this is a problem they've seen in some other cases, no current fix, but a "specialist" will be getting in touch with me. No further followup today.
eric

Two days, two nags on the support email, no contact from the "specialist".
Found an app that I had installed that wasn't showing up had an update. Navigated to the app in market, and it showed update. Did the update. As the update finished, the app flickered into the My Apps list for about 2 seconds, then disappeared out of the list.
eric

Well, nagged Google again today, at least for a hint of when there might be a fix. Did get a response - basically we know there is a problem, we have no estimate for a workaround or a fix.
eric

ericbergan said:
Well, nagged Google again today, at least for a hint of when there might be a fix. Did get a response - basically we know there is a problem, we have no estimate for a workaround or a fix.
eric
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what I would try if I were you:
1. Go to the options, applications, manage applications, all, and then scroll down and click the Market. Since you are having major issues it sounds like, I would recommend that you just hit clear data for the Market app. Maybe restart before you open the market again. See if that helps at all.
2. Just out of curiosity I would install the latest market update that was released for phones. I would see if the problem was still persistent there in the new market app. This market was intended for phones at the moment, but it looks like it will support tablets soon. It seems to fit pretty well on the Xoom. If all goes well, maybe you can stick with that one for a bit.
Here you can find the most recent apk for the market that was released for the phones some days ago: Android Market 3.1.3
That's really the only advice I can think of. If you were rooted you would wipe data, caches, and dalvik cache to start a fresh new install to see if that changes anything. On technical speaking terms: there really is not much else you can do if this all does not work for you. Never seen anyone experience this before.

Thanks for the suggestions. Just tried both, and neither made a difference. Actually, pretty surprised 2) didn't make at least something different about the problem. I'm starting to wonder if the problem is something on the server/account side...
Google says they have seen others with the problem and are working on it, guess I'll just have to wait them out.
eric

ericbergan said:
Thanks for the suggestions. Just tried both, and neither made a difference. Actually, pretty surprised 2) didn't make at least something different about the problem. I'm starting to wonder if the problem is something on the server/account side...
Google says they have seen others with the problem and are working on it, guess I'll just have to wait them out.
eric
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like it's server sided to me, which is really odd. I suppose it is a very unknown problem that only a very select few people have run into. Like I said, I have never seen this issue before on the Xoom.
I tried my best to help, but it's beyond anything we can deal with personally. Google says that they are working on this problem, so just hang in there.

Yup, will have to wait for a Google fix. Thanks for the replies!
eric

I'm not sure if you fixed it yet but here goes. I had the same problem; more than half of my apps would not show up under the "My Apps" list, even though if I searched for them in the market I could still update/uninstall them. I also searched through the forums but none of the suggestions helped. I finally fixed it tonight. Here's what I did:
(Oh yeah, you'll need Titanium Backup to be able to use the Market Doctor)
First I went to Settings->Applications->Manage Applications.
Selected the Market. Cleared cache, data, and uninstall updates.
Then immediately (I suggest you have it ready as a background app) I opened Titanium Backup and ran the Market Doctor. The reason i say 'immediately' is because the Market will re-update itself fairly fast so you have to get it done before it does so since I believe the Market Doctor does not work with the new Market.
That was pretty much it. When I opened the Market I saw that all my apps actually showed up in the My Apps list even after the Market updated itself. Hope it works for you.

I think you need to be rooted to use Titanium Backup, don't you? I'm running stock.
Nope, no more followup from Google at all. And now, even if I manually go to the market entry for an app, it won't always show me the "update" button, even though there is an update available.
eric

3 business weeks in, no fix, no workaround, not even an update email that they are still working on it. Google has a lot of customer support ground to cover to be a consumer company, and for now (3 weeks) I can't update my apps.
eric

Still getting the runaround from the Google Android Market Team. "At this time, I'm unable to provide a timeline for resolution, though I can assure you that we're aware of the issue and actively investigating. Thank you for your patience!" every time I nag them for the last 4 weeks. No request for more data from me, debug/logging version to run, etc.
So Monday I asked to have the case transfered to the manager. Get a new email, from "Richard" (no last name, same email address as the prior support member) saying the case had been transferred to him, and saying exactly the same text. Replied asking if there was anything I could provide to help, no response in now two days.
Looks like Google still hasn't learned anything about customer support. Can't wait to see how they do with Moto if the deal goes through...
eric

So "Richard" wrote back, explaining that they all use the same email address, and carefully avoiding answering my question about his role, i.e. was he really a supervisor/manager.
He told me that they have identified the source of the problem, so don't need any further information from me. No, there is not a fix available of any kind, and he doesn't know when there will be one. No, there is no work around other than calling up each app individually in Market and seeing if there is an update (not very practical for my large number of apps.)
At this point, I'm tired of beating a dead horse. I know we aren't Google's customers, we're their product, but they still have to learn to take user satisfaction seriously.
eric

ericbergan said:
So "Richard" wrote back, explaining that they all use the same email address, and carefully avoiding answering my question about his role, i.e. was he really a supervisor/manager.
He told me that they have identified the source of the problem, so don't need any further information from me. No, there is not a fix available of any kind, and he doesn't know when there will be one. No, there is no work around other than calling up each app individually in Market and seeing if there is an update (not very practical for my large number of apps.)
At this point, I'm tired of beating a dead horse. I know we aren't Google's customers, we're their product, but they still have to learn to take user satisfaction seriously.
eric
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what to say at this point. If it was more widespread it would have been fixed right away. But, if it appears that they have now identified the problem, the coders will resolve it within days from now.
My final suggestion is to make a new email account altogether and try that. See if it still is the same problem. If so: It is your device, not Google.

StrifeSoldierVII said:
Not sure what to say at this point. If it was more widespread it would have been fixed right away. But, if it appears that they have now identified the problem, the coders will resolve it within days from now.
My final suggestion is to make a new email account altogether and try that. See if it still is the same problem. If so: It is your device, not Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not the device, because the problem is also replicated on the web site. Also, remember the Xoom is the reference device for Honeycomb (and I'm running stock), so still a Google issue if it is Xoom specific.
Given it's been a month and they haven't been interested in getting any further data from me, I'm not overly optimistic that it will be fixed in the next few days, but I'd love to be proved wrong.
eric

ericbergan said:
It's not the device, because the problem is also replicated on the web site. Also, remember the Xoom is the reference device for Honeycomb (and I'm running stock), so still a Google issue if it is Xoom specific.
Given it's been a month and they haven't been interested in getting any further data from me, I'm not overly optimistic that it will be fixed in the next few days, but I'd love to be proved wrong.
eric
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I hear ya man. I'm just not sure what else to tell ya, sorry man.
Keep crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. You've done your part as a customer by contacting them and letting them know the problem, and they seemed to have identified the issue now. So I'd say you're in better shape than you previously were at the beginning.

Which of these apps safe to remove or freeze?

Hello all,
I know there are lots of posts on this forum and on the web about this subject, a few on this particular phone. However, after hours of research, I'm a bit frustrated because I get conflicting info on what to do.
I have modified my Skyrocket heavily and one of the things I left for last is to get rid of all the junk. After installing everything and making all changes, I pulled a full list of all apps from Titanium Back Pro.
It was quite a HUGE list so I went through it today and filtered out everything I do not or should not remove. I was left with the following list of apps that I'm really unsure of and wondering if they can be removed? Some of these apps I have no clue what they are and why they are there (ex. buddies, badgeprovider, kobo, etc).
Anyways, I know it is a pain in the ass and will take some time for some of you to go through this list, but I really would like some advice as to which of these are really not needed. Again, file was massive but I did cut it down significantly to these...
Also, I'm assuming that I should freeze the apps you tell me are OK instead of removing? I do rather freeze but I did completely uninstall just a handful of AT&T apps (non system apps) that really annoyed me. Hope that is not a problem when updating come time via OTA.
Any help is appreciated...
Best,
--mike

Here is bloatware list that you can freeze.
pookieguy said:
Hello all,
I know there are lots of posts on this forum and on the web about this subject, a few on this particular phone. However, after hours of research, I'm a bit frustrated because I get conflicting info on what to do.
I have modified my Skyrocket heavily and one of the things I left for last is to get rid of all the junk. After installing everything and making all changes, I pulled a full list of all apps from Titanium Back Pro.
It was quite a HUGE list so I went through it today and filtered out everything I do not or should not remove. I was left with the following list of apps that I'm really unsure of and wondering if they can be removed? Some of these apps I have no clue what they are and why they are there (ex. buddies, badgeprovider, kobo, etc).
Anyways, I know it is a pain in the ass and will take some time for some of you to go through this list, but I really would like some advice as to which of these are really not needed. Again, file was massive but I did cut it down significantly to these...
Also, I'm assuming that I should freeze the apps you tell me are OK instead of removing? I do rather freeze but I did completely uninstall just a handful of AT&T apps (non system apps) that really annoyed me. Hope that is not a problem when updating come time via OTA.
Any help is appreciated...
Best,
--mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thank you...
I will take a look and see how it does compare to the list I generated and posted here.
--mike

Finally Proof My Andoid OS Hacked

I've known for 2 years I've been hacked. Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy because for 2 years I've been convinced that my phone was being controlled remotely even though I've changed devices, profiles, and deleted more apps than I can count. Finally yesterday I dicovered Total Virus Scan and it found this. I've had at least 50 antivirus apps with no success and I was not sure if maybe I wasn't a going crazy. I even would stop using my phone for a month or more at a time because that was the only time I had issues. Whoever is behind this has taught me everything I know about android and hacking by directing me in a way that is hard to explain. I'd just see what they wanted me to do by a random page that would pop up, or sentence highlighted, or other discreet cues. If I have not had 100% accuracy on certain issues I've been informed about by following these cues I would be certain I was crazy but there has been like 50 personal issues I've been informed about by following these cues and not a single time has it been we wrong. Unfortunately I let it consume me for about a year and almost ruined my life because of it and what I've learned has seriously altered my life. Yesterday Total Virus Scan found this Keylogger, 2 Trojan, RAT in OS. How do I remove these from my OS andcatch who is behind this? Attached is screenshot of the 4 issues found. Also on SD Maid it said my device wasn't rooted but had a built-in superuser app. Can't find the screenshot I had of that but had a url of toybox. A bunch of numbers then said [email protected] something. Any help will be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Could you try to create a backup of those apps and upload somewhere? Maybe it is possible to check it
Try to uninstall those apps with an app uninstaller
If you are unable to uninstall those apps they might be deeply installed? Ive been under the same situation 4-5years ago
Maybe a firmware reflash would do the job but everything will get deleted so try to backup everything

DrunkTrooper said:
Could you try to create a backup of those apps and upload somewhere? Maybe it is possible to check it
Try to uninstall those apps with an app uninstaller
If you are unable to uninstall those apps they might be deeply installed? Ive been under the same situation 4-5years ago
Maybe a firmware reflash would do the job but everything will get deleted so try to backup everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not the apps. From what I've read one of the Trojans, the one in Google framework, is a dropper and reproduces and hides them in legit clean apps. That is why antivirus software doesn't pick them up. I've done at least 100 scan's with every malware finder I can find and this is the first time I have gotten a hit on anything but I know for a fact it's been there for at least 2 years. Everything I know about android whoever this person is taught me. It's almost as if they are a friend because they've directed me to learning about someone close to me who was doing me wrong, taught me everything I know about android and hacking, it's crazy man. I can't explain how they communicate with me all I can say is I will just see it and know. Something highlighted briefly, a random page popping up that directly coorilates with what is happening in my life, but also have tried getting money out of me and removed pictures of my wife from my device. I want to find out if it's someone I know before I remove it. If so, I'm thinking criminal charges and anything else I can do to mess with their life like they have mine. They truly destroyed my life for about 18 months and just now getting everything back together. I don't really talk about it anymore because everyone thought I went crazy but still privately search for the cause and who wmis behind it and yesterday I finally found it. Showed my mother and step son and even with these screenshots they still say I'm crazy and seeing things. Just glad I finally have proof. I can't explain what it's like to have EVERYONE around you saying you are crazy and seeing things that aren't there and knowing you aren't. It really sucks and I wouldn't wish what I've experienced the last couple years on my worst enemy.

EJay80 said:
I've known for 2 years I've been hacked. Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy because for 2 years I've been convinced that my phone was being controlled remotely even though I've changed devices, profiles, and deleted more apps than I can count. Finally yesterday I dicovered Total Virus Scan and it found this. I've had at least 50 antivirus apps with no success and I was not sure if maybe I wasn't a going crazy. I even would stop using my phone for a month or more at a time because that was the only time I had issues. Whoever is behind this has taught me everything I know about android and hacking by directing me in a way that is hard to explain. I'd just see what they wanted me to do by a random page that would pop up, or sentence highlighted, or other discreet cues. If I have not had 100% accuracy on certain issues I've been informed about by following these cues I would be certain I was crazy but there has been like 50 personal issues I've been informed about by following these cues and not a single time has it been we wrong. Unfortunately I let it consume me for about a year and almost ruined my life because of it and what I've learned has seriously altered my life. Yesterday Total Virus Scan found this Keylogger, 2 Trojan, RAT in OS. How do I remove these from my OS andcatch who is behind this? Attached is screenshot of the 4 issues found. Also on SD Maid it said my device wasn't rooted but had a built-in superuser app. Can't find the screenshot I had of that but had a url of toybox. A bunch of numbers then said [email protected] something. Any help will be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to utube Beef, it's a exploit that takes over your browser that's started with script embedded in a web page, text, messenger msg, etx. You may confuse it with malware because the attackers will gain the same info if not more by using social engineering.

remove all google accounts from settings, perform a factory reset, create new google account and check Total Virus Scan again.

You can use same google account just don’t restore data

Arealhooman said:
You can use same google account just don’t restore data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't recommend this as google account is device administrator, anyone knowing that password can remotely install apps

Question How to find out what app(s) are trying to connect to two malicious sites?

Spoiler: Warning - don't visit these two sites:
Code:
www.vu239trk.com
int.vaicore.store
Trend Micro says both of these sites are malicious.
Full story - I recently changed router brands. Our new routers have the ability to block malicious sites that are trying to be accessed. Thankfully, this isn't happening on my rooted phone - it's happening on my wife's Pixel 7 Pro which is unlockable but is locked. The same was the case a week and a half ago with her Pixel 6 Pro. Problem is, that my wife has no idea which of her apps - I'm guessing a game, but who knows - would be accessing those. I've tried to pin them down according to what time the router blocked access, but it hasn't helped.
The router has blocked access to those sites from her phone(s) a total of seven times between October 5th and the 19th:
10/5 - vu
10/9 - vu
10/12 - vaicore
10/14 - vu
10/15 - vu
10/16 - vu
10/19 - vu
So it's not every day, and not repeatedly on the same day. I've let her know each time the router notifies me, but nothing has come to mind for her, so I don't know if it's happening in the background or when she's actively using an app.
I've tried some simple Google-fu for this question, or specifically regarding these sites without any promising help.
Does anyone have any suggestions for how to find out what apps are accessing them? I'm aware of solutions like NetGuard - no-root firewall to whitelist/blacklist internet access - however, my wife is non-technical - I don't root her phones anymore as she's not interested in the benefits and it's less work for me, and no chance for me to mess up her configuration. Also, we both suspect that it's one of her games that is trying to access those sites, and those games might already require internet access for them to work, so I'm more interested in tracking down which without a process of elimination. She's also not methodical like I am, at least for technical things.
I could probably dump a list of her apps to at least get some ideas. All her apps came from the Play Store and were just restored from there during our recent transition to the Pixel 7 Pro, so whatever it is, Google hasn't caught it yet. She doesn't use any special web browsers, just Chrome, and she doesn't do anything techie or hacky.
Also trying to avoid both a factory reset and not using Google's cloud backup. She forgets her passwords constantly so fresh setups always cause high anxiety for her, and therefore for me too.

After you install an app block all updates. A common ploy is the app is clean but after it is installed it will download it's malicious payload.
Keep all social media and shopping apps off the phone. They are malware.
If an app doesn't need internet access to function it should be firewall blocked. Few app need internet access. Find the malware or factory reset and reset passwords. I give myself 2 hours before I nuke it. That should be enough time to find/fix minor malware issues.
Full scan with Malwarebytes. Pay close attention to the download folder and any apps that run at startup. Scan suspects with online Virustotal.
Try in safe mode, see if it stops.
It maybe a false alert... otherwise uninstall or package block installed apps one by one until you nail it. If it's a virus or rootkit that won't stop it though. Hopefully it's just a rogue app that didn't download a rootkit payload...

blackhawk said:
After you install an app block all updates. A common ploy is the app is clean but after it is installed it will download it's malicious payload.
Keep all social media and shopping apps off the phone. They are malware.
If an app doesn't need internet access to function it should be firewall blocked. Few app need internet access. Find the malware or factory reset and reset passwords. I give myself 2 hours before I nuke it. That should be enough time to find/fix minor malware issues.
Full scan with Malwarebytes. Pay close attention to the download folder and any apps that run at startup. Scan suspects with online Virustotal.
Try in safe mode, see if it stops.
It maybe a false alert... otherwise uninstall or package block installed apps one by one until you nail it. If it's a virus or rootkit that won't stop it though. Hopefully it's just a rogue app that didn't download a rootkit payload...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never once had a problem with any of this stuff... I think the malware problem is hugely overblown. I just don't download random obscure apps and never had an issue.

Trend Micro is often overzealous. I have disabled that crap on my ASUS router.
They both seem to be marketing and tracking sites. The vaicore one apparently was even being triggered by the Audible app at one point.
https://www.reddit.com/r/audible/comments/ttakhs
You could try DuckDuckGo's tracking protection to figure out which app is doing it.
Introducing DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection for Android
Join the waitlist to try App Tracking Protection for Android today!
spreadprivacy.com

blackhawk said:
After you install an app block all updates. A common ploy is the app is clean but after it is installed it will download it's malicious payload.
Keep all social media and shopping apps off the phone. They are malware.
If an app doesn't need internet access to function it should be firewall blocked. Few app need internet access. Find the malware or factory reset and reset passwords. I give myself 2 hours before I nuke it. That should be enough time to find/fix minor malware issues.
Full scan with Malwarebytes. Pay close attention to the download folder and any apps that run at startup. Scan suspects with online Virustotal.
Try in safe mode, see if it stops.
It maybe a false alert... otherwise uninstall or package block installed apps one by one until you nail it. If it's a virus or rootkit that won't stop it though. Hopefully it's just a rogue app that didn't download a rootkit payload...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since this is my wife's phone, not mine, I'm not willing to micro-manage to try to find the culprit. It would only cause her stress and because of that, ultimately more stress for me.
EtherealRemnant said:
Trend Micro is often overzealous. I have disabled that crap on my ASUS router.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll certainly keep an eye on what it reports, but since so far it's only reported things from my wife's phone and not my own or any of our computers, I'm going to keep being curious about what exactly is triggering it.
EtherealRemnant said:
They both seem to be marketing and tracking sites. The vaicore one apparently was even being triggered by the Audible app at one point.
https://www.reddit.com/r/audible/comments/ttakhs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that information! In this case, she doesn't have the Audible app.
EtherealRemnant said:
You could try DuckDuckGo's tracking protection to figure out which app is doing it.
Introducing DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection for Android
Join the waitlist to try App Tracking Protection for Android today!
spreadprivacy.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I forgot about DuckDuckGo app's advertised capability. I'll take a look into it. Thanks!

roirraW edor ehT said:
Since this is my wife's phone, not mine, I'm not willing to micro-manage to try to find the culprit. It would only cause her stress and because of that, ultimately more stress for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Words of wisdom for maintaining a happy marriage

Lughnasadh said:
Words of wisdom for maintaining a happy marriage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
New movie: "Honey, I disabled half of your apps!"

EtherealRemnant said:
I've never once had a problem with any of this stuff... I think the malware problem is hugely overblown. I just don't download random obscure apps and never had an issue.
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Click to collapse
I rarely sample apps. All my apps are vetted and most have been used by me for years. Playstore is a mess. I keep installable copies of all my apps on my data drive (SD card) master backup for easy reloads if I need to factory reset. I occasionally side load, these are always first scanned with Virustotal. If they even look a little twitchy they aren't loaded. I firewall block all apps that implicitly don't need internet access. I also watch what is accessing the internet, when and why.
Apps are never upgraded unless it would provide a substantial benefit. There's no need to as I already have a stable platform. I don't upgrade or update the firmware, ever. This 3 yo N10+ is still running snappy fast and rock solid stable on Pie. Any problem is easy to stop as the platform is very predictable; malware stands out like a sore thumb. The current load is over 2yo and it runs day after day like a bat out of hell with minimal maintenance. I also watch the download folder like a hawk; everything is vetted before it is moved into the database, apps, mp4's, jpegs etc. At the very least I open the file in the download folder to look for abnormal behavior especially in that folder.
I've had malware jpegs on Android, once you open it, it would damage any files not in a folder in the download folder. Some were repairable some not and best deleted. Deleting the jpeg ends it's rain of terror. If it gets into the database in a folder with a large number of files it would rain hell down on you. It may not be detectable at all as malware meaning you would need to find it the hard way.
There are scripted jpegs, pngs that target both PC and Android. They pop up from time to time and Outlook can be a vector. Keel all email in the cloud ie Gmail. Be very cautious of downloading anything from emails, the oldest trick in the book. Lol, you've been warned
Also saw a trojan preloader slip past Samsung browser without permission. I tagged it in the download folder before it could download it's payload. KIA Police the download folder daily, delete any unknown files without opening them.
Vet everything.
Almost all malware is loaded or downloaded by the user, one way or another. Pie and above are secure unless you do stupid things.
┤Mod Edit├┤Unneeded remark removed├

roirraW edor ehT said:
New movie: "Honey, I disabled half of your apps!"
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Click to collapse
Sequel: "Why I now sleep on the couch"

roirraW edor ehT said:
New movie: "Honey, I disabled half of your apps!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Translation: "Honey half your apps were spyware, can we still be friends after the divorce?"

Lughnasadh said:
Sequel: "Why I now sleep on the couch"
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Click to collapse
"...and use the cat's litterbox..."

roirraW edor ehT said:
Since this is my wife's phone, not mine, I'm not willing to micro-manage to try to find the culprit. It would only cause her stress and because of that, ultimately more stress for me.
I'll certainly keep an eye on what it reports, but since so far it's only reported things from my wife's phone and not my own or any of our computers, I'm going to keep being curious about what exactly is triggering it.
Thanks for that information! In this case, she doesn't have the Audible app.
Ah, I forgot about DuckDuckGo app's advertised capability. I'll take a look into it. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try scanning with Malwarebytes. Virustotal is the gold standard as it gives a broad overview to what's there and how it behaves.
Brave browser is near bulletproof.
Always try to back out of a bad site by closing that window if necessary or close the browser. Occasionally I needed to clear the cache as well. Never needed to clear the data but have seen some really persistent bad sites. No breach though save that one trojan preloader.
Abnormal behavior should be promptly investigated and the cause found.
Never ignore it... and teach her new tricks.

blackhawk said:
I rarely sample apps. All my apps are vetted and most have been used by me for years. Playstore is a mess. I keep installable copies of all my apps on my data drive (SD card) master backup for easy reloads if I need to factory reset. I occasionally side load, these are always first scanned with Virustotal. If they even look a little twitchy they aren't loaded. I firewall block all apps that implicitly don't need internet access. I also watch what is accessing the internet, when and why.
Apps are never upgraded unless it would provide a substantial benefit. There's no need to as I already have a stable platform. I don't upgrade or update the firmware, ever. This 3 yo N10+ is still running snappy fast and rock solid stable on Pie. Any problem is easy to stop as the platform is very predictable; malware stands out like a sore thumb. The current load is over 2yo and it runs day after day like a bat out of hell with minimal maintenance. I also watch the download folder like a hawk; everything is vetted before it is moved into the database, apps, mp4's, jpegs etc. At the very least I open the file in the download folder to look for abnormal behavior especially in that folder.
I've had malware jpegs on Android, once you open it, it would damage any files not in a folder in the download folder. Some were repairable some not and best deleted. Deleting the jpeg ends it's rain of terror. If it gets into the database in a folder with a large number of files it would rain hell down on you. It may not be detectable at all as malware meaning you would need to find it the hard way.
There are scripted jpegs, pngs that target both PC and Android. They pop up from time to time and Outlook can be a vector. Keel all email in the cloud ie Gmail. Be very cautious of downloading anything from emails, the oldest trick in the book. Lol, you've been warned
Also saw a trojan preloader slip past Samsung browser without permission. I tagged it in the download folder before it could download it's payload. KIA Police the download folder daily, delete any unknown files without opening them.
Vet everything.
Almost all malware is loaded or downloaded by the user, one way or another. Pie and above are secure unless you do stupid things. No saving dumb bunnies, you are what you load/download.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean I use FairEmail and have it set to only download images when I tell it to but other than that, I don't use much more than common sense for my security platform. I don't dabble a lot in random apps (sometimes I will grab a game from a new dev after I see some positive reviews for it somewhere but those F2P apps end up earning the devs more money in microtransactions than they would get from malware anyway so the risk is low here, especially since I only go for visually appealing games with some depth to them), I don't use a firewall, don't use AV... It's never been a problem going all the way back to Cupcake on my HTC Hero.
I do, however, take all updates within a few weeks of them being available (system updates I will do as soon as I get a prompt that they are available, app updates I manually do), and while that potentially exposes me to a zero day if one of my apps goes rogue, lots of pre-existing loopholes get closed by these same updates as well.
For that matter, going back to my first computer when I was 8 or 9 years old running DOS, I've only ever gotten one bug that was nasty enough for me to have to reinstall everything, a trojan, and I got it from some software I grabbed from a BBS IIRC. I don't run more than Windows Defender these days and I continue to just use common sense on the internet. Most of my important stuff is backed up to my Google Drive anyway so my desktop can get nuked and I'll just have to saturate the gigabit connection for a few hours to download all my apps and games again. *shrug*
I do use Bitwarden for passwords and Authy for 2FA (as well as having YubiKey for a few things like Google, Microsoft, and Bitwarden) as I feel that those are common sense in the world we live in but I just don't see the point otherwise.
I do use VirusTotal from time to time if I'm not sure about something as well.

blackhawk said:
Try scanning with Malwarebytes. Virustotal is the gold standard as it gives a broad overview to what's there and how it behaves.
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Absolutely. I got her to install it - later when we're both not working, I'll work with her to have it do its thing. I meant to mention in my earlier reply, to thank you for that advice.
blackhawk said:
Brave browser is near bulletproof.
Always try to back out of a bad site by closing that window if necessary or close the browser. Occasionally I needed to clear the cache as well. Never needed to clear the data but have seen some really persistent bad sites. No breach though save that one trojan preloader.
Abnormal behavior should be promptly investigated and the cause found.
Never ignore it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Brave for select things, but to try to move her completely or even partly from Chrome to Brave would ultimately not be an effort well spent. I'm getting anxious just knowing how things would go.
blackhawk said:
and teach her new tricks.
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Click to collapse
My wife's habits are firmly planted. Mine are probably just a tiny bit less than hers, but obviously, I can't be objective.
EtherealRemnant said:
For that matter, going back to my first computer when I was 8 or 9 years old running DOS, I've only ever gotten one bug that was nasty enough for me to have to reinstall everything, a trojan, and I got it from some software I grabbed from a BBS IIRC.
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Click to collapse
Ugh, that reminds me of the time just about 20 years ago that back in my Norton AntiVirus days, there was a trojan that wasn't detected for weeks - I forget which one, but Symantec was not picking it up, and I had kept on reinstalling Windows XP on both my wife's and my desktops I built but ultimately they both would act crazy in some way. What a pain. Then when Symantec finally recognized what was going on and their definitions found the culprit, what a relief.
That was the only time I know that any of my devices were infected and rampant.
EtherealRemnant said:
I don't run more than Windows Defender these days and I continue to just use common sense on the internet.
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Click to collapse
Same here.
EtherealRemnant said:
Most of my important stuff is backed up to my Google Drive anyway so my desktop can get nuked and I'll just have to saturate the gigabit connection for a few hours to download all my apps and games again. *shrug*
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Click to collapse
I've "lost everything" (digital) so many times over the last 38 years, but my most important potentially life-altering things are backed up in the cloud, too, although using my own encryption for the most sensitive things.

roirraW edor ehT said:
Ugh, that reminds me of the time just about 20 years ago that back in my Norton AntiVirus days, there was a trojan that wasn't detected for weeks - I forget which one, but Symantec was not picking it up, and I had kept on reinstalling Windows XP on both my wife's and my desktops I built but ultimately they both would act crazy in some way. What a pain. Then when Symantec finally recognized what was going on and their definitions found the culprit, what a relief.
That was the only time I know that any of my devices were infected and rampant.
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Click to collapse
Yeah this was definitely in the early Norton days. That computer was running Windows 3.1. lol.
roirraW edor ehT said:
I've "lost everything" (digital) so many times over the last 38 years, but my most important potentially life-altering things are backed up in the cloud, too, although using my own encryption for the most sensitive things.
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Click to collapse
I have been incredibly lucky. I have never even had a hard drive fail to the point of any significant loss. I actually still have the 320GB Seagate that was in my grandfather's old Gateway P3 from the early 2000s and it still works fine.
But my stupid self has definitely done the "let's get drunk and mess with Linux" thing... Which has absolutely resulted in some loss lol, especially back in the LILO days when the installers could easily wipe out your Windows partition when they bugged out and also sometimes when I just messed up the partitioning myself.
Fortunately, there's not much that I absolutely have to have, so even if I lost absolutely everything, the biggest headache would be recovering my bank/credit union accounts (of which I have like 23 credit cards alone right now) and online accounts like XDA and reddit. Social media I could just start over. Or not start back up at all for that matter.
Also, I tried Brave... Can't do it. It's Chrome or nothing for me. It was hard enough to switch from Firefox to Chrome (I had been using Firefox since it was in alpha as Phoenix) but I'm just too set in my ways to switch to anything else now.

EtherealRemnant said:
Yeah this was definitely in the early Norton days. That computer was running Windows 3.1. lol.
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I forgot - I guess I don't count my pre-XP days as far as viruses and trojans. Definitely had some on probably almost every Apple/Amiga/Windows OS I ever ran before XP. Security? What security!?
EtherealRemnant said:
I have been incredibly lucky. I have never even had a hard drive fail to the point of any significant loss. I actually still have the 320GB Seagate that was in my grandfather's old Gateway P3 from the early 2000s and it still works fine.
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Click to collapse
That is lucky. I'm not on the opposite spectrum of hard drive experience, but I definitely have run the wheels off of many hard drives.
EtherealRemnant said:
Also, I tried Brave... Can't do it. It's Chrome or nothing for me. It was hard enough to switch from Firefox to Chrome (I had been using Firefox since it was in alpha as Phoenix) but I'm just too set in my ways to switch to anything else now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few months ago I largely switched back to Firefox, but I still use Chrome for certain things, and I do use Brave for a very few things. A couple of years ago, I was liking Microsoft's Chromium-based Edge just fine, but then they changed just one little thing - which made it many more clicks than in Chrome or other browsers if you wanted to potentially change your download save location for each and every download.
There were a ton of complaints to Microsoft but they wouldn't reinstate the original way. I'd have no problem if they at least let users opt to use the way they used to, but fell on deaf ears. I switched back to Chrome after that - Edge was just too much of a pain for micro-managed downloads.

EtherealRemnant said:
I mean I use FairEmail and have it set to only download images when I tell it to but other than that, I don't use much more than common sense for my security platform. I don't dabble a lot in random apps (sometimes I will grab a game from a new dev after I see some positive reviews for it somewhere but those F2P apps end up earning the devs more money in microtransactions than they would get from malware anyway so the risk is low here, especially since I only go for visually appealing games with some depth to them), I don't use a firewall, don't use AV... It's never been a problem going all the way back to Cupcake on my HTC Hero.
I do, however, take all updates within a few weeks of them being available (system updates I will do as soon as I get a prompt that they are available, app updates I manually do), and while that potentially exposes me to a zero day if one of my apps goes rogue, lots of pre-existing loopholes get closed by these same updates as well.
For that matter, going back to my first computer when I was 8 or 9 years old running DOS, I've only ever gotten one bug that was nasty enough for me to have to reinstall everything, a trojan, and I got it from some software I grabbed from a BBS IIRC. I don't run more than Windows Defender these days and I continue to just use common sense on the internet. Most of my important stuff is backed up to my Google Drive anyway so my desktop can get nuked and I'll just have to saturate the gigabit connection for a few hours to download all my apps and games again. *shrug*
I do use Bitwarden for passwords and Authy for 2FA (as well as having YubiKey for a few things like Google, Microsoft, and Bitwarden) as I feel that those are common sense in the world we live in but I just don't see the point otherwise.
I do use VirusTotal from time to time if I'm not sure about something as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still running W7. It's kept off the internet always. Android is a lot easier to keep secure.
Updates sound good in theory just like the Covid vaccine did. In actual practice they cause trouble and aren't needed. It's an ongoing experiment at this point and it's simply running too good to mess with the firmware. I refuse to.
Pie is pretty secure in real time with a few modifications. I keep wifi disabled as well. At this point I'm curious to see if anything can nail it. Lol, I test it everyday. A reload isn't very painful for me and everything is redundantly backed up.
App updates have caused me a lot of time and trouble particularly with Samsung. Got a pair of Buds+ that the last firmware update degraded the sound badly, need to get Samsung to reflash to its original firmware. My new Buds+ sound great with much better range; that firmware will never be upgraded. Upgrades and updates tend to break Samsung's... best to leave it be if it's fast, stable and fulfilling its mission. That strategy may sound counterproductive but it works well for me in real time.
That's all that counts.

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step 1- root wife's phone
step 2- install netguard
step 3- install afwall+
step 4- check the logs from each and cross-reference which app is the problem
step 5- profit. have her make you sandwich

xxTECRAxx said:
step 1- root wife's phone
step 2- install netguard
step 3- install afwall+
step 4- check the logs from each and cross-reference which app is the problem
step 5- profit. have her make you sandwich
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I was trying to indicate that root isn't an option I'm interested in for her phone. That is, she's not interested, and it would be especially disruptive to her now that we've had our factory unlocked Pixel 7 Pros for over six months, plus it's just less work for me to not bother rooting her phone and keeping it up to date manually.
In addition, with her phone not rooted, and the bootloader still locked, I feel better about her running whatever random games she plays.
I haven't had any notifications about that site being blocked in a while. The most recent email I found about it was from December, although I don't know if I might've deleted emails that came after that, but I think I purposefully kept only the most recent example.
I'll keep your information in mind if I ever experience anything like that coming from my devices (I always root them).