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
Related
Why is that if I install an application, but then decided I do not like it a small portion of my space is gone even after the uninstall and a run through with a registry clean-up software. Any way to get this fixed?
Well the best way to get this done would be to use an application that thoroughly cleans out all traces of any installed application from your device. Shortcuts, folders, customizations, Registry entries, skins, upgrades etc. Most uninstallers aren't able to get all that done. I use SK Tools and it works pretty effectively. Gives me all my space back
the main problem is that it doesn't delete some of the files from the /windows folder.
registry keys aren't space consuming (relatively speaking of course).
usually uninstalling an application DOES delete the created folder from /program files/ or wherever.. unless you've put your own files inside the folder and then you need to delete them, and the folder, by yourself.
yeah i deleted the files there too and even used sktools and such but the more space than before is taken.
well, some files are replaced in the windows folder which are necessary to other applications. since the uninstallation of an app can't bring back the old files, it won't delete the necessary files and if they're larger than the old ones.. it'll take some space.
so i guess there is nothing I could do then?
bugtoday said:
so i guess there is nothing I could do then?
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Click to collapse
Well! you could do it the hard way. Hard reset the device which will wipe out everything you loaded and install by hand (i.e. not restore from a backup) all the applications you like and want one by one. Obviously not something one would want to do after every trial install and de-install. But after some number of different apps have been tried out and rejected perhaps it is worth the pain.
is it a must when using the remove function in adb to do a wipe and factory reset. seems like that is the only way for it to show you have more memory.
pitmanr2003 said:
is it a must when using the remove function in adb to do a wipe and factory reset. seems like that is the only way for it to show you have more memory.
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Click to collapse
Not really.
Once you remove the app from /system/app, there are some other places that may have data stored, but usually (unless it's something like Market or Browser), that data is relatively small. So small in fact that the benefit of leaving it there outweighs any possible gain from reclaiming the storage. Let's say in the future you want to re-install an app (or you have to because something on the phone no longer works), and you want to keep the settings you had originally (like the homescreen layouts in Rosie). Just copy the app back to /system/app and all your cached data is still on the phone, on the next reboot it's like you never removed the app.
However, if you really want to free up the extra 5-100k, look in the subdirectories under /data for directories that look like [email protected]@application.package.name.apk and rm -r those directories. Be very careful that you don't delete the wrong things. I like EStrong File Explorer myself because you can enable root functions and just click->delete instead of having to try to ls, copy paste, blah blah blah.
I'm trying to remove some of the bloatware from my rooted OTA GB 2.3.6. I'm using Root Explorer and deleting select apk's and their odex file from the system/app directory. However there is one app called Rhapsody that I haven't got all the pieces, because the Rhapsody process keeps showing up in my running services list after I reboot. Both the apk and the odex file have been deleted. Anyone know what other file(s) I missed that are connected with Rhapsody?
Also, there is this rather annoying "media scanner" that runs every time that I boot my phone. Is this a must have, or can I delete it? It adds to my boot time, and if it doesn't have to be there, I want to get rid of it. And if I can delete it, what is the name of the app?
Lexus One said:
I'm trying to remove some of the bloatware from my rooted OTA GB 2.3.6. I'm using Root Explorer and deleting select apk's and their odex file from the system/app directory. However there is one app called Rhapsody that I haven't got all the pieces, because the Rhapsody process keeps showing up in my running services list after I reboot. Both the apk and the odex file have been deleted. Anyone know what other file(s) I missed that are connected with Rhapsody?
Also, there is this rather annoying "media scanner" that runs every time that I boot my phone. Is this a must have, or can I delete it? It adds to my boot time, and if it doesn't have to be there, I want to get rid of it. And if I can delete it, what is the name of the app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in root explorer you must delete the apk from /system/app and the associated data folder in /data/data then do a search of the whole system for 'rhapsody' as there might be little fragments left in dbdata or dalvikcache folders just delete anything with rhapsody in the name... as for the media scanning, there is a work around for this which I believe is putting a file named '.nomedia' in whatever folder you want excluded from the scan (music or pictures for instance), if you want no scanning at all put on root of SD card and that should stop it however this means you will have manually search/scan for anything you're looking for because that file will tell all apps trying to access what you're blocking that there's nothing there
blazing through on my Acer A500 via XDA app
The Media Scanner feeds Gallery and possibly the default music player. I don't think it is something you can get rid of, but I could be wrong.
There is an app called Super Manager that makes it very easy to mark folders as "noscan". I use it so all of my ebooks don't show up in the gallery.
I didn't know about the additional related app files being in the data/data. What might be the repercussions if I miss cleaning up all of them? Do they just take up memory space, or are they being executed by the system, even if the apk and odex files are gone?
As for the media scanner...I take it this is a critical system function? Is it an indexer? If the ONLY way around it is the ".nomedia" trick...and there are obvious disadvantages to using this method, then perhaps it is just best to put up with the extra boot time.
UPDATE: Just ran "Rescan Media Root" from the Market. It stops the media scan from occurring. And you can re-enable it at any time by running this app.
I also got Rhapsody stopped by searching and deleting the rest of the associated files. Thanks for the help guys!
I'm a little late here, but Rescan Media works fine to stop the scanner, and Titanium Backup has a "Chuck Norris" mode of killing bloatware.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using xda premium
Rescan media Root is what I use
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
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...).
I saw this on my device, and only found little info/threads, with almost zero content/analysis. Aparently the kindle app leaves a bunch of random files around. And since the prefix is "RCE" i am a little paranoid, since that usually means "Remote code execution" and is usually associated with exploits
Files:
CS_JIT_Animation.mp4
jit_cs_positive_preview.png
rce_plugin_strings_resource_cs_CZ.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_de_DE.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_en_US.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_es_ES.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_fr_FR.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_it_IT.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_ja_JP.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_nl_NL.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_pt_BR.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_v2_TYPO_TEST.json
rce_plugin_strings_resource_zh_CN.json.min
All Attached in a zip created by the android native file manager.
Current places mentioning this
https://forums.oneplus.com/threads/unkown-files-in-download.948860/
https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xper...erious-Files-in-Downloads-Folder/td-p/1353185
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-xz1/help/phone-mysterious-files-download-folder-t3871763
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMmx5tRm0jM (one of the files is a video, someone uploaded to youtube ...and to https://gfycat.com/generouspinkcolt
How to make those files appear for you:
Install kindle from the google app store
if you already have it installed, or want to see the files again after you deleted, Stop the app and delete all storage. (nothing will be lost, this app syncs everything and some more to the amazon servers)
perform the first Sync on kindle app
Now, insert a pen drive and open the native android File Mananger and look at the local Download folder
Files are somewhat hidden:
If you look into the download folder with any other app (I tried, blackberry file manager, oi file manager, Ghost Commander, and Termux --after enabling the storage setup)
Files probably have a weird attribute or ownership... but the native android file manager does not show anything other than creation date! And every single file operation (copy, move, compress) reset the information to "regular user, creation time set to now". So either I see them on the Native File Manager, without any information available, or I do not see the files until I destroy the information.
Android version is not important (seems to happen on several versions) and has been happening for a while (First mention seems to be Nov2018)
Anyone have any idea what this is? I know I will probably reverse eng the kindle app at some point, wast a bunch of time, and realize it is just some dumb amateur library badly implemented by amazon... or maybe not. I think at this point I am most curious as to how the app "hides" the files from most everything.