Ok so I browsed through the market and came across a few apps that I wanna install but not sure whether it will actually do more harm then help.
Memory Booster - Looks good, a lot of positive reviews.
Easy Battery Saver - 253,291 5 star reviews. Any good?
Kaspersky Mobile - I'm using Kaspersky for my PC and it's pretty awesome, can I assume the same for the mobile version?
thank you
I like easy battery saver it works but you have to set it up btw
I'd choose easy battery saver too
Enviado desde mi Galaxy Nexus usando Tapatalk 2
Is there something specific you are trying to achiev or are just generally looking for some apps?
I think the Memory Booster app is some kind of automated taskmanger/taskkiller, sounds a bit weird , can't just pull more memory out of no where.
You did not tell us what kind of phone you use?
There are actually two stances on this kind of topic, one saying one should not interfere with androids built in task control, the other saying one should.
Are you having memory problems/performance issues?
Give the battery saver a try, it's free so no harm done .
Deactivating certain connectivity periodicly and smart screen brightness can really save alot of juice.
I'm not a fan of the battery saver apps, but if you configure them to your personal needs, they can work really well. You will just have to see if that works for you in daily use.
Lets dissect the kaspersky app:
'ANTI-VIRUS' part:
Hm well, the android antivirus programs are not that good in preventing (in my opinion).
Apps on the market with malicious content get pulled quite quickly. So there is not that much risk of running into one when just downloading popular apps from the android market.
If you download apps from untrusted 3rd party sites, it probably will detect alot of the already known malicous ones (what are you doing on those sites the first place though ).
I'm a bit concerned about the 'Automatic, cloud-based scanning of downloaded apps', privacy concerns? I just glanced at it, so this is no profund answer.
How much resources and battery does it consume?
'CALL & SMS FILTER' is a nice feature, if you need it, do you? There are also more lightweight apps out there to do it, if you just need this feature.
'PRIVACY PROTECTION' if you have a lockscreen with pattern or pin, no one can look at your phones content anyways.
If you don't have a lockscreen on, why did you give your phone away or leave it lying around if you have something to hide.
Okay if you are in a relation and your better half expects your phone to be unlocked, it being an anti-virus app is a pretty good excuse when having to explain why an sms and call hiding app is on your phone...
Last but not least 'ANTI-THEFT PROTECTION', this is the feature i would like. Something like this should actually be prebuild into any android phone and accessable through ones google account, i.e. google.com/phonecontrol .
There are more apps who offer this service, i can't really compare them at the moment. So if this feature is what you want, check the competition.
Again i have not used the app, so this is just my outside view.
7€ is not the cheapest app, it is your choice.
Don't solely base your decision on my opinion, but lets wait for some more opinions from other users.
Ive tried battery saver in the past and massively prefer Juice Defender to it.
More set up options and tweaks to apply so you can have your data periodically turned on to check stuff like twitter, mail etc.
I normally take things with a grain of salt that I read on the ol' interweb, however I came across this article on Android Authority (which site I consider somewhat reliable) and it got me to wondering if the information could be true and factual. The article I'm talking about is:
http://www.androidauthority.com/battery-myths-688089/
A couple of sections have me really re-thinking my battery saving tactics. Such as this excerpt:
Myth: Save battery power by killing apps or using an app killer
Aaaaagghh! Stop it! Stop doing it; stop spreading this lie. App killers and their proponents are the homeopathy and anti-vaxxers of the Android world: they don’t actually help and they can possibly make things worse.
There was a stretch of a few months back in, like, 2009 when app killers actually made Android run smoother. Then Android got a lot smarter about how it managed its resources, and all app killers do is suck up the resources they are claiming to protect. They became unnecessary before they even got popular.
Even if you’re just haphazardly murdering apps that seem to be running in the background by force stopping them or swiping them out of the Recent Apps menu, you’re often draining more battery than you’re saving. For one thing, a lot of apps spring right back to life after you kill them, meaning you just spent more resources than if you just left it alone. For another, the biggest battery sucker across the board is your display. If you’re spending screen time, not to mention seconds of your finite human life, needlessly assassinating apps, then you’re playing a game of whack-a-mole that is only wasting your time and your smartphone’s battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now if the above is true, then I'm wasting time and battery juice using Greenify. Anyone care to ring in on this one??
And then there is this section that has me wondering...
Myth: Disabling services like Bluetooth and Location Services drastically improves battery life
This is another one of those rumors that is still sticking around because it actually used to be good advice. Wi-fi and Bluetooth used to latch onto your smartphone’s battery life like a vampire bat, but today they’re nowhere near so bloodthirsty. And location services are even leaner.
It’s true that disabling all these or going into airplane mode will save some battery life. However, we’re talking a very tiny sliver – like half an hour over the span of an entire day, so the gains are arguably not worth the trouble. Leave the services that you use on the regular running all you want. Your device is designed to handle it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And so, I come to you members with more experience than I, and ask for your input. Not so much asking for your opinion, but rather for your experience in the references above.
1. I've never used greenify and my SOT ranges from 4-6 hours, depending on rom and usage. I don't kill my apps also. Most of them are running in the background.
2. WiFi location scanning is always on. Bluetooth scanning is off. When I tried switching off wifi scanning, my phone used more juice to locate it's position via GPS.
In the (small) amount of time I spent within the Android community, I gathered that it's just better as is, as Android advances . I just leave the system on stock settings and I don't use any third party App freezer/ optimizer/ hibernator/ killler.
Alright then... Thanks much for the input and for sharing your experiences.
I think I'll freeze Greenify for now, and see how it goes.
Once upon a time, apps such as Greenify were quite useful. Background services and apps would run rampant doing whatever they liked. It was more or less the wild west when it came to things like that.
But starting with Marshmallow, Android really started cracking down on this kind of behavior and began providing the OS and developers with APIs to better manage background activity. With the addition of Doze in Nougat, I would argue that apps such as Greenify are now more or less obsolete.
If anything, a wakelock blocker may still come in handy (especially when dealing with Google Play Services), but some (most?) custom ROMs have modded Doze to remove the built-in exception that it has for Play Services, so even a wakelock blocker is unnecessary.
Remove everything related to Google. Profit.
Fatsodonkey said:
Remove everything related to Google. Profit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So,you mean remove GMS? Ah,sorry,no.I'd rather use a magisk module to force doze gms if it's draining battery.
Mr.Ak said:
So,you mean remove GMS? Ah,sorry,no.I'd rather use a magisk module to force doze gms if it's draining battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer the "Destroy Google" way.
Fatsodonkey said:
I prefer the "Destroy Google" way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you hate google so much(for whatever reason),why not stop using android then?
Mr.Ak said:
If you hate google so much(for whatever reason),why not stop using android then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't hate Google. I don't hate companies, but i believe that sometimes companies grow too big and have too much power.
I just hope that in the mobile space there will be a proper GNU/Linux phone.
With desktops things are quite nice nowadays.
Just watched the last 3 weeks of Click off the BBC. On one episode they were on about battery saving apps. Turns out the best one was the built in android battery saver. No app needed.
My wife and I have have an s8 and a Note 8. We love our phones, and we don't really like the new phones. However, Samsung has decided to end security updates this year on these models.
Are there other alternative ways to get security updates, so our data is not at risk?
If you're running on Pie I wouldn't worry.
My Note 10+ has had any updates in over a year.
No issues. I've run outdated Androids for years with no malware forced reloads.
React quickly though to any suspected malware; if you can't delete it, factory reset.
Be ready to reload at anytime as you should be anyway. Keep at least 2 redundant copies of all critical data on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other.
Most malware infections are the result of the user doing something they shouldn't do.
Just watch what you download (check the download folder regularly), be careful what you install, and use a cloud app like gmail for email.
Keep trash apps like FB, WhatsApp etc off the phone. Use Brave browser and install Karma Firewall (freeware with almost no battery usage).
I avoid using wifi always. There's also a long standing bluetooth hacking vulnerability in pre Q OSs... be aware of that.
Pre Pie OS's are suspectable to rootkits that require a reflash to exterminate.
Scan with Malwarebytes every week or so; it picked off 2 nasty trojan preloaders for me before they could be activated about a year ago.
Use online Virustotal to scan any apk or file you're not sure about.
blackhawk said:
If you're running on Pie I wouldn't worry.
My Note 10+ has had any updates in over a year.
No issues. I've run outdated Androids for years with no malware forced reloads.
React quickly though to any suspected malware; if you can't delete it, factory reset.
Be ready to reload at anytime as you should be anyway. Keep at least 2 redundant copies of all critical data on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other.
Most malware infections are the result of the user doing something they shouldn't do.
Just watch what you download (check the download folder regularly), be careful what you install, and use a cloud app like gmail for email.
Keep trash apps like FB, WhatsApp etc off the phone. Use Brave browser and install Karma Firewall (freeware with almost no battery usage).
I avoid using wifi always. There's also a long standing bluetooth hacking vulnerability in pre Q OSs... be aware of that.
Pre Pie OS's are suspectable to rootkits that require a reflash to exterminate.
Scan with Malwarebytes every week or so; it picked off 2 nasty trojan preloaders for me before they could be activated about a year ago.
Use online Virustotal to scan any apk or file you're not sure about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, you must have a wife who understands that. Trying to tell my wife not to click something because it is probably a virus is like telling a 3 year old they can't have the adult red juice.
Basically, what this is though, is confirming that at min. We need a phone for the wife, for the aforementioned reasons.
JackWorthing said:
So, you must have a wife who understands that. Trying to tell my wife not to click something because it is probably a virus is like telling a 3 year old they can't have the adult red juice.
Basically, what this is though, is confirming that at min. We need a phone for the wife, for the aforementioned reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was fortunate and didn't marry or unfortunate
She doing what old people do... threatened her with an iphone
That trojan preloader was a tricky little devil and manage to download it's self without a download notification. You really need to be alert.
Teach her to close that browser page rather than click the mystery box. Occasionally I even close the browser and clear the cache if it's really invasive. Rarely anything more than that; it doesn't seem to happen on Brave, more on the Samsung browser on iffy sites. If I can learn to navigate in the gutter, she can too.
You can do is look at her phone at the end of the day. Maybe get the paid version of Malwarebytes. Unfortunately it won't stop everything.
I have no recommendations as I think Android is in a flat spin, Android 11 is just wretched. Even if you get a phone running on 10 it will soon be updated to 11... unless you disable updates.
10 would be more secure but overlay apps don't run on it and it guts Karma Firewall.
JackWorthing said:
So, you must have a wife who understands that. Trying to tell my wife not to click something because it is probably a virus is like telling a 3 year old they can't have the adult red juice.
Basically, what this is though, is confirming that at min. We need a phone for the wife, for the aforementioned reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download this app and tell her to scan your device regularly with this antivirus. It's the best one I found on playstore. It also scans for any harmful files : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...BMA16BAgfEAE&usg=AOvVaw2ovEreBbhkoaiQCAgeyV81
And you too do the scams !!!!!
Arc android said:
Download this app and tell her to scan your device regularly with this antivirus. It's the best one I found on playstore. It also scans for any harmful files : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.protectstar.antispy&hl=en_US&gl=US&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dprotectstar&pcampaignid=APPU_1_OxGrYNnyOsfd9QOVxI-IBw&ved=2ahUKEwiZ_OS9pOHwAhXHbn0KHRXiA3EQ8oQBMA16BAgfEAE&usg=AOvVaw2ovEreBbhkoaiQCAgeyV81
And you too do the scams !!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There will always be new threats without definitions. It may help but the phone's user is the #1 security threat.
I don't even let Malwarebytes run in the background because all those apps eat battery with little to show for it. Android is relatively secure, even outdated versions unless you do...
blackhawk said:
There will always be new threats without definitions. It may help but the phone's user is the #1 security threat.
I don't even let Malwarebytes run in the background because all those apps eat battery with little to show for it. Android is relatively secure, even outdated versions unless you do...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you are right actually.
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
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.
Click to expand...
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!"
Click to expand...
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"
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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*
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Pcap droid app from the Google app store or download the apk from f-droid: it's a superb app.Here are some sample screenshots:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
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).