Database Info

REMOTE ACCESS TO MY PHONE VIA SNAP CHAT / WHATSAPP

I have been using galaxy devices after my iPhone got hacked and it was a relief since then but till now only. The threat i am going to put forth is very complicated yet true and it exists in both of my galaxy devices i.e Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Snapdragon) as well as Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Snapdragon).
THE PROBLEM:
My both Samsung phones are remotely accessed by someone. Everything i do on screen is being monitored by someone as well as the camera and microphone are being controlled. I know this because my earlier phones(Apple iPhone 6 and VivoY91c) used to be hacked and the hacker would tell me everything i do on screen, every person i chat with, every site i visit, everything that i do on my phone was being monitored. And now same is the case with Samsung. Nothing is private. I even tried to install an app called "screensings" but it was also bypassed very soon.
THE SYMPTOMS:
Strangely, I do not have any symptoms like battery drain, ads, unknown apps or anything of that nature. My phone location changes to "Redkino, Russia" it seems to me by all aspects that I am in Russia. my weather, the ads on Youtube, the people nearby me in apps, friend suggestions on facebook and snapchat. It feels like this phone is physically in Russia. From weather to apps to everything. Even if i see things for sale of OLX it shows Russian items.
THE PROCESS:
As far as I noticed this happens through any app that runs on one device at a time i.e KIK , What's app, Snapchat, Say HI, etc NOT through apps like facebook or twitter or instagram that can run at more than a device at a time. The experts can relate later what it means may be at the end of reading this narrative. Every phone i change , my whats app number remains the same and as soon as i install whats app in new phone or SayHi or Snapchat ID. As soon as i activate my account within an hour or two my phone gets to Russia. As i searched the hacker attaches some trojan through these apps that can be used in device at a time and that trojan drops payloads. The payload gets root access and after that my phone is being monitored and controlled.
MY EFFORTS:
I started with a normal restart. Did not work. I factory reset my phone. It did not work. I flashed the firmware with new custom rom. Didn't work for me. I finally managed to extract the PIT file of my stock firmware and RE-PARTIONED and NAND ERASED my phone and then installed new firmware. IT WORKED. Which indicated that the malware had reached to system partition. (WHCIH IS WHY I AM MAKING THIS COMPLAINT) my phone was back to normal i used it for long like months and then one day again i had the same issue. So i did the same i re-partioned and NAND earsed my phone. But now it will NOT work any longer. I do not know where is the malware hiding itself now. ? Do i have to change the board of my phone to get rid of it or do i have to change my device? i even flashed verizon firmware on my sprint phone so that may be it will kill the malware but it also did not work. Soon after new firmware my phone is ok as long as it is not connceted to internet / WIFI as soon as its connected it gets to Russian like within 5-8 hrs (after firmware flashing). 5-10 mins after(After factory reset) . I have to change both of my devices for now. But i Hope and pray that Samsung fixes it soon. Something is getting into the read only system and then after its gotten there Samsung's owns security system is protecting it from deletion.
ATTACHMENTS:
My attachments show clearly that i am at KDA KOHAT PK and REDKINO RUSSIA at the same time which is not possible. I even get the location of Russia house where my samsung devices are being monitored or cloned. This is the only sign or symptom but the problem is there for sure as i the whoever the hacker is selling my info is after me and everything i do on my phone is reaching him as it is as if she is watching me right from behind my shoulder. Please look into the matter and find out where lies the vulnerability from where a malware can access phone through an app over wifi and hides in system partition that is immue to factroy reset and afterwards some place where its immue to even flasing firmware NAND erase and re-parition.

I think it would have occurred to you after having both an Apple and an Android hacked that the problem is most likely you.
Or perhaps you have Dr No's grandson for a mortal enemy.
A social butterfly with all kinds of messaging apps running (none that I leave run on my phone), what could go wrong?
More than likely it's something you downloaded or loaded...
If the OS you flashed is earlier then Pie it's vulnerable to that type of attack.
A custom rom... built by who?
Here's the kicker; did the malware(s) slip by you onto all your data backups?

blackhawk said:
I think it would have occurred to you after having both an Apple and an Android hacked that the problem is most likely you.
Or perhaps you have Dr No's grandson for a mortal enemy.
A social butterfly with all kinds of messaging apps running (none that I leave run on my phone), what could go wrong?
More than likely it's something you downloaded or loaded...
If the OS you flashed is earlier then Pie it's vulnerable to that type of attack.
A custom rom... built by who?
Here's the kicker; did the malware(s) slip by you onto all your data backups?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes , my ex she is after me no matter how many phones i change as soon as i log in to my snap chat or whats app my phone gets hacked. the malware then makes it way to the bootloader earlier a firmware with re partition would do the job but now that is not working . soon after that like an hour or so my phone goes to russia. i am thinking to switch back to new iphone may be it will solve the hacking issue for me or andriod new device like samsung galaxy a32. what do u suggest. i am all fed up and exhausted.

waqassikander said:
Yes , my ex she is after me no matter how many phones i change as soon as i log in to my snap chat or whats app my phone gets hacked. the malware then makes it way to the bootloader earlier a firmware with re partition would do the job but now that is not working . soon after that like an hour or so my phone goes to russia. i am thinking to switch back to new iphone may be it will solve the hacking issue for me or andriod new device like samsung galaxy a32. what do u suggest. i am all fed up and exhausted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditch the social apps... for starters.
People use to meet in the streets; the streets are fields that never die.

Why didn't my apps install on my new U11+ ?

I just bought a U11+ as an upgrade to my U11 and am configuring it, which is taking longer than I expected because neither of the two backups I did (htc's and Backup Your Mobile) installed most of the apps (or their data). Also, I've had two System updates in the last two days.
I got my custom background, the Keep Notes app (plus its data) and Facebook; that's pretty much it.
What did I overlook?
Oh, yeah... I cannot find a setting to keep the display on when powered. Anyone know how to do that?

If you did a jump to a new OS version or device that may be why.
If you did any major firmware updates on the new device, it's factory reset time.
Otherwise clear the system cache.
Manually loading them may be your only option.
Welcome to the fking planet

blackhawk said:
If you did a jump to a new OS version or device that may be why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That occurred to me when I (finally) checked the OS version and saw that it was 8.
I've been getting update notices for the last two days and the most recent one (the third) was the Android 9 OS (update # 2.19.401.2). Where can I check on official updates so I can get an idea when this will stop (because manually looking for updates this morning got me nothing, then I saw the update prompt a couple hours later).
Updated to 9, rebooted and verified that Google Drive is connected, but I'm still not getting Backup & Restore to work. Will have to experiment with the others.

Jeff in 92833 said:
That occurred to me when I (finally) checked the OS version and saw that it was 8.
I've been getting update notices for the last two days and the most recent one (the third) was the Android 9 OS (update # 2.19.401.2). Where can I check on official updates so I can get an idea when this will stop (because manually looking for updates this morning got me nothing, then I saw the update prompt a couple hours later).
Updated to 9, rebooted and verified that Google Drive is connected, but I'm still not getting Backup & Restore to work. Will have to experiment with the others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I learned long ago that if your OS is fast, stable and fulfilling its mission, let it be.
I've been on Pie for 2 years, my last reload was 1.5 years ago, still fast and stable with minimum maintenance. What's not to like?
Unless you start screwing with the firmware and bring in new issues that need fixed.
Security generally isn't an issue unless you do something stupid.
There's no saving dumb bunnies... be careful what you load and download.

blackhawk said:
If you did a jump to a new OS version or device that may be why.
If you did any major firmware updates on the new device, it's factory reset time.
Otherwise clear the system cache.
Manually loading them may be your only option.
Welcome to the fking planet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did a Factory Reset (but it stayed Android 9). I did this because I had 'restored' a lot of files from Backup Your Mobile's (aka BYM) work on my U11.
Two things are bothering me:
1) The HTC Transfer Tool is not working this time (it transfers the PIN Code, but never gets to CONFIRM. After repeated attempts following reboots, etc., I have noticed that the PIN Code sometimes flickers off and back on again; what's up with that?).
2) BYM transferred my SMS and MMS to my U11+, but clicking on a text message that includes an MMS just makes the message thread avatar flicker and stay on the message thread listing (not even a flicker of the thread is displayed).

You mean screen lock codes?
First I don't password lock devices. You're the most likely one to end up getting locked out.
If you do use one I wouldn't attempt to back it up and transfer it. If it gets corrupted what follows won't be fun.
Pie's a good OS.
Clearing the system cache never hurts to try when experiencing glitches.

blackhawk said:
You mean screen lock codes?
First I don't password lock devices. You're the most likely one to end up getting locked out.
If you do use one I wouldn't attempt to back it up and transfer it. If it gets corrupted what follows won't be fun.
Pie's a good OS.
Clearing the system cache never hurts to try when experiencing glitches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I did not mean screen lock codes. The HTC Transfer utility worked the first time I tried it before the Factory Reset, but it's not working now. The PIN Code is displayed on the source phone, but it doesn't activate the confirmation button to do the transfer.
I have since learned that many of the apps that were copied over via Google Play's utility also transferred the data, but not all the apps were transferred.
More research to be done, it seems.

Jeff in 92833 said:
No, I did not mean screen lock codes. The HTC Transfer utility worked the first time I tried it before the Factory Reset, but it's not working now. The PIN Code is displayed on the source phone, but it doesn't activate the confirmation button to do the transfer.
I have since learned that many of the apps that were copied over via Google Play's utility also transferred the data, but not all the apps were transferred.
More research to be done, it seems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad... I use Google search a lot and it doesn't need to be that specific model or OS version most times. Many of the issues are long standing. I even use solutions for other manufacturers models. Whatever comes in handy.
And/or just play with it until I work it out.
I haven't used that app. If you upgraded the firmware or are transferring data from another device these kind apps can screw up especially with app settings.
If you're doing a factory reset because of an issue or a crash they can inadvertently reload the root cause of the issue.
It's nice to save the homescreen, theme, icon setting on a reload using these though. Most apps I hand reload/configure or use the app's backup setting file like with Poweramp or DIGI Clock which are very intensive to set from scratch.
Critical data I save in a master backup folder(s) as files. Be ready to reload at any time as most crashes while rare give little or no warning. Redundantly backup critical data to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.
Most times a factory reset is to give the device a clean slate. Looking over app settings while setting them up helps to spot things you may have previously missed. It helps a lot to be familiar with the nuts and bolts at the user interface level. Many times when troubleshooting this is where the answers lurk.
I consider my first load or two on a new phone trail runs. After which it's pretty well sorted out for a clean load. I do the same on PCs. Android's are very forgiving but poorly written apps or the user can still skew hidden user settings that are hard to find/access on a stock device. A stable, fast load is a pleasure to use and will run well for a long time with only simple maintenance on a stock Android.

Question Pair GW4 Watch To Phone Without Reset...

So I know there's a method for pairing Wear OS watches running 2.0 through ADB with the Google Wear OS app.
Does the same apply for Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Wearable App? I really don't want to go through the configuration and sideloading of all these apps again ... That's what I get for trying to do too much with ADB and experimenting .

Not that ive found.....its annoying as hell, i have a ticket in with Samsung over it, Lots of shouting at them for selling me a $500 watch that they then seem to think they can tell me how to use. I havent finished shouting at them by a long shot. Because i test ROM's you can imagine how many hours their bs costs me....
My previous watch the Active 2 was simplish, you just set the Android ID to the same as previous install...
Niether that or the ADB method posted for earlier Wear OS works...

Do you mean this method?
Because if this doesn't work, I have a major problem, since I'm replacing roms quite often.
How to Pair Android Wear Watches to New Phones without Factory Resetting
A tutorial on how to pair Android Wear smartwatches to a new phone without factory resetting. Also useful if you flash a custom ROM and don't want to reset!
www.xda-developers.com

munky-head said:
Do you mean this method?
Because if this doesn't work, I have a major problem, since I'm replacing roms quite often.
How to Pair Android Wear Watches to New Phones without Factory Resetting
A tutorial on how to pair Android Wear smartwatches to a new phone without factory resetting. Also useful if you flash a custom ROM and don't want to reset!
www.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it dosent work ;P

So this is the thing you were referring to. Good to know. I was planning on switching roms over the weekend, but I think I'll wait for a bit now.

munky-head said:
So this is the thing you were referring to. Good to know. I was planning on switching roms over the weekend, but I think I'll wait for a bit now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt Samsung will do something about it ; ) they are out of their mind! For example they block blood pressure on non samsung phone so good that on some samsung phones it doesn't work too and they region lock the watch so when you have a phone from different region you can't connect the watch at least easily
Maybe they think if they block everything on everything they will sell some more blocked **** you know because security!

Yesterday I tried pulling an adb backup (adb backup -all or something) and ended up with a ~60MB file.
Has any of you tried this method for backing up and restoring a backup? Might not save the need to reset and pair again, but can save some time when reinstalling.
Haven't tried it myself, just throwing it out there.

munky-head said:
Yesterday I tried pulling an adb backup (adb backup -all or something) and ended up with a ~60MB file.
Has any of you tried this method for backing up and restoring a backup? Might not save the need to reset and pair again, but can save some time when reinstalling.
Haven't tried it myself, just throwing it out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How it went in the end? If successfully, can you briefly describe the steps? I'll do my own research based on those, thanks

BigRulaZ said:
How it went in the end? If successfully, can you briefly describe the steps? I'll do my own research based on those, thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In a nutshell, it didn't work.
I pulled a backup, but no command would restore the apps.
This is so frustrating! I experiment with ROMs and the fact that that I have to start out fresh each time really makes me think of switching back to TicWatch.

munky-head said:
In a nutshell, it didn't work.
I pulled a backup, but no command would restore the apps.
This is so frustrating! I experiment with ROMs and the fact that that I have to start out fresh each time really makes me think of switching back to TicWatch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speaking of switching back to TicWatch, you're not wrong. The only feature that I will miss would be the ECG capability (which also is broken, no QTc value calculation, etc)

berni502 said:
I doubt Samsung will do something about it ; ) they are out of their mind! For example they block blood pressure on non samsung phone so good that on some samsung phones it doesn't work too and they region lock the watch so when you have a phone from different region you can't connect the watch at least easily
Maybe they think if they block everything on everything they will sell some more blocked **** you know because security!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Part of this is that blood pressure has to be approved by different authorities in different places. In the US, the FDA has not approved it.
Also, the stupid resetting thing appears to be a Wear OS 3 issue. Samsung never did that with Tizen. Google seems to have screwed the pooch on this one.

The thing about being unable to pair them once they lose connection is quite a big issue.
My watch and phone has just unpaired a few days ago, and I didn't do any system mods or anything for that to happens. If I try manual pairing with bluetooth it does not work.
I'm not friend of backups, since sometimes that process import some errors among system updates. So I normally do clean installings.
I tried that procedure removing google services via adb and wifi connection but de watch didn't connect in the end. And even if it connected it seems that some apps such as google Pay etc would give problems and would require to be reinstalled again.
On top of that I'm not quite sure but as I have the LTE version I think I will have to ask to my carrier to send me a new e-sim in order to connect the watch again, since I guess they are just one use.
So quite a big problem.

The really crummy part of it all, 1) the annoying tutorial EVERY DAMN TIME. although, as of the latest update (besides a reset a few days ago, oddly enough) it hasn't made me go through it. 2) the wearable app REQUIRING samsung internet (not beta) to be installed and default as browser while signing in and through the entire setup process. these are just to name a few things.

Android 12 - first impressions

I was upgraded today by OnePlus. These are my thoughts. There are questions in here too - if anyone has answers, that would be nice.
1. I've lost Wifi calling - which was enabled in Android 11 using an old log kit (instructions in another post on here). If anyone knows how I can do it now, I would appreciate it.
2. Under Android 11, when I started the Kindle app, the display turned to black and white. We seem to have lost that now. Anyone know how to get it back?
3. The lock screen shows "VIew Timely updates ..." with 'tap to learn more' underneath it. But when I tap, nothing happens (obviously, because I have to use my fingerprint to unlock). When I do unlock it, nothing happens. Anyone know what this actually is?
4. The screen seems more vivid and the text is chunkier. It's OK and I can probably get used to it.
5. All my apps seem to work OK.
6. The default phone app loses special characters. As an example, I have a saved contact called 'Cancel Divert' with a phone number of ##21#. Under Android 11, if I phoned 2262, it would bring up 'Cancel Divert' as ##21# which would (as the name suggests) cancel the phone divert. Under Android 12, when I type 2262, it brings up Cancel Divert as 21 (note, no hashes). I;ve replaced it with the Google phone app and that has fixed the issue,
If I'd know all the above, I wouldn't have bothered. But I don't think I can revert back without losing everything (unless someone knows different).
Alan

Yeah it seems to be fubar on many different devices. I'm still running on Android 9 and 10, no intentions of upgrading.
I would considered a rollback even if it costs a reload. Very little to gain with 12, a lot to lose if 11 is/was running well.
Regardless of how you end up handling it... backup all critical data redundantly on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.

blackhawk said:
Yeah it seems to be fubar on many different devices. I'm still running on Android 9 and 10, no intentions of upgrading.
I would considered a rollback even if it costs a reload. Very little to gain with 12, a lot to lose if 11 is/was running well.
Regardless of how you end up handling it... backup all critical data redundantly on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got nothing on there that isn't already backed up to at least 3 places. It's just a pain having to reinstall all the apps. So, I'll leave it as is for now,

I've lost WiFi calling too. Very frustrating. Just had a completely pointless conversation with tech support who assured me I can rollback without losing data. Not convinced..will need to investigate further. Unless someone finds a way to reenable WiFi calling

Armadillo2 said:
I've lost WiFi calling too. Very frustrating. Just had a completely pointless conversation with tech support who assured me I can rollback without losing data. Not convinced..will need to investigate further. Unless someone finds a way to reenable WiFi calling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assume you will need to reload. I haven't reloaded in over 2 years but if this load crashes/burns today, I'm ready to reload.
Eventually it will happen.
Have everything you need to do a complete reload in place, ready to go.
Have a plan.
2 back to back reloads convinced me to think it through and streamline the process on my stock N10+. Made loading the second I bought a snap. Still an involved process but not near as bad as before.

Frustrated Causual User With New Device

I couldn't find this online, or it seems the method no longer applies, and I couldn't get it to appear in a search here.
The last time I upgraded was from an S9 to the Note 20 Ultra. When I did, it asked me if I wanted to copy from the old phone, and everything was moved over, including all of the apps. The only things missing were the older texts from my side and some of the data inside some apps.
This time is used Smart Switch, and it only transferred data and a few of the apps. It was better before!
Is there a way to get everything or almost everything moved over?
I just want to get switched over quickly.
Thanks!

A clean load is best for stock phones. Do it right the first time...
SmartSwitch can screw up bad. A different device and OS version can cause issues. Potential data loss is also a possibility.
Never use SmartSwitch as the only backup... keep at least 2 copies on hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.
Copy/paste critical data, then verify size, file count and if readable. If you have an SD card it should already be there on the old phone.
Otherwise develop a plan/organize your data so you can reload as quickly, accurately and painlessly as possible with zero critical data loss.
After 2 back to back boot loops in 3 days I learned that lesson

Clean Load? Do you mean don't use SmartSwitch, and just set up the new phone manually?
Maybe this device is too different for SW to work? Are there any alternatives?

Myk_Myk said:
Clean Load? Do you mean don't use SmartSwitch, and just set up the new phone manually?
Maybe this device is too different for SW to work? Are there any alternatives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeap. Always the best option. A good load can last for years if you don't do firmware upgrades/updates. This stock Note 10+'s load will be 3 yo this June, still fast, very stable with minimal maintenance. Still running on Android 9. Android loads can be very long lived, a great OS.
A clean load means when you do find issues (and you will) you won't be wondering if you imported the problem with SmartSwitch. The last thing you want to do is a factory reset because the issue is likely to reoccur*. Instead find the root cause. Knowing you have a good base load helps with troubleshooting.
If SmartSwitch screws it up a factory reset maybe the only realistic solution. It may be lagging, system instability or subtle issues. My second N10+ may need this done because I inadvertently used more SmartSwitch options than I had wanted. So are the issues from SmartSwitch or because of Android 10? Only one way to know for sure... You get the idea.
*a boot loop or malware that can't be eradicated are the exceptions. With a boot loop you still need to track down the root cause, usually a buggy 3rd party app.