I have a (4GB) Tronsmart TS7 (some times known as a Alps Glacier TS7). It's a Chinese MTK6589 based phone running Android 4.2 purchased from geekbuying.
For the most part the device is stock, there are next to no pre-installed apps apart from the usual, and the only additional apps I have installed are: Playstation, Steam, ColorNote, Shuttle+, Root Explorer DI Radio, Chrome & Gmail
The problem I have is that there are apps appearing on the device that I am not installing. So far it has been the same set of apps that appear:
Mobo Market
UC Browser
TrustGo Security
DU Battery Saver
337 Game Master
GameCenter
(there may be more)
These apps don't start appearing right after a factory reset, but start to arrive 1-2weeks later. They also seem to be packaged similarly; when I say packaged I mean opening them seems to prompt with the same menu & style (accept licence etc) before it gets to the main app. Also, after you open the app from the app drawer it then creates an icon on the desktop. Maybe opening it actually does the installing?
The apps themselves seem to be legit.
I have factory reset the device (twice), and changed my Google password but they are still appearing. They don't show up in my Play store history so they must be coming from elsewhere.
My main concern is that if it is downloading things without my permission, what might it be uploading ? Not to mention wasting my 3g data etc.
So I have a few questions:
Should I be (really) worried?
Is there a way to monitor this? eg connect to a wifi hotspot and packet capture the network traffic? or maybe use a process monitor (the ones I've tried so far haven't shown anything) to see if there is some sort of script in the background?
Can it be stopped?
Thanks in advance, I would be interested to know if anyone else has/had this problem?
I have the same problem.
I haven't tried flashing some other ROM yet, but I guess that is the only way to get it to stop installing those things.
Have you actually found any other roms to install?
For anybody's information:
You may have noticed how you always end up with a 'Tronsmart.mp4' video file appearing in your gallery app. This is damn annoying since it appears twice, once on the internal and once on the external SD card. There is an '\system\app\CopyTest.apk' file which creates both of these. Should be safe to delete it and thus prevent the file(s) appearing
I have actually decompiled this apk. It works as a service that runs when MEDIA_UNMOUNTED or MEDIA_MOUNTED is invoked, and does absolutely nothing else.
I have the same problem, those random apps installing and the video always in my gallery. I have managed to stop tge apps by using a firewall and allowing only my apps that i want to use the internet. I havent found a solution though to fix the problem. Probably tronsmart is spamming its customers...
mariosm1cy said:
I have managed to stop tge apps by using a firewall and allowing only my apps that i want to use the internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What Firewall did you use? I might be able to use something like that to pinpoint the app that's causing this.
Sory for the late reply. I am usin "android firewall" free from google play store.
USB debugging disabled stopped it on mine
edit: not that easy, wasn't enough. made some cleanup by disabing/removing some system apps. seems to work so far although there are still some strange events like superuser crashing and right after that system downloader.apk reappearing. haven't seen any other junk coming back
these are the apk's i removed:
systemupdateassistant
systemdownloader
omacp
mtkbt
midtest
galaxy4
fusedlocation
engineermode
engineermodesim
cds_info
basicdreams.
Hello guys, i have a problem as reported above with 2 bloatware apps on my android phone: Gfirewall and Gsearch.
My phone model is UBTEL U8 (MTK model, china phone) and i'm running Android 4.2.2 ROOTED. I have no custom rom/firmware installed.
These 2 apps appeared magically about 2/3 months ago, and i thought they were safe beacuse of Google logo and name. Nothing happened in these months except for some phone crashes and restarts, but 2 days ago a banner ad appeared in my home screen at phone restart and/or phone unlock. I use AdAway (similar to AdBlock) to disable ALL TYPES of banner, ads and related on my phone, browser and apps. When i went to AdAway i noticed that was disabled: i enabled it again and restarted the phone.. but banner ads still showing.. so i went again in AdAway and it was disabled.. again!
I have a similar problem with 3G/H connection with Vodafone. Everytime i disable internet connection, it gets activated again in 1 minute max.. so i can't disable internet.. never!
I removed these 2 bloatware apps today and fortunatly they didn't show up again or get reinstalled.. ads and AdAway blocks are disappeared. I started a lot of antivirus controls with Avira and nothing showed up.. so i thought i was fine, BUT the internet problem persists.. i can't disable internet everytime i want. Someone of you could help me to solve this problem? I hope there is an alternative method to solve this without format/reset the phone!
I have the same problem with Gfirewall and Gsearch in my STAR N9800
Same full screen banner ad in my home screen.
In my phone there is Trend Micro Worry Free Business Security Services as antivirus, but nothing was found after a full scan.
If I find something new, I'll write here
user064 said:
I have the same problem with Gfirewall and Gsearch in my STAR N9800
Same full screen banner ad in my home screen.
In my phone there is Trend Micro Worry Free Business Security Services as antivirus, but nothing was found after a full scan.
If I find something new, I'll write here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello! I solved with hard reset.. if you want to try i suggest you to use titanium backup for your safe apps, so you'll not lose anything
MatthewTaylor92 said:
Hello! I solved with hard reset.. if you want to try i suggest you to use titanium backup for your safe apps, so you'll not lose anything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am facing the same issues, I do not think a hard reset will solve the problem, these two apps are embedded in the firmware, they lie dormant for a while then kick in, after a while, about 3months after purchase.
I have tried uninstalling & they just re-install, if you phone is rooted, you can hybernate them with ''App Quarantine''
I am struggling to deal with them, as my phone is not currently rooted.
FYI: CM security now shows Gsearch as a virus.
Any solutions please??
Cheers Martin
martinzx13 said:
I am facing the same issues, I do not think a hard reset will solve the problem, these two apps are embedded in the firmware, they lie dormant for a while then kick in, after a while, about 3months after purchase.
I have tried uninstalling & they just re-install, if you phone is rooted, you can hybernate them with ''App Quarantine''
I am struggling to deal with them, as my phone is not currently rooted.
FYI: CM security now shows Gsearch as a virus.
Any solutions please??
Cheers Martin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
remove them after rooting your phone!!! seems soo unimaginable that they are embedded in your rom :/
pushkardua said:
remove them after rooting your phone!!! seems soo unimaginable that they are embedded in your rom :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you are very likely to be correct, I was kinda hoping, for a solution without rooting? Any ideas? Anyone?
Cheers Martin :angel::angel:
Same problem , rooted phone and uninstalled gsearch and gfirewall but in one or two days they auto-reinstall
Play Store
There is a app in the rom called Play Store (Not Google Play Store!) and Opera Service
Remove those apps from the rom to prevent advertisements at screen unlocking.
To remove Play Store and Opera service your phone needs to be rooted (use Titanium backup fi). You can check this by using a firewall like droidwall.
If you can't root your device:
Use a firewall like mobiwol if your device is not rooted (is creates an internal vpn where it can filter your traffic).
Suspicious files found running at background
I have the same problem with the two files reinstalling by itself after I delete them. I have a Chinese made smartphone Tronsmart PS7 running Android 4.2.2 rooted. After digging deeper into the files running at the background, I noticed there are files that have complete access to all the privilege rights in my phone other than android system, they are android.cube, AdupsFotaReboot, RebootAndWriteSys and Common Data Service. I have tried to force these files to stop and it seems the problem is solved, Anyone has any ideas what these 4 files are for?
I don't think to do any hard reset, if these are hard coded in ROM, this is not a stable solution
IMHO there are only two exit ways:
1) do a virus submission request
I've done this request 1 minute ago.
2) flash the device with another ROM (4.2.2 is getting older, anyway...)
You can see the manifests of Gsearch and Gfirewall, are identical:
Not so good news...
Hi all,
in my case, I found a solution. Once MTKDroidTools used to get root on the phone (root only, nothing else), I pressed the button "Delete China" and the application has removed the files from the "files_for_delete.txt" list. After this, the problems are over !!!
Another way to do this with the phone already rooted, you do it manually, and you can follow the steps of:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=44455669
or
http://electricheatingcosts.com/removing-chinese-smartphone-spyware/
Best regards.
No more Gsearch and Gfirewall
I had the same problem with my Chinese new teca n9900 and I found the same apps on my phone that you mentioned. I force stopped android.cube, AdupsFotaReboot, Common Data Service, and RebootandWriteSys in app manager in the setting and now Gfirewall and Gsearch stopped automatically installing. I can't seem to enable them back to restart even after I reboot the phone except for "android.cube" that app will restart after I reboot the phone which may be the app causing them to reinstall. I'm not sure what exactly these apps do but my phone seems to work perfectly without them running. Thank you.
Pete636 said:
I had the same problem with my Chinese new teca n9900 and I found the same apps on my phone that you mentioned. I force stopped android.cube, AdupsFotaReboot, Common Data Service, and RebootandWriteSys in app manager in the setting and now Gfirewall and Gsearch stopped automatically installing. I can't seem to enable them back to restart even after I reboot the phone except for "android.cube" that app will restart after I reboot the phone which may be the app causing them to reinstall. I'm not sure what exactly these apps do but my phone seems to work perfectly without them running. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems like now i don't have Gfirewall anymore but Gsearch got reinstalled and i've got an add displayed again so this solution doesn't really work
uninstall gsearch en gfirewall.
I had the same troubles with my phone (elephone P8). First I stopped the software, then I uninstalled it. So far so good.. Did'nt get popupsuntill now..
Succes..
Arthur
Netherlands
MatthewTaylor92 said:
Hello guys, i have a problem as reported above with 2 bloatware apps on my android phone: Gfirewall and Gsearch.
My phone model is UBTEL U8 (MTK model, china phone) and i'm running Android 4.2.2 ROOTED. I have no custom rom/firmware installed.
These 2 apps appeared magically about 2/3 months ago, and i thought they were safe beacuse of Google logo and name. Nothing happened in these months except for some phone crashes and restarts, but 2 days ago a banner ad appeared in my home screen at phone restart and/or phone unlock. I use AdAway (similar to AdBlock) to disable ALL TYPES of banner, ads and related on my phone, browser and apps. When i went to AdAway i noticed that was disabled: i enabled it again and restarted the phone.. but banner ads still showing.. so i went again in AdAway and it was disabled.. again!
I have a similar problem with 3G/H connection with Vodafone. Everytime i disable internet connection, it gets activated again in 1 minute max.. so i can't disable internet.. never!
I removed these 2 bloatware apps today and fortunatly they didn't show up again or get reinstalled.. ads and AdAway blocks are disappeared. I started a lot of antivirus controls with Avira and nothing showed up.. so i thought i was fine, BUT the internet problem persists.. i can't disable internet everytime i want. Someone of you could help me to solve this problem? I hope there is an alternative method to solve this without format/reset the phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UPDATE:
I'm triyng "Disconnect Mobile" to limit the amount of data probably stolen by these two applications, and after the last unistall of Gsearch and Gfirewall, they do not auto-reinstall!
Disconnect Mobile is a privacy app inspired by our award-winning browser software. The app actively blocks the biggest mobile trackers when you use an app or browse the web using 3G, 4G, LTE, or Wi-Fi. Optional packs include ad filtering and malware protection. Does NOT require root.
Features:
- Blocks the biggest mobile trackers from tracking and collecting your info
- Blocks ads from more than 2500 ad tracking services
- Blocks thousands of websites suspected of malware, spyware, phishing scams and more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like all ad-blocker apps, you can't find this on Play Store, you can find it on 1mobile, for example.
(I cannot post links)
Please let me know if this hint works on your phones
Hi all, my rooted phone is Ulefone U9592 and I found this information :
http://androidforums.com/android-applications/864435-gfirewall.html
TEXT : " My phone is rooted, i set every apk need confirm install, and wait the apk download and confirm install, i used root explorer try to search which directory is. In my phone, i found "/data/user/0/com. cube. android" have the gfirewall apk, i delete that directory, also check whose apk create this directory. The apk is Cube_CJIA01.apk in /system/app, i delete this apk. It fixed. (I think you find the name may not same Cube_CJIA01.apk)"
Well, I revised this information and the folder are : "/data/user/0/com. cube.activity" or "/data/data/com. cube.activity" and in the folder "files" I found :
"_com.gsz.own.pack.apk" and "_com.zgs.gg.pack.apk" (GSearch and GFirewall), I deleted this APK's and I think the problem is solved ..... NOT REALLY!!
If you check the folder "shared_prefs" you find various XML with the information shared at ALISOFT (Chinesse company) and specifically "ApkLoader.xml" with the URL where are downloaded GSearch and GFirewall. Only you need to delete in the XML the parts what you not are interested .... well, if you reboot the phone, the infected XML are restored. The best option is delete the file Cube_CJIA01.apk (do Backup) and reboot the phone. The mentioned folder disappears and the phone works well. Enjoy !!!
Best regards.
Hi jorfen,
I want to follow your instructions, but I need to root my phone before.
Pelase can you give me some hint (or link) to find the right software?
I don't want to install another chinese spyware (like probably VROOT), to remove GFirewall and GSearch
---------- Post added at 09:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 AM ----------
may be I have already found the right answer to my question: Framaroot
Compatibility list:
http://www.tfq.me/rooting-almost-any-android-smartphone-without-computer/
App:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/framaroot/root-framaroot-one-click-apk-to-root-t2130276
jorfen said:
If you check the folder "shared_prefs" you find various XML with the information shared at ALISOFT (Chinesse company) and specifically "ApkLoader.xml" with the URL where are downloaded GSearch and GFirewall. Only you need to delete in the XML the parts what you not are interested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found two files "ApkLoader.xml" and "ApkLoad.xml" with similar info inside, and in both of them I modified the string starting with
<string name="json">blah blah blah...</string> to <string name="json"></string>
jorfen said:
well, if you reboot the phone, the infected XML are restored. The best option is delete the file Cube_CJIA01.apk (do Backup) and reboot the phone. The mentioned folder disappears and the phone works well. Enjoy !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in my phone I found some files with different names:
_com.gsz.own.pack.apk
_com.zgs.gg.pack.apk
core.apk
gad.apk
uac.apk
uac.dex
jorfen, Cube_CJIA01.apk was in "/data/user/0/com.cube.activity/files" (or similar) in your phone?
Thanks in advance,
Federico
Hi Federico,
I think you already have rooted the phone. Well, I used for this MTKDroidTools, found in this forum (and modified for only install 'su" and "SuperUser.apk"). No problem, only is needed root for System access.
The app Cube_CJIA01.apk is in the folder "/System/app/" (the normal folder for System App's ). The folder "/data/user/0/" is a soft-link (use ln in linux) to the folder "/data/data/"). You locate in this folders the same information, and this is a default folder for working or write files, used in the APK's. Every reboot of phone regenerate information in this folder.
Best regards.
Good news from my virus submission request at Trend Micro:
The two samples are confirmed as malware.
They will be detected as AndroidOS_FakeGSearch.A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From now, all products coming from Trend Micro will handle this malware the right way
Going nuts here. Did a factory reset a couple of times but no luck.
There's a short cut called "Web Games" that keeps showing up on my Home Screen. I cannot trace where it came from. The short cut opens a Website called "h5playlist.com" which is a simple HTML 5 based Game Website with a few random games. The Whois of the Website traces to a Chinese Domain Name Provider, ename.com, and the games are provided by a German HTML 5 Game company, softgames.de.
I have e-mailed both ename, and softgames but I'm not sure if they'll help. I have also tried to clean the phone with security software but nothing has helped so far.
Anyway, please suggest something, as this is bugging me out like crazy!
I tried every single antivirus but no one discovered it !
What is your phone model?
VilleI said:
What is your phone model?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 3 n 900
web games shortcut
hi,exactly d same issue is happening to me.it started 2 days ago..i did exacrpy d same steps that you did but nothing solved it.the web games icon appera everytime i go online so it eventually creats multiple icons in my homescreen. there is also a urlresolver app on my app settings which i keep on uninstalling but it keeps on coming back automatically.i dont know if if has something to do qitj the web games icon issue..i have an O+ fabgo android phone
same problem for me with my Phicomm 660 unrooted mobile running Kitkat 4.4.4.Can somebody help to solve this issue?
I installed nova launcher over the default android launcher and it prevents me from seeing the autocreation of the Irritative shortcut on my screen.I think this is the temporary solution as of now.
There must be some adware that has been installed with either a downloaded app or preinstalled app. Removing the contaminated app could solve the problem. If you cannot find the the app that is doing this for example with malware scanners, the way to get rid of this adware is to restore factory settings.
If the problem is still present after restoring factory settings, the current ROM that is installed in the device must be infected. The solution to this would be to flash the device with a new clean ROM.
Solution:
If you are facing with web games short cut, here is answer for you.
Android:
Go to Settings > Application Manager > Click on running process 'All' > Force Stop & Disable "com.androidhelper.sdk".
Source :Another android forum.
Hi everyone
Need some advice please, my phone (HUAWEI MATE 9, Android 9, Stock) has recently become the victim of some nasty browser hijacking / malware, where whenever i browse or just use my phone in general, the browser would open and random redirects to ad sites would occur.
At first i thought it was just Chrome, then i disabled it and downloaded FireFox, but the issue still occurs.
It also randomly happens with general usage, one moment you will be browsing your photo gallery, the next the browser launches and re-directs you to one of these ad sites, and is incredibly annoying.
I have not downloaded any dodgy apps or installed from apk's.
Things i have tried
- Ran Malwarebytes Scan = No issues found.
- Cleared Browsing history and cookies for Chrome.
- Installed a completely different browser.
- Disabled personalized Ads setting within my Google Account.
Any help advice to remove this will greatly appreciated, my phone is however not rooted and running stock firmware, and don't really want to resort to a factory reset.
Thanks in advance
Serenath said:
Hi everyone
Need some advice please, my phone (HUAWEI MATE 9, Android 9, Stock) has recently become the victim of some nasty browser hijacking / malware, where whenever i browse or just use my phone in general, the browser would open and random redirects to ad sites would occur.
At first i thought it was just Chrome, then i disabled it and downloaded FireFox, but the issue still occurs.
It also randomly happens with general usage, one moment you will be browsing your photo gallery, the next the browser launches and re-directs you to one of these ad sites, and is incredibly annoying.
I have not downloaded any dodgy apps or installed from apk's.
Things i have tried
- Ran Malwarebytes Scan = No issues found.
- Cleared Browsing history and cookies for Chrome.
- Installed a completely different browser.
- Disabled personalized Ads setting within my Google Account.
Any help advice to remove this will greatly appreciated, my phone is however not rooted and running stock firmware, and don't really want to resort to a factory reset.
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boot the device into safe mode and use it for a while in safe to see if the issue still occurs. If it does not have the issue while using safe mode, the issue is being caused by something that you installed. If it still continues to have the issue while using safe mode, the issue is being caused by something that was factory installed.
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