Related
http://blog.mylookout.com/2011/05/s...ew-malware-from-the-developers-of-droiddream/
is the list of apps that were just discovered over the last few days by Google.
In reading other articles, I see Google will remove them and I wouldn't have a problem, but I'm sure a few of the games I got from Amazon.
Does anyone know how Amazon handles this removable...do I manually look for and delete the games? Guess, I'm assuming Amazon's would hold the possibly of malware, also.
I haven't been through this before, so wanted to ask.
I, also, saw an app Google uses - Android Market Security Tool, I wonder if that's helpful for me for anything from Amazon that I might have downloaded?
Thanks
so be honest what one of the Hot Girls programs listed did you download.
tonyz3, LOL - that's funny.
Well, I did another 30 min. research on web about how Amazon may handle any apps with malware and couldn't find a thing.
So I sent Amazon an e-mail, hopefully I got the right department(s). Telling them I do have some games on that list from them, wanting to know if there's any action I should take or will they?
Apparently Google is on top of it (although they slipped through), but I don't know that Amazon is at this point.
I'll let you know if I hear back from them.
Edit: I should add I'm not having any problem with my TF or apps..just trying to stay ahead of the game.(s) My TF will be 3 weeks old tomorrow, love it and my dock gets here tomorrow-yea!
I don't see a denial there so maybe it's all of them he has installed. Anyways thanks for the heads up. Glad I dont have any of those apps. For future use you may wish to consider installing the AVG free android app called 'Anti-Virus Free'. You can get it HERE.
stuntdouble said:
I don't see a denial there so maybe it's all of them he has installed. Anyways thanks for the heads up. Glad I dont have any of those apps. For future use you may wish to consider installing the AVG free android app called 'Anti-Virus Free'. You can get it HERE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Big Thanks, stuntdouble! For the info and the link.
I'm off to get it now...sounds good.
I just received a response from Amazon, when I questioned the safety of their apps for malware....and they even went the extra mile when I sent a link from mylookout.com listing the apps, they doubled check and they don't carry any of them.
Ok, guess I panicked & I don't have any apps from Amazon on that list(s). But, now I know-lol
Here's their reply:
"All of our games downloads go through a review process which includes virus and
spyware scanning. This is done with software from multiple vendors, and our
games are considered virus-free. I also looked into the article you reference
and was not able to find any of the Apps listed on our website.
Our goal is for Amazon Appstore customers to have a good experience with every
app they buy from the Appstore. As a result, we test all apps and updates prior
to making them available in our store to verify that each app works as outlined
in the product description, does not impair the functionality of the mobile
device, and does not put your data at risk once installed.
I hope this helps, Thanks so much for your interest in the Amazon Appstore.
Did I solve your problem?"
Very nice reply! And I now have AVG and Lookout app on my tablet.
sunsetbay said:
Very nice reply! And I now have AVG and Lookout app on my tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious, did either of those anti-virus apps identify those apps as being malware prior to them being pulled? It doesn't look like it.
"The Lookout Security Team identified the malware thanks to a tip from a developer who notified us that modified versions of his app and another developer’s app were being distributed in the Android Market."
I have nothing against Lookout or any other Android anti-virus, but have the anti-virus apps ever actually found anything? It's not a rhetorical question. I don't use them and truly don't know.
ad1980,
Well, in the end I feel a bit foolish...remember I said I panicked.(s)
Two of the games I thought I had were by a different developer and Tetris that I deleted a couple of weeks ago from my tablet isn't showing up in Google's or Amazon's library any longer. So I'm sure who that developer was.
Sorry, I should have dug further before I started this thread on the developers/games.
In the end, I learned a bit more about malware on a tablet and how Amazon and Google handles it. Right now I have AVG and Lookout Mobile Security that doesn't seem to be slowing me down in any way. Looks like I'll keep both and let them scan
as I download, etc.
Hey I'm glad you posted! I'm curious if anyone has seen some benefit from using these Anti-Virus apps. It sounds great in theory, but does it actually do anything? It appears to me that there's little benefit. From what I can tell it goes something like this:
Malware appears in the Market
Someone informs Lookout/ElGoog/AVG etc...
All companies block/remove the offending apps at about the same time
I guess if you use those shady appstores you could benefit if these specific Malware apps still exist in those places.
I'm still interested to hear if anyone has seen/heard of these apps having a positive effect.
Ad1980 and all, I see this a.m. more malware has been discovered in the Google Market and this article may answer your question on how well anti-virus works - not(s).
http://www.informationweek.com/news/230600068
What I come away with is one person, Xuxian Jiang, discovered them and then reported them to Google and various anti-virus companies. Doesn't sound too proactive does it?
I almost think my Lookout got an update this week, maybe it was this...after the apps have been out for 2 months. But, Lookout did discover the last batch, this one they didn't. Hmmm, I know still in the beginning stages.
One of these Angry Birds add-ons I almost bought, but the reviews were so bad I didn't...guess now I know why it didn't work.(s) Real close that last week I almost did buy it for 2nd or 3rd time, since I'm not doing so well with beating Angry Birds(s).
Just a note to OP: the article you linked states the malware is run by reading phone state, if you hadn't noticed the TF101 is a tablet and not a phone and thus the malware wouldn't ever run.
Ofseshmaru, Oh, you are so right - sorry. And Thank you for correcting me that it's about phones.
Of course, I know TF101 is a tablet and I did miss in reading the article that it's about phones only.
Guess I just saw the malware connection to Google market place again and how it relates to viruses and malware being discovered...still interesting.
In the end looks like that one app add-on I wanted, I wouldn't have been able to get anyway.
@Sunsetbay
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. It looks like all Lookout would do here is prevent you from downloading a known-malware-laden app. But, if the app is already known to have malware, then Google takes it down and there's no point in having Lookouts protection.
I would love to have a virus protection app that works, but from what I've seen Lookout and the others are all completely retroactive. Anyone have any different experience?
So does this mean there's no use whatsoever in installing anti-malware?
bimmer69 said:
So does this mean there's no use whatsoever in installing anti-malware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're only installing apps from Google's market, then you'd likely receive zerobenefit from using any of the anti-malware utilities- as they won't really be offering anything that Google isn't already (the removal of known malware). Even for sideloaded/from other markets, I have to question how effective things like Lookout would really be. It's extremely easy to get root on pretty much any device out there, and once an app has root it's pretty much game over for everyone else on the system.
Anti-malware will always be pretty much the worst line of defense out there (phone, tablet, or desktop- doesn't matter which). They're reactionary in nature, and add a rather large amount of overhead to many common operations on a system.
Unfortunately, until the manufacturers and Google start taking security updates seriously, our phones' security amounts to about as much as a piece of swiss cheese at stopping a typhoon.
This is just a wee rant, but i hope it makes folk think a wee bit
Right now, regardless of your Smartphone faction allegiances, we have a number of great devices, including iPhones, Androids, Windows Phones, and even good old Windows Mobiles, All of them great in their own wee ways
But something curious is happening which may have escaped us in the never ending quest to make us upgrade or buy new devices and that’s the "App store"
Personally, i think this "App" name is kind of annoying but perhaps that’s just my age coming in to it again, it’s also beside the point. Forget the differences in names, we all know what it is and by App store I’m talking about all of them
Anyhow, these app stores have a lot to answer for, some of us spend a fortune on them, all those "cheap" programs you’ve downloaded over the past years, many of which you may have even forgot you own maybe nibbled away at your pay cheque. So what happens when one day the unthinkable happens, your fan boy world is rocked too its feet when the satanic Enemy you have despised all these years actually takes your fancy, an after a bit of thinking, sleeping with the devil for that thing doesn’t sound too bad a deal at all, after all, this device IS better, its OS is better, it suites your needs more an damn it, it just looks cool too.
But here lies your problem, you have been chained to an app store for a while now, you’ve picked up many apps an maybe even some STDs, its cost you lots of money and you can bet your life that you cant transfer your apps to this "other" OS, So you have a choice, do you stay with the older phone knowing for well that the phone of your dreams is but a stone throw away or do you say, to hell with my old apps, give it to me now!!
Of course everyone is different, but to ignore the fact that nothing lasts forever and assume that your OS will always be the best would be naive, remember, these companies all have a vested interest in keeping you with them, and getting you on the app store of THEIR choice is one very good way of doing it,
Of Course none of this is new, Windows Mobile was similar but we didnt have choice then, now we do, Hopefully it might make you think twice before shelling out for junk you don’t need, your device might be the best now, but it won’t always be.
Ummm, Here's the best part about me...
I've only bought apps when that 10 cents sale was going on, and only spent $1.80 USD.
Being cheap rules...
Is this post about switching OS's or phones? I'm confused.
True, but it dont think thats always the case, my 6 year old kid managed to blow about a tenner within only a few min, buying cheap helps but if we take google as an example, they dont sell android, they make shed loads of money on advertising and you buying stuff, its in all of their interests to keep you buying programs on their app stores, the more you buy the less likely you are to leave them
They are all EVIL i tell you
^that was a joke
lowandbehold said:
Is this post about switching OS's or phones? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OSs, you wouldnt have a problem with your apps if you stayed on the same OS, at least one would hope not, point taken tho, couple of wee changes added
i have a literal butt-load of apps for my iphone i have no hope of ever being able to use again. i had my phone stolen during that dark time when the iphone was not available to buy on pay as you go (dark dark times...), and so had to switch to a different smartphone os. at the time it was a htc desire, and i just never looked back, really. partly because i look at iphones and just think "hmm... nothing much's changed. same old same old..."
in an ideal world i'd be able to run my android apps on my windows phone, and have the best of both worlds - but that isn't going to happen any time soon. the best compromise i can see is "buy for one platform, buy for all" - why should i have to re-buy my apps for a different platform? why can't i buy one and be able to download the same version available for different platforms? steam does it with some pc games - including a mac version for free with your purchase. hell, there are even ways to run one os on another kind of machine, so you're not truly "tied" into something like with phones.
/end rant
dazza9075 said:
OSs, you wouldnt have a problem with your apps if you stayed on the same OS, at least one would hope not, point taken tho, couple of wee changes added
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, thanks, that was actually my original comment. Then I thought about it and reread the post and assumed you were talking about the OS and not just the phone...hence the reason for the edit!
Welcome to the wonderful world of vendor lock-in.
I still don't understand why so many of you are so desperate for these website bookmarks with GUIs aka most apps out there. Or, there are 20 task managers, they still do they SAME exact thing as the stock one; there's nothing wrong with the stock one; so, why the heck would you even want an alternate one?
What happened to the days where, if you just had mobile internet access, that in itself was an extreme convenience and everyone had the patience to access every other site via browser?
What about battery life? Do you REALLY need to have 20 email and social network apps and widgets update every 10 minutes? Not really. If its something very important, I'm sure the party who needs to reach you can text or call you.
All of that said, I personally prefer the "older" solutions to this smartphone problem such as Nokia and their Symbian os. Bare, simple, but never fails, doesn't eat battery like 5 starving children, and you don't really have to worry about keeping up with these apps or too many updates. Oh, did I mention FREE gps with FREE downloadable maps, that doesn't even require data connection to be used?
dazza9075 said:
This is just a wee rant, but i hope it makes folk think a wee bit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive always been wary of this as well. Its part of the reason I get the phones I do, At least there should be enough concepts, designs and hardware variations using my O/S to keep me happy. Also even though I have many programmes now I try not to get too trigger happy in the market.
Honestly, I pirated like crazy on android, it was too easy. The upgrade to wp7 was painless.
That's why I always think twice about buying an app. So far I've spent only about $15 on android, another $15 on iOS, and $9 on webos. I have friends who have spent hundreds on iOS. It's impossible to honestly recommend anything other than the iPhone to them.
I did pirate two apps though. The MLB app which they tried to sell for $15 on top of the subscription fees. If I'm already paying them $20 a month, it's unreasonable to tack on an extra $15. The other is the logmein app which was originally $30, but they have dropped the price to free. I would have never bought either one if I had to pay full price so it's not like they lost a sale.
I have never spent a dime on an app for any platform. I used an iphone for about 2 years and switched to Android about a year ago. I honestly don't worry about it. I can find free apps that do everything I want to do. I guess that might come from the fact that i am a Linux user as well. I have been trained to find something that works.
---------- Post added at 04:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 AM ----------
bleach168 said:
I did pirate two apps though. The MLB app which they tried to sell for $15 on top of the subscription fees. If I'm already paying them $20 a month, it's unreasonable to tack on an extra $15. The other is the logmein app which was originally $30, but they have dropped the price to free. I would have never bought either one if I had to pay full price so it's not like they lost a sale.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the thing about pirating that I don't think content owners understand. The movie and recording industry claim multi billion dolor losses due to piracy but in reality the people that pirated it had absolutely no intention of buying it in the first place and would not have whether the pirated copy existed or not. So basically they lost no money but have that may more people talking about how good it is. To me that sounds like marketing, not piracy.
"Piracy" isn't in the topic title people...
Wiggy Fuzz said:
in an ideal world i'd be able to run my android apps on my windows phone, and have the best of both worlds - but that isn't going to happen any time soon. the best compromise i can see is "buy for one platform, buy for all" - why should i have to re-buy my apps for a different platform? why can't i buy one and be able to download the same version available for different platforms? steam does it with some pc games - including a mac version for free with your purchase. hell, there are even ways to run one os on another kind of machine, so you're not truly "tied" into something like with phones.
/end rant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is unfortunate, but the reality is this will never change. If you tied the big 4 together effectively their revenue would be a lot less, in the case of apple and google anyway, and to be fair, programs from one market wont work on another markets devices, there has to be some work involved todo that so who gets paid for it.
Steam isnt a good compare, as its only 1 vendor, for it to be equal to phones you would need a situation similar to steam selling a game that origin also sells, why should you buy it twice?
In an ideal world you would have a new company that acted like a app store, hosting multiple platforms, of course the big 4 wouldnt like that as it wouldnt tie you to them and they would lose revenue
as far as i can tell, unless you dont mind wasting money, the best solution is to simply not buy anything.
Skv012a said:
What happened to the days where, if you just had mobile internet access, that in itself was an extreme convenience and everyone had the patience to access every other site via browser?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely agree, im not going to get in to a which OS is best debate but thats the sole reason for the OS i use, without downloading any extra it does everything i want out of the box, its a phone with extras, ie, a smartphone
LogisticsXLS said:
"Piracy" isn't in the topic title people...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it may not be on topic but it is an intersting side effect of the problem
If we role back the clock a few years well before the smartphone era, we have Windows Mobile, i bought a lot of programs for that OS an i still love it
But when i did eventually change i didnt mind buying new programs, after all, the developers had long since stopped developing, newer versions where only available on newer OSs, if they were available at all!
But here lies one part of the problem, now your not tied to older versions of your programs if you stay on any given market, all markets have the same program all be it coded differently so can you really steal something that you have already bought, or is it more likle that you are not buy buying anything,
what exactly are you "buying" when you hit the app stores? The program? the right to "use" a program, the right to use a program on one OS?
kind of a double post
I have over $200 worth of iOS apps that I have no device for. I'm actually considering getting an iPod Touch for a PMP and because I have so many iOS Apps. I'm pretty much waiting for the iPod Touch that has the iPhone 4/4s design but that's another story.
8mileroad said:
I have over $200 worth of iOS apps that I have no device for. I'm actually considering getting an iPod Touch for a PMP and because I have so many iOS Apps. I'm pretty much waiting for the iPod Touch that has the iPhone 4/4s design but that's another story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
81 bucks in apps on windows phone 7. It doesn't matter, the second someone releases an OS that can compare, I'll jump ship.
vdub12 said:
That's the thing about pirating that I don't think content owners understand. The movie and recording industry claim multi billion dolor losses due to piracy but in reality the people that pirated it had absolutely no intention of buying it in the first place and would not have whether the pirated copy existed or not. So basically they lost no money but have that may more people talking about how good it is. To me that sounds like marketing, not piracy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
indeed their stuck in the past, the whole system is broken, if people were being rational, they would allow a universal app store, prices would increase and fees would be paid to the various OS makes for using their systems, the customer would end up paying a small amount more per app to fund the additional third party but everything else remains the same only you would have access to all markets that the software makers designed for
z33dev33l said:
81 bucks in apps on windows phone 7. It doesn't matter, the second someone releases an OS that can compare, I'll jump ship.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then its nice to have disposible income but when that day comes an it might be awhile away, if youve spent a lot more i wonder if you'll think the same then, if it were me, and someone told me id have to take a £100 note out of my pocket and burn it to move devices, at the very least, id be a bit cheesed off!
dazza9075 said:
indeed their stuck in the past, the whole system is broken, if people were being rational, they would allow a universal app store, prices would increase and fees would be paid to the various OS makes for using their systems, the customer would end up paying a small amount more per app to fund the additional third party but everything else remains the same only you would have access to all markets that the software makers designed for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which completely eliminates brand loyalty, I hear often that people only stick to android/iOS when they try my lumia because they'd have to buy all their apps again.
Please help, I am unsure what to do now that I received my Umidigi S2 Pro unlocked phone that I purchased from GearBest and waited a month to receive-- booted it up and ran malwarebytes on it only to learn it has two adware programs built into the system. Norton did not find anything except a KRACK (some sort of Key reboot wifi vulnerability???) risk (not sure if it is on the phone or just an alert for my home wifi?). I thought I was getting a nice smartphone at a good price, but now I am very worried if I can trust such a phone from china-- would it be safe to set up the phone for online banking, for email with my email username and password? Should I just sell the phone on ebay and go back to using my ASUS phone that I bought in the USA where I live? The Umidigi is such a nice looking phone, but if it is a security risk I certainly will not use it, I would then sell it and take the loss and learn the lesson, ugh.
Quicktouch apparently contains the following adware as detected by Malwarebytes: Android/Adware.Xinyinhe.CJ
TouchPal 2017 apparently contains the following adware as detected by Malwarebytes: Android/Adware.Cootek
^^^They are both system apps so they are not so easily removed.
Thoughts, advice?
Midiman55 said:
Please help, I am unsure what to do now that I received my Umidigi S2 Pro unlocked phone that I purchased from GearBest and waited a month to receive-- booted it up and ran malwarebytes on it only to learn it has two adware programs built into the system...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your best bet is to post this question within one of the following threads that is specific to your question.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1846277
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1620179
Good Luck!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I DO NOT PROVIDE SUPPORT VIA PM UNLESS ASKED/REQUESTED BY MYSELF.
PLEASE KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE
I also have a similar issue,
Have checked the threads recommended and they are totally irrelevant to the question asked, so here goes:
I bought a new Umidigi phone from an online store, now turns out it seems to be rooted, should I just throw it away or is there any resoanable explanation to why it is like that. Is there anything I can do to be able to use this phone with safety.
Thanks
Shmool said:
I also have a similar issue,
Have checked the threads recommended and they are totally irrelevant to the question asked, so here goes:
I bought a new Umidigi phone from an online store, now turns out it seems to be rooted, should I just throw it away or is there any resoanable explanation to why it is like that. Is there anything I can do to be able to use this phone with safety.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did a root checking or antivirus app say it's rooted? I knew these phones have adware & questionable issues around personal data, but didn't think they come rooted. Though maybe some third party with access to phone rooted it, was it sealed when you got it? ( Could also have been installed in factory by unauthorised person or at instructions of Chinese government (though probably only if you or your company is a high value target))
Don't waste your money.
I have Umidigi S2 Pro.
It has very low quality.
The touch screen is very hard to use.
Cheap plastic material with very poor build quality.
The battery real capacity is not 5000mah. The battery is not detectable by battery software. Perhaps only 3000mah
The camera is so blurry. You just get fuzzy pictures.
Too many applications crashed instead of 6GB RAM.
The worst thing it come without any guarantee.
It' nothing but wasting my valuable money.
Can you imagine the fallout for a company, trying to compete in the International Marketplace if just ONE of their products was found to be phishing? In fact it would be commercial suicide in their own countries too.
I have a Umidigi A3, bought for a third of the price of my similar spec Samsung, and I also found that certain apps stated the phone was rooted, but root checkers and superuser software all found this not to be the case. I always rooted my early phones to play around under the hood, but lately certain establishment apps would refuse to work stating security issues with root so I haven't rooted my last couple of phones.. I have had no such problems with my A3. My establishment apps check and wave my little A3 through with a smile. False positive? I'd say likely. The cost of the license to use the latest Google Android OS kind of negates the reasoning behind 'the phish' . I believe the tweaks needed to customise the OS to Umidigi products is what causes these false posies.
And the build quality is superb!! For the price I paid, it may be akin to a Mini in the vast world of mobile communications, but it's deck out with the shiny walnut dashboard and plush seats of a Mini Rolls Royce. Time will tell about it's reliability but so far I don't think I'll ever pay hundreds of pounds for a mobile phone again.
My whole take on this Chinese security question is this.
1st, Google is a bigger (biggest) privacy risk. They can access your phone anytime without you knowing (if they wanted to). But yet no one thinks twice about trusting them, plus most people allow them to save all their passwords and info. But yet it's no concern to most.
2nd, A lot of other phone companies have their internal chips produced in China. And if the Chinese really wanted to spy, it's gonna be built into the hardware.(backdoor) Heck the US government was doing this. Everyone forget?
A lot of these proprietary chips even have access to your internet so they can download their proprietary drivers in the background without your knowledge.
There is no true security. The backbone of the internet was built to share information not secure it. Security starts with you. Everytime you choose to have private information at a convenience, you sacrifice security.
And as far as post 1 which I know is a year old, but for anyone that stumbles across this. The adware that was detected was probably all from TouchPal keyboard. That app is so junk, it even installs apps on your phone. It's always preinstalled on provider phones and such.
Google shouldn't allow these apps to be approved and these companies need to be held accountable for allowing these practices.
Good luck and safe browsing!
aaron74 said:
...Security starts with you. Everytime you choose to have private information at a convenience, you sacrifice security.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely concur. Thanks very much for the very true statement. And I think especially that what I partially quoted above can't be stressed enough.
Maybe this falls into the same context?
thanks for your reply
IronRoo said:
Did a root checking or antivirus app say it's rooted? I knew these phones have adware & questionable issues around personal data, but didn't think they come rooted. Though maybe some third party with access to phone rooted it, was it sealed when you got it? ( Could also have been installed in factory by unauthorised person or at instructions of Chinese government)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HHi, thanks for replying. The bitcoin wallet app said it was rooted, so yeah. But there were other strange things, like the draw lines security lock already is set so that I can't change it or use it. I bought it on aliexpress "new". It came it its' package and everything in it only it had been opened. It was stuck at costumes for a while so it seemed as if they opened it and play with it a bit there, but then after I saw the rooted thing everything us looking phisy.
Honesty, regardless, having this device made me understand once and for all where all the money goes to with those top dollar phones and why it is so worth it. Cause yeah, you kind of have everything... But it all sucks. Screen sucks, camera sucks. Multitasking sucks. Battery sucks. Radiation feel sucks, and seems pretty sure security sucks. So yeah, you kind of have efrything, but the low quality is felt. Daily.
Chinese brand phones cannot be trusted. It's best to buy Japanese or American ones, at least they're more secure in terms of malware and Trojans.
https://medium.com/@roundedeverett/who-is-nokia-cb24ecbc52a9
Very interesting article (and related links in it) about how shady and deep could be the world behind the brand Nokia (or what it was).
As Nokia consumer, aficionado to the actual Brand, I'm feeling a little betrayed. Yesterday I spent the whole evening uninstalling through ADB all the Evenwell apps, but in my mind it's not the same as it was.
You guys have any thoughts?
Really scary stuff in this article... But how on earth Google allows Nokia to have their phones with Androidone label?
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
azizmulhim said:
Really scary stuff in this article... But how on earth Google allows Nokia to have their phones with Androidone label?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does Google really know?
What’s new!! Most phone manufacturers do things with their phones, if its not their own skin on top of Android it is make no them look faster than they are when using benchmarks or if of Chinese origin then possible spyware to monitor usage etc.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Stransky said:
What’s new!! Most phone manufacturers do things with their phones, if its not their own skin on top of Android it is make no them look faster than they are when using benchmarks or if of Chinese origin then possible spyware to monitor usage etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, of course, but I feel like it's slightly less "legit" than some offboard-crappy-chinese brand. It's not Cubot, UMIDIGI, or Chuwi, I mean, we're talking about Nokia, it has heritage.
taldeital said:
yeah, of course, but I feel like it's slightly less "legit" than some offboard-crappy-chinese brand. It's not Cubot, UMIDIGI, or Chuwi, I mean, we're talking about Nokia, it has heritage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but then Foxcon makes the innards, so Chinese are involved.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
I read that article yesterday. It confirmed what I had suspected all along. I had a nice chat in a telegram group about this. I'll post my side of conversation here, they contain my opinions. I'm sorry I'd love to type all that but it's very late here and I'm already getting a bit of headache [emoji14]
TL;DR - Google needs to look into this and also clarify how much "freedom" OEMs get to play in the Androidone ecosystem. And HMD should have their own software division as it'll also help people directly connect through their forums.
Gravemind2015:
Well it needs to be said now, more than ever. I had my suspicions from day one, and now it's clear that 2 of their 3 promises are based on thin air.
As evenwell isn't part of either AOSP or androidone, the "pure" tag deserves to be used on pixel phones more than HMD phones.
And, as the company evenwell, if it even is a company, or rather a division inside FIH to handle software; is shady enough. Even the MIUI and other Chinese ROMs have clear development divisions inside their company and the software are at least handled by the phone company themselves.
Another interesting thing to note is if FIH makes the hardware and ships the software, what is the role of HMD in the making of phones? Only designing sketches I guess. They're more interested in selling the stuff, rather than making it. This is what makes the key difference between HMD and Nokia. Nokia made the phones, innovative or not. HMD is just selling customized generic phones, although the hardware has quality.
I know it might hurt to read this, and I'm aware as I've two Nokia smartphones in my house too, but the sad truth is they are not what they advertise they are, people buy the phones thinking they are Nokia, we buy phones thinking they are HMD consisting of people who worked at Nokia, but they are just like every other phone that was built by a single manufacturing company.
Although the hardware manufacturing is understandable as the company is relatively new and is building a sustainable business before diving into a DYI approach, the least they could have done is to invest in an in-house software development division to handle the software component.
Another interesting thing to look here is the role of Google and to know if addition of core system level applications as well as usage of substitute system apps in place of the AOSP/Google implementation are allowed in phones under the Androidone program; and if so, the definition of "pure" android that Google true to relate it's Androidone term to. If androidone is advertised at is best and Android as how Google sees it; then maybe they consider evenwell a part of androidone, and maybe consider that FIH division to be very good and competent. I doubt if Google actually admits to it, but the statements I told here in the previous sentence are the common sentences being used to describe androidone; at least in Nokia events."
Another thing to add: If they really can't have their own software team, they can at least ensure transparency and Google should check the Android software and block the usage of the power.g3 sort of applications at minimum. And give public a clear and easy to understand definition of androidone, what the OEMs have freedom to choose from etc.
And one benefit of HMD having their own software division would be that they could directly connect and take feedback from the users and then work on them. They've got their own forum, they've got Twitter too. Am in-house division would help them supervise on the "secure" part too.
Broadcasted from Zeta Reticuli
taldeital said:
https://medium.com/@roundedeverett/who-is-nokia-cb24ecbc52a9
Very interesting article (and related links in it) about how shady and deep could be the world behind the brand Nokia (or what it was).
As Nokia consumer, aficionado to the actual Brand, I'm feeling a little betrayed. Yesterday I spent the whole evening uninstalling through ADB all the Evenwell apps, but in my mind it's not the same as it was.
You guys have any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the info.
have you noticed any weird behaviour after removing the evenwell packages? Would you be interested in creating a guide on how to remove them?
jv.batista said:
thanks for the info.
have you noticed any weird behaviour after removing the evenwell packages? Would you be interested in creating a guide on how to remove them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so far, no weird behaviour. I just lost two VPNs but I already set them up again, so no trouble.
I used this guide: https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/ to uninstall most of the Evenwell packages, g3powersomething among them.
a Nokia 2 user (@jcd000) did a great job naming all the shady packages safe to be uninstalled: https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/nokia-2-apps-safe-to-delete-t3783158
there are also several Google packages among them, just use your rule of thumb to know what do you actually need and what not, using descriptions of the packages.
If you think a whole comprehensive guide would be useful, I'll write it, no problem.
jv.batista said:
thanks for the info.
have you noticed any weird behaviour after removing the evenwell packages? Would you be interested in creating a guide on how to remove them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably somebody more experienced than me could write a batch with adb commands to batch uninstall all the packages in once!
I could probably do it too, but it'll take a couple of months :laugh:
in the meantime, nobody answers from HMD/Nokia HQ: https://twitter.com/taldeital/status/1090322409704603649
I tried to stimulate a conversation or at least I was looking for some answer, plausible or not.
I was able to disable a lot of apps from evenwell in Android Pie 9.0.
So far I do not see any impact on my phone.
same here, after few days everything smooth.
device seems also less laggy.
Well that's an interesting article.. I just disabled like 16 evenwell apps and left 12 enabled.. let see if anything change
I am running the phone with all the evenwell apps disabled. There is slightly higher drain in idle, but the notifications arrive properly...
From the performance and functionality, nothing is impacted...
So I'm looking to buy a new phone and it seems that about 70% of the market share in the best buys is comprised of Chinese owned manufacturers.
There have been numerous reports of such manufacturers collecting user-identifable data and phoning home with it. I know that western owned phone companies collect data but believe that the rules /laws, ehtics and security are better followed in the west. I'm not trying to get into a debate of east vs west btw this is just my opinion. Yes I know that almost all phones are manufactured in China but I'm more concerned about who is influencing the companies themselves if they are Chinese.
So given that I value my privacy and want to keep personal data out of the hands of bad actors I'm left with a choice of buying a western owned phone which are generally much lower spec for a price point or perhaps buying Chinese and rooting.
My question is whether this is a practical answer given the need to use a phone as a secure device e.g. 2FA and internet banking apps etc and a daily driver? Also my experience tells me that when one takes a custom ROM they take on responsibility for applying patches and updates which is something of an administration burden I probably don't have the time /inclination for.
For the record I've flashed and used custom roms on about 3-4 devices in the past so have some first hand experiance but wondered if things have changed for the better or worse?
They could have embedded hidden backdoors in the hardware or worse.
Well, things are still the same, if not even worse. Beside security patches, Google has been cracking down on rooted users, so in the near future some features and some apps might stop working. Unfortunately users with just an unlocked bootloader might be caught in the crossfire. As for privacy, try Xiaomi. Sure, there have been rumors of Spyware on Xiaomi devices. Well, back in January some cybersecurity firm from Germany test that theory. Proved it was false.
Germany: No evidence of spying from Xiaomi phones
One point for Xiaomi
www.gadgetmatch.com
Thus Xiaomi might be one of the good ones. At least in terms of being spied by them. Sure, third party apps also spy on you, but for that you have adb.
Fytdyh said:
Well, things are still the same, if not even worse. Beside security patches, Google has been cracking down on rooted users, so in the near future some features and some apps might stop working. Unfortunately users with just an unlocked bootloader might be caught in the crossfire. As for privacy, try Xiaomi. Sure, there have been rumors of Spyware on Xiaomi devices. Well, back in January some cybersecurity firm from Germany test that theory. Proved it was false.
Germany: No evidence of spying from Xiaomi phones
One point for Xiaomi
www.gadgetmatch.com
Thus Xiaomi might be one of the good ones. At least in terms of being spied by them. Sure, third party apps also spy on you, but for that you have adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's bad to hear that Google are trying to put the squeeze on and a deterrent to investing time and energy installing Roms that may only get worse with time in terms of G Apps and services.
Hmmm that article refers to an absence of censorship rather than not spying.
Here's an example of the story which I've seen repeated elsewhere on Xiaomi spying:
Exclusive: Warning Over Chinese Mobile Giant Xiaomi Recording Millions Of People’s ‘Private’ Web And Phone Use
Xiaomi is collecting users’ browser habits and phone usage, raising red flags for privacy researchers.
www.forbes.com
steveyc2 said:
That's bad to hear that Google are trying to put the squeeze on and a deterrent to investing time and energy installing Roms that may only get worse with time in terms of G Apps and services.
Hmmm that article refers to an absence of censorship rather than not spying.
Here's an example of the story which I've seen repeated elsewhere on Xiaomi spying:
Exclusive: Warning Over Chinese Mobile Giant Xiaomi Recording Millions Of People’s ‘Private’ Web And Phone Use
Xiaomi is collecting users’ browser habits and phone usage, raising red flags for privacy researchers.
www.forbes.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that.
At this point, I doubt there isn't a smartphone maker that does not track its users. From chinese makers to American makers, everyone tracks their users. Their data sells the best. At this rate, if you want to totally protect your privacy, don't buy a phone. Anything and everything can be tracked. Dumb phones and smartphones. So picking a smartphone isn't going to keep your privacy secure. You might have a say in how many people do you want to track you, based on phone's price.
steveyc2 said:
So I'm looking to buy a new phone and it seems that about 70% of the market share in the best buys is comprised of Chinese owned manufacturers.
There have been numerous reports of such manufacturers collecting user-identifable data and phoning home with it. I know that western owned phone companies collect data but believe that the rules /laws, ehtics and security are better followed in the west. I'm not trying to get into a debate of east vs west btw this is just my opinion. Yes I know that almost all phones are manufactured in China but I'm more concerned about who is influencing the companies themselves if they are Chinese.
So given that I value my privacy and want to keep personal data out of the hands of bad actors I'm left with a choice of buying a western owned phone which are generally much lower spec for a price point or perhaps buying Chinese and rooting.
My question is whether this is a practical answer given the need to use a phone as a secure device e.g. 2FA and internet banking apps etc and a reliable daily driver? Also my experience tells me that when one takes a custom ROM they take on responsibility for applying patches and updates which is something of an administration burden I probably don't have the time /inclination for.
For the record I've flashed and used custom roms on about 3-4 devices in the past so have some first hand experiance but wondered if things have changed for the better or worse?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be on the safe side, you can install an alternative ROM, such as LineageOS, instead of the preinstalled OS: requires phone's bootloader is unlockable.
Be aware that no cell phone provides you with true anonymity.
xXx yYy said:
To be on the safe side, you can install an alternative ROM, such as LineageOS, instead of the preinstalled OS: requires phone's bootloader is unlockable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i know i can do that- and the firmware too- my question was about the practicality of living with such a phone once done
xXx yYy said:
Be aware that no cell phone provides you with true anonymity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, aware of that, just trying to minimise exposure while still having a usable phone
blackhawk said:
They could have embedded hidden backdoors in the hardware or worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worrying but if one wipes the firmware and ROM then that would mitigate any hardware backdoor risks I would have thought?
Has anyone actually tested a custom rom on a chinese phone that was known to send data back to chinese servers?
For example:
test with stock rom: wireshark shows phone sending information to chinese IP
test with custom rom: wireshark shows no packets sent to chinese IPs.
sso003 said:
Has anyone actually tested a custom rom on a chinese phone that was known to send data back to chinese servers?
For example:
test with stock rom: wireshark shows phone sending information to chinese IP
test with custom rom: wireshark shows no packets sent to chinese IPs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some infos could go to an American proxy server then to Chinese. In order to be sure no one gets you data, learn to code and make your own rom and your own apps. Open source apps are an option if you know to check the source yourself.