[Q] How to block IMEI ID tracking? - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I am ok with paid/donate apps using it to ID your device, but a lot of the free apps share it so that they can track your usage and or with advertisers to push targeted ads to you. With location enabled, they can track where you are visiting, etc.. I feel they are allowed too much personal information.
Anyone know of a way to not allow access to this, other than disabling mobile networking?
Personally I would prefer to be anonymous, don't mind using something for free and having to see ads, that's fair..
-CC

I recently came under attack, and have determined that a hack tool used the IMEI and atiagent to gain information, that allowed them to connect remotely. persistently.
I was wondering how do i hide this info, or obtain a new valid number?
If i subscribe to a new service provider, will this help?

CM7 has a feature that allows you to revoke permissions. I haven't tried it, but it might do what you're after. I haven't tried it myself. Some apps may just crash though when it tries to get the IMEI. Since an app dev wouldn't expect a permission it was granted on install to be revoked, they may not have any exception handling around that.
Bottom line...if you don't trust an app with a permission it's asking for, I would generally just not install it and move on.

LBE Privacy guard, it's in the market

Related

EVO Security Questions

This is not troll baiting or OS Slamming...
Looking for knowledgeable and constructive feedback regarding device security. I'm thinking in terms of an Executive or VP or Network Admin or such loosing the device. a piece of software
1) to do more to control access than a squiggly line
2) to allow for remote GPS tracking and/or device data wiping
3) that is stealthy and/or hard to remove.
I know there are a few "security services" out there but that leads me into "how do i know whose who and who can be trusted in the android segment". I place a great deal of trust in the developer of my ROM. That he/she/they are benevolent and not including by intent or negligence loggers or other malware. then i have a companies like Wave and Norton and Good all angling to get installed on my device. i don't know Wave nor Good and I have no luv for Norton.
The EVO allows for RDC and VNC sessions. It allows for VPN access and has the pwd's to my personal and work email. meebo has me signed into all my chat networks. As a long time Windows person I guess it's just a lil disconcerting when i stop and think on it. this device can easily be configured to hold everything needed to access a secured network. Perhaps this is a reflection on my lack of understanding the system in depth. perhaps i'm not sure how well the opensource community will communicate "problem" apps and developers.
Also, and kinda sorta related. Applications in the marketplace. sometimes you get an application and the types of security access it is asking for seems a bit "off". occasionally in the comments the developer may comment that "i need to access X in order to provide Z". It usually makes sense (whether true or not i cannot say), but is there any nice cross-reference of what types of actions require what access level. or why so many apps need to know the phone state and identity or general location or full network access and what exactly that means to me as the end user. this second paragraph is proving difficult to put to paper..i may come back and edit for clarity.
and lastly, i guess is a question on how to protect from apps like this...
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/060210-android-rootkit-is-just-a.html?page=1
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/commercial-spying-app-for-android-devices-released/4900
looking for something kinda like this, but useful...
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/28/understanding-the-android-market-security-system/

EVO insecure?

This is not troll baiting or OS Slamming...
Looking for knowledgeable and constructive feedback regarding device security. I'm thinking in terms of an Executive or VP or Network Admin or such loosing the device. a piece of software
1) to do more to control access than a squiggly line
2) to allow for remote GPS tracking and/or device data wiping
3) that is stealthy and/or hard to remove.
I know there are a few "security services" out there but that leads me into "how do i know whose who and who can be trusted in the android segment". I place a great deal of trust in the developer of my ROM. That he/she/they are benevolent and not including by intent or negligence loggers or other malware. then i have a companies like Wave and Norton and Good all angling to get installed on my device. i don't know Wave nor Good and I have no luv for Norton.
The EVO allows for RDC and VNC sessions. It allows for VPN access and has the pwd's to my personal and work email. meebo has me signed into all my chat networks. As a long time Windows person I guess it's just a lil disconcerting when i stop and think on it. this device can easily be configured to hold everything needed to access a secured network. Perhaps this is a reflection on my lack of understanding the system in depth. perhaps i'm not sure how well the opensource community will communicate "problem" apps and developers.
Also, and kinda sorta related. Applications in the marketplace. sometimes you get an application and the types of security access it is asking for seems a bit "off". occasionally in the comments the developer may comment that "i need to access X in order to provide Z". It usually makes sense (whether true or not i cannot say), but is there any nice cross-reference of what types of actions require what access level. or why so many apps need to know the phone state and identity or general location or full network access and what exactly that means to me as the end user. this second paragraph is proving difficult to put to paper..i may come back and edit for clarity.
and lastly, i guess is a question on how to protect from apps like this...
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/060210-android-rootkit-is-just-a.html?page=1
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/commercial-spying-app-for-android-devices-released/4900
If the app seems fishy don't download it you can allways get lookout from the market it will pull your phone up on the gps and tell you exactly where it is I've tested you can also make it chirp real loud as for them accessing your phone put the pattern lock on in stead most thiefs are not hackers so they probably won't be able to access your phone even if you hard reset you still have to draw the pattern I mean unless they full root the phone and wipe it in petty sure you will be ok hope that helped
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Lookout kinda falls into the same category at Good or Wave. (at least to me thus far). All appear to be fine and yet somehow free products. I'm looking for a corporate solution, not end user solution. a free solution would be swell, so long as trust can be established.
i am looking at this from a corporate IT security perspective. not a young person, a enthusiast nor regular end user. heck, if I could get all of my users to actually know what is meant by "if the app seems fishy don't use it", most of my job would be completed. but to be honest, i'm still trying to get a grasp on that myself in the android world, hence the question about access levels in last paragraph of original post.
the zigzag is nifty and should protect from casual access. Froyo will provide an interface that a secured Exchange server would prefer to have. that will help.
( BTW ... if anyone knows how to make the red line not appear when you mess up the pattern lock...you'd be my personal hero for the day)
its not thieves that I'm worried about...it's my own end users that have to be protected from themselves. if a device was left in a bar or cab and did end up in the wrong hands....data could be sold, deals could be lost, people could be embarrassed, with the type of data that 'can very easily' exist on these devices...network security itself can be compromised. and sadly, i must assume that a good many end users will disable security if they are able to. for the same reason they ***** at automatic screenlocks on their desktop/laptop computers.
would you rather your IT team "hope/pray/expect the device will be picked up by some incompetent/benign/lawabiding citizen" or the opposite?
i choose to prepare for the worst...hope for the best. not the other way around. hence, my questions.
Isn't remote wipe being built into froyo somehow? Thought I read that somewhere.
I have my exchange email set up on my device and it requires me to use a passcode. I cannot disable it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
As for wiping data remotely wave secure will do that it might be close to what you need or something for the time being hopefully this will help
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
This is kinda sorta what I'm lookn for.
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/28/understanding-the-android-market-security-system/

Consequences of Removing Market

So I need to know what the consequences are of removing market from the phone? The reason I ask is we are getting ready to issue these out as corporate phones, and other than the software we have on them, we don't want any additional software installed. The obvious easiest way is to just remove market, unless there is some app that can restrict market. I know that we will lose the ability to update apps, but other than that I don't see much else. The last thing I need is for them to download rogue software and charge up the company accounts. Thanks!
A better thing to do will be to block any new installations by some kind of administrator access rather than take out market. Taking out market is not at all harmful nor does it interfere with anything.
If i were you and I had to seriously limit the applications on the phone then I would at least find an app on market that can install only after putting in a password or someting like that. Uninstalling market will not do any good. People can still install by putting in an apk file to their sd card.
Ideally that would be the way that I would do it. Under Windows Mobile I could. Under Android..... I haven't found an app that's capable of doing so. I suppose I could start getting in and changing permissions on folders through root, but I really don't want to go down that road. I know they can search and download apps otherwise than the app market, but it removing the temptation that helps. You know how users can be.
You will need to rely on google then. Here is a sample of what might help you.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Android-Parental-Control-App/123629131031273
Hope you find many more apps like these.
I saw that earlier, but its almost too Draconian. The hand holding Android would upset many of the Adult employees. Laughing. I think I may have found another way around it though. Remove the obvious Apps, but then I found an app called Droid wall which you can use to interface with IP tables to block access to market. They can view market, but you can't download. This prevents using the marketplace as well as trying to load from a website. It's password protected so it can be turned off easy enough if needed. It doesn't prevent side-loading the apps but I'm not to worried about my users doing that. If they do, it proves obvious intent to bypass company policy. Hoping this works.

Permission Manager needed! Any ideas?

Hi everyone,
i am looking for a decent permission manager. i used LBE and loved it but since i upgraded my rom to Paranoid Android V2.1 it kills my phone, it gets into a restart loop after i grant superuser rights to LBE.
i tried Permission Denied but that lacks performance. i.e. it doesn't show the permission to read the phones IMEI for apps that definitely have that permission. i don't trust that app. LBE was always making perfect sense on that behalf.
is there a decent permission manager out there, other than LBE? seems crucial to me to take care of this issue. of course you can use a firewall to block sending of private info. but there are apps that have functionalities that require internet access and also sniff in areas where they shouldn't. i.e. the app of my local public transport provider which is basically a navigation app for bus and train. i don't want that app to check my contacts and my IMEI, but i need it to acces the internet. LBE was a sweet solution for that szenario.
any ideas? whats your approach to the issue?

[TUT] [APP] Hacking Facebook, Yahoo etc. over wifi

DroidSheep is an Android application that demonstrates security weaknesses (not using https) and is capturing facebook, twitter, linkedin , yahoo, and other accounts.
PS> this is NOT my work, nor do i intend it to be taken as my work, I just wanted to share with the community!
NOTE FROM THE GERMAN DEVELOPER:
DroidSheep was developed as a tool for testing the security of your accounts.
This software is neither made for using it in public networks, nor for hijacking any other persons account.
It should only demonstrate the poor security properties network connections without encryption have.
So do not get DroidSheep to harm anybody or use it in order to gain unauthorized access to any account you do not own! Use this software only for analyzing your own security!
So do not get DroidSheep to harm anybody or use it in order to gain unauthorized access to any account you do not own! Use this software only for analyzing your own security!
Now>
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
1. A rooted phone (no, it will for sure not work without root)
2. The App installed on the phone (latest build attached to the present post)
3. A WIFI network to test it on
How do you use it?
DroidSheeps main intention is to demonstrate how EASY it can be, to take over nearly any internet account. Using DroidSheep any user – even without technical experience – can check if his websession can be attacked or not. For these users it is hard to determine, if the data is sent using HTTPS or not, specially in case of using apps. DroidSheep makes it easy to check this.
This video demonstrates what DroidSheep can do:
http://droidsheep.de/?page_id=14
How does it work?
As already announced DroidsSheep supports almost every website – also “big” webservices like facebook and Yahoo.
How does that work this simple?
There are many users that do not known that air is the transmission medium when using WiFi. Therefore information is not only transfered to its receiver but also to any other party in the network within the range of the radio waves.
Usually nothing special happens because the WiFi users discard packets that are not destined to themselves. DroidSheep does not do this. It reads all the packets looking at their contents.
Is a website sending a clear recognition feature within a message’s content, which can identify a user (“SessionID”), then DroidSheep is able to read it although it is not intended to external users. Moreover DroidSheep can use this token to use it as its own. The server can’t decide whether the authorized user or DroidSheep has sent the request.
http://droidsheep.de/?page_id=424
How can I protect myself?
The only satisfying answer is: SSL respectively HTTPS.
Many providers already offer HTTPS, even facebook, however it must often be enabled in the settings first.
When using HTTPS the data are still sent to alle participants in the WiFi-network, too, but because the data has been encrypted it is impossible for DroidSheep to decrypt the contect of a message - remaining only a complete mess of letters, with which an attacker can’t do anything.
The real problem is that not every website provides SSL. What to do when you are in a public network (hotel, airport, etc.), you also want to use this and the site does not offer HTTPS though?
You can use a VPN-connection
For this the computer sets up an encrypted channel to a confidential computer which again transfers the data to the website.
You can also install DroidSheep Guard from the Market:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.trier.infsec.koch.droidsheep.guard.free&hl=en
A very interesting feature is the possibility to save cookies!!
Source> http://droidsheep.de
Imagine the possibilities....
This isn't good dude.
And 'air' isn't the 'transmission medium' for WiFi. We figured that out when we discarded the ether hypothesis around a century ago.
backfromthestorm said:
This isn't good dude.
And 'air' isn't the 'transmission medium' for WiFi. We figured that out when we discarded the ether hypothesis around a century ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-what exactly "isn´t good" ?
Ok you are correct, yes, WIFI (as any other electromagnetic wave) can also be transmitted through vacuum, so yes there is no need of "air"
Re-ported to a MOD I don't think this should be shown or talked about on XDA this isn't an hacking site like you might think for taking advantage of other peoples accounts.
XDA is a hacking community for the good like Rooting.
This app has been on XDA for quite a while http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1593990
Even a portal article about it http://www.xda-developers.com/android/droidsheep-undresses-network-security-and-shows-how-its-done/
Please use the main thread to discuss this app, not this one.
@ shankly1985, we appreciate your concern, but people need to know how insecure important accounts can be. Thus enabling them to make the changes to fix them.
Thread Closed.

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