If you are like me, you should have all your favorite apps, documents, pictures etc. stored right on your phone that basically gives a full picture of who you are as an individual. You also have been pretty satisfied with the pattern, pin number, password or face unlock or all of these together as a security you have in place to prevent unauthorized access. But here is something that happened by accident that led me down this thought process. While trying to yank out the phone from my pocket while driving (which when you are getting a phone call especially becomes the most impossible task), I noticed that the phone "Power Down", "Restart", "Airplane Mode" pop up was on. This is on top of my regular swipe to unlock with pin number lock screen. This made me curious and noticed that the back button will work to close this pop up and also the power button works to reactivate this pop up. I hope everyone is with me till here. What surprised me was that the phone will actually turn off or restart from this point without the need for an unlock code. This means anyone with rooting and backup knowledge can steal my phone, restart my phone into recovery and wipe it to make the phone their own or just create a backup (CWM) and through that access my personal information. I know that photos and documents stored on the external card is open unless encrypted. But I hoped the internal data would be secure.
What do you guys think about this? Is there any app that would prevent access to the phone while locked via hard keys? What do you do to keep your information safe?
TL;DR version
If phone is stolen and person has knowledge of android they can factory reset your phone, even if you have a password setup. If they enter recovery they can wipe data and factory reset your phone and now it is usable for them.
My theory if you have your phone rooted I wish there was a way to lock the recovery with a password. Unfortunately ODIN will always be available able to get back to stock. Cerberus is a great app to have full control of phone if stolen FYI
DesperateScorpion151 said:
What do you guys think about this? Is there any app that would prevent access to the phone while locked via hard keys? What do you do to keep your information safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As soon as I realize it is missing I would activate the wipe feature in this software.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout&hl=en
If I have your phone in my possession I guarantee I can hack it regardless of any security measure you make take, so the best solution is to be able to wipe it remotely.
technically even a remote wipe is not enough if the thief is knowledgeable. I accidentally wiped flashing in Odin with nand erase checkd and recovered everything that was on it using this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994705 so your never completely safe
Exactly my point like everyone else confirms it here. We have advanced so much to a point that even a 9 year old (not that 9 is too young to know computer basics) who is familiar with basics on rooting after reading through forums after forums can get away with stealing a smart phone now a days. At this point the only way I could think of protecting my data (first priority) and then track my phone is if the tracker is incorporated into the boot loader or recovery itself on top of what ever software you have installed in the OS. So if the thief tries to unlock my phone after a restart, the installed software should take care of the rest but If he/she is smart enough to go via boot loader or recovery then the incorporated tracker can do its thing. Anything of that sort exists?
Did you forget you could just pull the battery to get into recovery?
Why do you need to pull the battery?
Aerowinder said:
Why do you need to pull the battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't, but its easier than going through all of the steps OP posted.
I really doubt my data is worth anything. Pictures of my cats aren't exactly hot commodities and I don't store anything on my phone that I wouldn't publicly reveal, anyway.
I wouldn't be worried about my worthless information, just annoyed I was dumb enough to let it get stolen. Yeah, I know that basically anyone with half a brain can wipe a phone and re-sell it - it always amazes me when people think that thieves aren't smart enough to do that.
I'm cynical. Saves a lot of worry since I just expect the worst, I guess.
They get into your email where it may be more info to compromise.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I would be less worried about the minute possibility of a phone thief targeting your personal information than I would be about your personal data being mined from your phone by numerous applications.
Bottom line is, if you use Google or Facebook, you personal information is already in the hands of giant corporations who will never be held accountable for the theft of your personal info.
Take Facebook for example - within the app, the only time it should ever ping your location is if you are using FB chat and have the location setting enabled. However, even when you disable location within FB chat, every single time you open Facebook it uses your GPS to get your location. Every time.
In addition, although you are unable to see it in action because there is no notification icon for it, I would bet a million bucks it's also pulling your network location if your GPS is off.
Facebook is constantly working in the background - even if you never opened it.
Google? I won't even begin to try and explain the amount of data they are collecting from you. As is T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, ATT, etc. every single second that your phone is on with data enabled.
Should we be concerned with some random thief who knows the ins and outs of Android pulling your data? Sure, we should think about it. But the reality is, if you own a smart phone your information is already out there in the hands of companies who will use it to any end they can in order to turn a profit. Period.
ButWhile I see the pros and cons of different parts involved in using social networks and so forth, one thing we can (at least for now) be certain of is that they won't use your credit card information etc. to make illegal purchases and so forth. I know of a person who routinely used the credit card app to check balance, pay bill etc. and next thing he was getting phone calls to see if the purchases made at a casino in Spain are OK?! This is without ever losing the phone!!. So, it could be worse in the case of phone loss. Sure, personal data, pictures and even email to some extent is not as bothersome to me as identity theft. Thank to some anti-fraud features of the banks etc. one can deny and simply not be associated with that activity (of course in legitamate cases). My friend ended up getting another card with different number and they closed the online banking account. He had to re-register all over with another id. So, it can be a big hassle. I heard of cases where people had to hire lawyers and run around courts to prove their innocence due to identity theft. Of course if you keep a picture of your driving licence on the phone, you are really asking for it so... (trust me, one girl was doing this because she didn't want to carry her purse/wallet on night outs)
Having said that, I am always worried if the roms we download here in XDA have trojans or backdoors built into kernels and system files... I know that it is like doubting even the good devs but how do we know for sure? Unless you are really an in-depth expert and figure out all the details such as processes and ports that are open and so forth, how do you really know? The phone's data icons keep pinging back and forth every now and then and at times I wonder what's being sent and what is it receiving... just sync'ing contacts...or...??
Call me paranoid but, after what happened to my friend, and similar stories, I am a bit skeptical about the security and integrity of the ROMs in the first place... Now, mostly I download and try different roms and settle on one that suits my preferences. I use the phone for calls as well as to make general tasks easier in many aspects except financial transactions. In short, I don't trust my smart phones.
For those of you wondering what Google is tracking, (not by any means the only place to look) login to your gmail account and look around different settings. You'll see web history, phone data to name a few..
Related
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3458.asp
http://www.cellebrite.com/forensic-products/ufed-physical-pro.html
regardless of my reasons behind this this makes all phones inherently tappable if stolen etc or from other corporate espionage attempts
this is a serious flaw and i would like to see if its possible for you custom rom bakers to cook us up some protection
if they want my info they should subpoena my records from sprint or Google not be able to brute force into any and every phone with a device
i and many other would be more then happy to donate for such a solution especially if it wasn't dependent upon only 1 rom
seen this but doesn't yet support the evo
http://www.whispersys.com/whispercore.html
+1 to this for my hd2 too please! or just android
I'll throw in
We should start a Kickstarter for this or something. Either way, count me in to contribute $150+
I could foresee a specific app that launches when plugged into a computer.
If the phone fails to receive user authorization or is plugged into a blacklisted device (say, CelleBrite UFED), then the phone is locked down/wiped.
And/or spoof information, a fake system dump.
tropicalbrit said:
I could foresee a specific app that launches when plugged into a computer.
If the phone fails to receive user authorization or is plugged into a blacklisted device (say, CelleBrite UFED), then the phone is locked down/wiped.
And/or spoof information, a fake system dump.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
excellent thinking glad im not the only paranoid one at this point
or make it so ur phone gives it a virus or borks the device somehow
{ParanoiA} said:
or make it so ur phone gives it a virus or borks the device somehow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't want to screw up the device, they ain't cheap. A bit too aggressive
Bumping for continued interest.
im not sure if the fulldisk encryption option in android negates this or not but i believe with ICS if u have full disk encryption enabled should negate what this can do correct me if im wrong
spyngamerman said:
im not sure if the fulldisk encryption option in android negates this or not but i believe with ICS if u have full disk encryption enabled should negate what this can do correct me if im wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only if you can manage to power off your device before the cops take it from you. Otherwise, the data partition is already mounted, and they can suck it down into their UFED via the ADB interface.
A question, though: if you have USB debugging disabled, then ADB isn't available over USB, so could the UFED still access your data? The cops would need to turn on USB debugging, wouldn't they? And if you have a pattern/passcode lock, they wouldn't be able to get into the settings to do it.
Anyway, encrypting your data partition and powering off your phone before the cops get to it is the safest option. Use a really long passphrase, though, because they could still grab an image of your encrypted data partition and take it to a lab where they could try to brute-force the passphrase.
whitslack said:
Only if you can manage to power off your device before the cops take it from you. Otherwise, the data partition is already mounted, and they can suck it down into their UFED via the ADB interface.
A question, though: if you have USB debugging disabled, then ADB isn't available over USB, so could the UFED still access your data? The cops would need to turn on USB debugging, wouldn't they? And if you have a pattern/passcode lock, they wouldn't be able to get into the settings to do it.
Anyway, encrypting your data partition and powering off your phone before the cops get to it is the safest option. Use a really long passphrase, though, because they could still grab an image of your encrypted data partition and take it to a lab where they could try to brute-force the passphrase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes good points
the simplest method i find to protect against this is use Full disc encryption for starters
then use cryptfs to set a long ass password for preboot and keep a short pin for lockscreen that's reasonable and have a nice shortcut for immediate poweroff on lockscreen if concerned about this and then powering off is easy/fast
and ofc keep usb debugging off unless needed
if your really adventurous you can also use yubikey key second slot for partial password for the preboot if you have a microsd adapter for it and your device supports it preboot via OTG etc as input
then
type in a brainpassyouknow+yubikeyslot2
and its 2 factor auth and secure as **** long ass random password combining something you know and something you have
I'm also interested in this project
Let me tell you a little story about a guy (me) who was sitting in a car while his girlfriend was working when an officer approached. I wasn't doing anything wrong but due to a little misfortune I had nowhere I could go and stay so I had to just sit in the car until she was done working. The cop came to the car and asked me what I was doing and why I was sitting in the car on my laptop in a public garage. I told him I had nowhere to go and I was waiting on my girl. I noticed his hand placed on his weapon and I realized very quickly this was not going to be a casual encounter. he asked me to step out of the vehicle and I asked him why. Now I know normally you shouldn't question an officer but something seamed very off about this gentleman. It was when I locked the doors that things started to escelate and my anxiety went through the roof. I told the officer that I did not feel safe with him holding his weapon to me when I had done absolutly nothing wrong. He just became aggitated like a guy on steroids and called in some other officers. Well things wasn't looking good for me but I decided to try and use my phone camera as some added protection so I wouldn't get shot for absolutlly no reason at all. Well the cops did back off, but this is where things got really crazy. a few minutes later, and it couldn't have been more than 5 minutes, my phone went to some screen like when you have emergency dialing only. I tried calling my girlfriends job but nothing worked at all. I got scared so I dialed 911...NOTHING!!! These guys basically turned my phone into a paperweight. I couldn't do anything with it. I didn't know what to do so I called out the window to a crowd of people and told them to call 911 for me. I then noticed the officers leaving in their vehicles and I got out and ran to my girlfriends job where I stayed until she got off of work.
Now in all of this there is two main points that I really feel are extreme issues. One is how is it legal for anyone, even an officer of the law, to take away your ability to use emergency services?? And second why do they need this software that basically can give them an opening to do whatever they want to you without you being able to protect yourself. Law enforcement is becoming more and more alarming to me with all the technology that they have at their disposal. I say if they want to be able to have surveillance on us 24/7 I believe we should get the same respect. We cannot stand by and have our basic human rights violated like this!!!!
Questions answered in the below quotes!
cmstlist said:
What it comes down to is, anyone smart enough to know how the GNex works can beat these sorts of things. You'll catch the dumb criminals but few others. Even if you could theoretically put a lock on CWM, the device can be wiped from the bootloader level and made to work. And chances are, if you have CWM loaded you already have an unlocked bootloader. Which means if you put a password on CWM, the thief could just reflash a clean CWM over top of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
martonikaj said:
Exactly. The only criminal getting caught here is an extremely dumb one. If you're stealing phones you know to go in and uninstall Lookout or factory reset the device... then you wont be able to get the device back either way. Any criminal "smart" enough to use CWM to wipe the phone will use one of the many other ways to make it untraceable.
As someone else said, call the carrier and blacklist the SIM and IMEI.
And if you want your phone to be the most secure, use a PIN lockscreen, fully encrypt the device, and keep it stock with a locked bootloader. And above all... keep your phone in your sight/possession whenever in public. All basic stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
_Dennis_ said:
The anti-theft stuff is not so much anti-theft of the phone as anti-theft of you personal information. Think of it like this, you lose your device, criminal takes your information and uses your stored bank account information to steal your money, your stored address and name to get a new driver's license, and new license to get new credit card to ruin your credit score, along with making $500 on selling your phone.
Or he steals your phone, you remote wipe and blacklist iemi, he makes $200 selling phone for parts.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bwcorvus said:
They can wipe the phone in fastboot also...so this would stop nothing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
================================================================================================================
So I got Avast with it's Anti-Theft protection baked into the ROM, but of course if my phone gets lost, it doesn't matter if i remote lock it or wipe it. If the thief is smart enough, they can just reboot into CWM and wipe data/dalvik/cache and flash a new rom onto it and resell the phone as "new". (And trust me, they are in 9/10 cases that smart)
So I was wondering, is there any way to put a password onto CWM? Like a 4 digit pin or similar. I realize it would be hard to do given the limited controls (vol up, down, power), but does the Touch Recovery enable this?
That way it would be a good safeguard for losing your phone as no one without access can wipe the ROM and render your theft-protection useless within seconds..
Thanks
Isn't that what you want them to do? Even if they're not sophisticated enough to wipe it you're just going to wipe it yourself considering the chances of getting it back are slim to none.
Either way, the device gets wiped.
EddieN said:
So I got Avast with it's Anti-Theft protection baked into the ROM, but of course if my phone gets lost, it doesn't matter if i remote lock it or wipe it. If the thief is smart enough, they can just reboot into CWM and wipe data/dalvik/cache and flash a new rom onto it and resell the phone as "new". (And trust me, they are in 9/10 cases that smart)
So I was wondering, is there any way to put a password onto CWM? Like a 4 digit pin or similar. I realize it would be hard to do given the limited controls (vol up, down, power), but does the Touch Recovery enable this?
That way it would be a good safeguard for losing your phone as no one without access can wipe the ROM and render your theft-protection useless within seconds..
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, I have wondered this a few times too. I mean, hopefully if you lose your phone then you'll be able to find it before any of this stuff happens...but not necessarily. If the thief turns your phone off/battery pulls then they effectively win! I suppose the benefit of a non-removable battery is that, if you have a lockscreen password, then the thief should find it hard to even power off your device!
I think a lock on CWM should be implemented...but who wants to forget their password to CWM and never be able access their device again? Not me!
---------- Post added at 10:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 AM ----------
martonikaj said:
Isn't that what you want them to do? Even if they're not sophisticated enough to wipe it you're just going to wipe it yourself considering the chances of getting it back are slim to none.
Either way, the device gets wiped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true...didn't think of that. Still though...I'd prefer my phone back!
Unlocking the bootloader would wipe the phone, and afaik there is no way to prevent that. Also, it isn't going to stop your phone from getting stolen...
Well sure, if my phone gets stolen it gets stolen. I don't have it anymore. But Avasts Anti-Theft enables you to send SMS commands to lock/wipe the phone, turn on/off GPS, disable any user interaction except from SMS messages from TRUSTED numbers etc. So even if I don't have the phone, BUT I have a password protected CWM, the phone will be useless as they cant flash a new ROM or have access to the OS/internal SD (thanks to disabling USB when the phone is flagged as lost) so it's just a paperweight with no resell value no matter what sim or battery they insert. It will be locked.
As long as they have the phone turned off, sure, I can't access it's location and whatnot. But at the same time they cant do anything with the phone either. I also doubt they'd disassemble the phone and take the time to somehow hardware flash the ROM chip to force a flash.
There have been cases in my country where people have gotten back their ipads/iphones/phones that have their respective "find my phone" if it gets lost/stolen etc.. Manufacturers don't implement functions like this for nothing, and law enforcement is usually helpful in cases like this if the GPS location and IMEI number are provided, as well as proof of ownership (which is displayed on the lock-screen of Anti-Theft as well as the IMEI).
It just seems contradicting having an Anti-Theft option when CWM is a few button presses away from wiping the phone and everything along with it, totally crippling anti-theft software.
Locking the bootloader every time I flash a rom (just in case i go out that one night and get robbed etc.) is a pain, and even if they unlock the bootloader everything is wiped anyway (including Anti-Theft).
The only reasonable solution is to have a password protected CWM. But of course, it's a HUGE risk if you forget your password to it.
and afaik by wiping through SMS, it only wipes the personal data (pictures, sms, anything personal) but keeps the rom intact as not to break the Anti-Theft. It would be really stupid if you remote wiped and the entire rom was wiped? Given that the thief isn't as smart as the regular XDA-crawler they'd need to flash a custom rom for it to even boot after that. But that's another story. Point being that remote wipe doesn't wipe the rom. Only all settings/personal data so a thief cant access private info.
imo if my phone got lost/stolen i'd try to (before it would happen) safeguard myself as much as I could to maybe at least have a small chance of getting it back. You never know.
Completely unnecessary, just call your carrier and report your phone lost/stolen and have them blacklist the IMEI number, done.
In any case, I can't even see a reason for this sort of childishness. If you lost your phone, bad on you, take better care of your things; if you had your phone stolen because you weren't paying attention to where it was, again, bad on you, take better care of your things; if you were threatened and mugged at knife/gunpoint, give the damn phone up and be happy, your life is worth more than any stupid phone, **** happens and then you die.
ZeroBarrier said:
Completely unnecessary, just call your carrier and report your phone lost/stolen and have them blacklist the IMEI number, done.
In any case, I can't even see a reason for this sort of childishness. If you lost your phone, bad on you, take better care of your things; if you had your phone stolen because you weren't paying attention to where it was, again, bad on you, take better care of your things; if you were threatened and mugged at knife/gunpoint, give the damn phone up and be happy, your life is worth more than any stupid phone, **** happens and then you die.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no reason to be rude and condescending. A phone can be lost/stolen no matter how careful you are. Of course your life is incomparable in value to a stupid phone, but that's not what this thread is about so no reason to go OT.
Back OT though, I still believe a password system should be looked in to. What if this wasn't about your phone being stolen, what if someone is just screwing with your phone? Why DO we have passwords? We have them to keep intruders at bay for things we don't want them to have access to. I wouldn't want anyone to be able to access CWM and wipe my phone.
It just seems strange how such a powerful tool can render any lockscreen/pin unlock/pattern unlock useless by just wiping the phone and reflashing a rom (keeping personal data such as pictures etc.) and gaining access to them anyway. It renders all these passwords/lockscreens etc. useless.
EddieN said:
I wouldn't want anyone to be able to access CWM and wipe my phone.
It just seems strange how such a powerful tool can render any lockscreen/pin unlock/pattern unlock useless by just wiping the phone and reflashing a rom (keeping personal data such as pictures etc.) and gaining access to them anyway. It renders all these passwords/lockscreens etc. useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does the stock recovery. Doesn't seem as if anyone is complaining to Samsung or Google asking them for password protection on stock recoveries.
In the end, it's a portable communications device designed to be in your possession at all times, and if it is in your possession at all times, then there isn't any need to worry about a 3rd party wiping your phone randomly.
I am also hoping for password on the recovery.
What it comes down to is, anyone smart enough to know how the GNex works can beat these sorts of things. You'll catch the dumb criminals but few others. Even if you could theoretically put a lock on CWM, the device can be wiped from the bootloader level and made to work. And chances are, if you have CWM loaded you already have an unlocked bootloader. Which means if you put a password on CWM, the thief could just reflash a clean CWM over top of it.
cmstlist said:
What it comes down to is, anyone smart enough to know how the GNex works can beat these sorts of things. You'll catch the dumb criminals but few others. Even if you could theoretically put a lock on CWM, the device can be wiped from the bootloader level and made to work. And chances are, if you have CWM loaded you already have an unlocked bootloader. Which means if you put a password on CWM, the thief could just reflash a clean CWM over top of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. The only criminal getting caught here is an extremely dumb one. If you're stealing phones you know to go in and uninstall Lookout or factory reset the device... then you wont be able to get the device back either way. Any criminal "smart" enough to use CWM to wipe the phone will use one of the many other ways to make it untraceable.
As someone else said, call the carrier and blacklist the SIM and IMEI.
And if you want your phone to be the most secure, use a PIN lockscreen, fully encrypt the device, and keep it stock with a locked bootloader. And above all... keep your phone in your sight/possession whenever in public. All basic stuff.
EddieN said:
So I got Avast with it's Anti-Theft protection baked into the ROM, but of course if my phone gets lost, it doesn't matter if i remote lock it or wipe it. If the thief is smart enough, they can just reboot into CWM and wipe data/dalvik/cache and flash a new rom onto it and resell the phone as "new". (And trust me, they are in 9/10 cases that smart)
So I was wondering, is there any way to put a password onto CWM? Like a 4 digit pin or similar. I realize it would be hard to do given the limited controls (vol up, down, power), but does the Touch Recovery enable this?
That way it would be a good safeguard for losing your phone as no one without access can wipe the ROM and render your theft-protection useless within seconds..
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The anti-theft stuff is not so much anti-theft of the phone as anti-theft of you personal information. Think of it like this, you lose your device, criminal takes your information and uses your stored bank account information to steal your money, your stored address and name to get a new driver's license, and new license to get new credit card to ruin your credit score, along with making $500 on selling your phone.
Or he steals your phone, you remote wipe and blacklist iemi, he makes $200 selling phone for parts.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
They can wipe the phone in fastboot also...so this would stop nothing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
bwcorvus said:
They can wipe the phone in fastboot also...so this would stop nothing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.
You can wipe (or obtain all the data stored into io) a galaxy nexus directly from the bootloader... Even before loading the recovery...
If I was in you i would care more about stolen data/photos and so on... (ics support full system encryption but clockwork mod does not iirc)
sooooo?
So back to the original question Any1 no of a hack that password protects recovery? Its a great idea and for those that don't think so for whatever reason wouldn't have to use it .
drawde40599 said:
So back to the original question Any1 no of a hack that password protects recovery? Its a great idea and for those that don't think so for whatever reason wouldn't have to use it .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you not read the thread? Its a waste of time to do this...
I guess it's a conundrum for us hacky types - unlocked bootloader lets us do all sorts of stuff, and gives us an escape hatch from unstable ROMs without losing our data. But it also lets anyone else get full access.
Now what would be nice is if the unlocked bootloader could be configured with a password. So it's effectively locked for everyone else unless they wipe.
cmstlist said:
I guess it's a conundrum for us hacky types - unlocked bootloader lets us do all sorts of stuff, and gives us an escape hatch from unstable ROMs without losing our data. But it also lets anyone else get full access.
Now what would be nice is if the unlocked bootloader could be configured with a password. So it's effectively locked for everyone else unless they wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if you have a locked bootloader, all they have to do is type Fastboot oem unlock, and your data is wiped. With the phone we have, there is NOTHING you can do to stop someone from wiping it. If we could put a password before that, this would be the only safeguard (like a bios lock on a computer).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
bwcorvus said:
Even if you have a locked bootloader, all they have to do is type Fastboot oem unlock, and your data is wiped. With the phone we have, there is NOTHING you can do to stop someone from wiping it. If we could put a password before that, this would be the only safeguard (like a bios lock on a computer).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, there's the separate questions of data integrity vs. tracking software integrity.
Most Androids, with stock recovery, are capable of being wiped too without booting into the OS at all.
cmstlist said:
What it comes down to is, anyone smart enough to know how the GNex works can beat these sorts of things. You'll catch the dumb criminals but few others. Even if you could theoretically put a lock on CWM, the device can be wiped from the bootloader level and made to work. And chances are, if you have CWM loaded you already have an unlocked bootloader. Which means if you put a password on CWM, the thief could just reflash a clean CWM over top of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
martonikaj said:
Exactly. The only criminal getting caught here is an extremely dumb one. If you're stealing phones you know to go in and uninstall Lookout or factory reset the device... then you wont be able to get the device back either way. Any criminal "smart" enough to use CWM to wipe the phone will use one of the many other ways to make it untraceable.
As someone else said, call the carrier and blacklist the SIM and IMEI.
And if you want your phone to be the most secure, use a PIN lockscreen, fully encrypt the device, and keep it stock with a locked bootloader. And above all... keep your phone in your sight/possession whenever in public. All basic stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
_Dennis_ said:
The anti-theft stuff is not so much anti-theft of the phone as anti-theft of you personal information. Think of it like this, you lose your device, criminal takes your information and uses your stored bank account information to steal your money, your stored address and name to get a new driver's license, and new license to get new credit card to ruin your credit score, along with making $500 on selling your phone.
Or he steals your phone, you remote wipe and blacklist iemi, he makes $200 selling phone for parts.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bwcorvus said:
They can wipe the phone in fastboot also...so this would stop nothing.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thanks for the great insight then! I didn't know fully that you could, still, even with a hypothesized passworded CWM, gain access and flash a new recovery before even getting into recovery (i haven't stumbled upon a situation like this yet)
So really there is no way to fully PROTECT the device with a password per se, unless you, like someone said, keep it fully stock with the bootloader locked. That way the device will be wiped anyway. Or have some kind of a BIOS-lock.
The thread was made to merely speculate if a password for CWM was feasible, and if it was, if it would do any good. Since we have come to the conclusion that it is not (any good at least), the best thing to do is to simply encrypt the phone, put a lockscreen pin/pattern or something like it and take care of the phone (of course). If it gets stolen, it does. Call the carrier and flag the IMEI. I know that already, but it would be a nice consolidation to somehow have some hope of getting the device back.
Needless to say you probably never will. So be careful guys!
Thanks for the thread and the knowledgeable inputs, there were apparently a few more peeps wondering about the same thing as I so I hope it helped them
A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.
Just to share, I found following to be foolproof
- Setup Pin + Fingerpints
- Setup Pin / Password for phone startup
This
- Keeps the device encrypted
- Unable to boot without pin
- Unable to access TWRP without pin
- Doesn't auto-mount on USB connect
Still, it would be interesting to hear about any cons of the above setup.
hyperorb said:
A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The easiest is to not get it snatched. Or if it does you chase them down and get your phone back. But barring that not alot you can really do and ill explain why.
When someone steals a phone, they dont care about the data on it. They are either gonna sell it or use it. Either way The device has the sim removed with in sec of it being taken and then it is reset or flashed to stock to remove any and all locks. This normally happens within minutes if not seconds of a device being stolen.
zelendel said:
The easiest is to not get it snatched. Or if it does you chase them down and get your phone back. But barring that not alot you can really do and ill explain why.
When someone steals a phone, they dont care about the data on it. They are either gonna sell it or use it. Either way The device has the sim removed with in sec of it being taken and then it is reset or flashed to stock to remove any and all locks. This normally happens within minutes if not seconds of a device being stolen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.
hyperorb said:
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No apple doesn't have the option. Main reason the fbi had to pay to have an iPhone unlocked not to long ago.
Part of the reason I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.
hyperorb said:
A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cerberus is a really nice app... You have alot of options sadly it isn't free! But heyy, it's cheap and it's functional! Other then that keep your device encrypted and a boot password should do.
As long as you're not rooted and unlocked, it will be a bit hard for an thieve to have access to your phone. Leaving ADB on, might as well decrease the overall security of the phone.
I for example was given a tablet which had a Google account synced with it, and resetting from recovery only made me renter the credidentials previously used to be able to pass the setup.
My luck was that the guy left ADB on and with a simple command I bypassed the setup screen.
hyperorb said:
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about iPhone's but for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.
Renosh said:
Not sure about iPhone's but for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. If someone steals your device 99.98% of the time it is too use it or sell it. With way your data is meaningless.
As for them wanting your pass code the above is right. But as they couldn't reset it you could have reported it stolen and the police may be able to find it but most of the time they have better things to do then recover a lost cell phone.
I used to work with people that felt with stolen cell phones. I can say the normally. Withing 30 min of a device being stolen the data is gone. And when I say that I mean a complete DOJ style wipe, format and imei change.
zelendel said:
No apple doesn't have the option. Main reason the fbi had to pay to have an iPhone unlocked not to long ago.
Part of the reason I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
....so do all iOS keyboards, both first and third party. it's required for them to function
---------- Post added at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------
zelendel said:
Exactly. If someone steals your device 99.98% of the time it is too use it or sell it. With way your data is meaningless.
As for them wanting your pass code the above is right. But as they couldn't reset it you could have reported it stolen and the police may be able to find it but most of the time they have better things to do then recover a lost cell phone.
I used to work with people that felt with stolen cell phones. I can say the normally. Withing 30 min of a device being stolen the data is gone. And when I say that I mean a complete DOJ style wipe, format and imei change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)
2x4 said:
....so do all iOS keyboards, both first and third party. it's required for them to function
---------- Post added at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------
this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That can easily be bypassed by wiping the data off the device and flash a stock rom to it. The only the the FRP does is prevent them from getting at the data.
No its not really. It's so they can send relevant ads. Those that remember smartphones before Apple or Android knows that it is not really needed.
zelendel said:
That can easily be bypassed by wiping the data off the device and flash a stock rom to it. The only the the FRP does is prevent them from getting at the data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but how can they flash a stock ROM onto the device if the "require PIN before startup" option is selected? how can they flash if recovery has a PIN on it?
2x4 said:
but how can they flash a stock ROM onto the device if the "require PIN before startup" option is selected? how can they flash if recovery has a PIN on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because that is before startup and not the bootloader, even with those set up they normally dont cover download mode or what ever mode that particular OEM uses (not all use the same). In extreme cases with some apps that make it a bit harder or people just dont want to be bothered to mess with things too deeply there are tools available that Will push the update right to the board bypassing all security. Sure its a little extra work but it is a sure bet when you cant get into a device and cant be bothered hunting down getting around it.
Also for the passwords on startup. any password cracker would take out the average password in a matter of min.
This has been very interesting and so much to learn. Thank you all for great inputs.
zelendel said:
I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. But then Microsoft too is not clean. Browser , Windows.... That way we can never work.
Puddi_Puddin said:
Cerberus is a really nice app...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have it in all my Androids Very helpful at times, even for non theft purpose..
XDRdaniel said:
Leaving ADB on, might as well decrease the overall security of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Will read more on this.
Renosh said:
for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once a phone is lost, there's little chance to get it back. Device loss is one thing and data loss (or rather data access) is another. The later at times can have more problems.
I used to keep my id papers (for ease of printing anywhere as needed) on phone (Nokia N5). Lost that phone .. and till date I hope no one used those to buy services, do illegal stuff. That was a lesson learnt hard way
zelendel said:
With way your data is meaningless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends where you are. There are places where one can avail services in other's name using fake ids or stolen data etc.
2x4 said:
. this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.. I think I came across that in OP3. Didn't pay attention though.
zelendel said:
Because that is before startup and not the bootloader,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is better to loose one than two. Phone is anyways lost .. so at least we can try secure data. Let them wipe and then get nothing in hand.
hyperorb said:
This has been very interesting and so much to learn. Thank you all for great inputs.
Yes. But then Microsoft too is not clean. Browser , Windows.... That way we can never work.
Have it in all my Androids Very helpful at times, even for non theft purpose..
Thanks. Will read more on this.
Once a phone is lost, there's little chance to get it back. Device loss is one thing and data loss (or rather data access) is another. The later at times can have more problems.
I used to keep my id papers (for ease of printing anywhere as needed) on phone (Nokia N5). Lost that phone .. and till date I hope no one used those to buy services, do illegal stuff. That was a lesson learnt hard way
Depends where you are. There are places where one can avail services in other's name using fake ids or stolen data etc.
Hmm.. I think I came across that in OP3. Didn't pay attention though.
It is better to loose one than two. Phone is anyways lost .. so at least we can try secure data. Let them wipe and then get nothing in hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to steal someone's phone to get a fake ID with their info. 1500 usd will get you that without it.
As for getting nothing in hand. They got exactly what they wanted. The device. Unless you work for the government in a high place. Then your data is meaningless on your phone. You already put it in enough places on line while using a pc that if they want it they already have it.
I could easily steal someone identity with a little more then what they post on Facebook or other social media outlets.
So, since I've got this over monster I've had a shocking number of issues. From sudden influx of crap followers online, people sending photos of some of those little people some people keep as pets.
But, it was probably a month in kept getting restarts that left my wall paper different, noticed key guard was in the running processes and Samsung wasn't able to give me much info at all.
Frequently my antivirus Would randomly flag some huge archive that would appear in Google vending folder and for some reason my weather app for my gear fit updated EVERYDAY
Today a series of unfortunate events and my phone did a factory reset shortly after a drop. I actually find that interesting because I don't know the drop or one of my...well call them gremlins. (Let's face it most of things i have attributed are probably just me going into PTSD blah blah blah... )
But today Turn process I did streamline to get Nic cards logging up and go and build to set up a good firewall get ad blockers going but I wanted to see what happened. And I go my weather app eventually.
And for some reason over in reddit they tend to think permissions like this are normal (I know Samsung's calculator is more than a calculator but mine once had almost every permission with about 800MB storage taken up.
So, This weather app seemed a little abnormal look up the IP address, looked up the company and, I looked furlough their partners for Samsung and Knox (didnt Find the one)
Just a quick assumption;
This module has the Hotspot 2.0 and REALLY likes its certificates. I noticed the option to share Your Wi-Fi with someone is always default toggle on.
If you scroll through the websites what we do you see that they are very proud that they have the edge one of the largest threat assessments for everybody when hop away from 1 of their servers , how many of them there are etc. And I Have this feeling that my device is actually just a nice little go between allowing others access to the internet while gathering their data points.
I can't actually post links but if you do their site plus this thing takes you right to the talk about their platform. Gove the data that goes through phones, that is good for anything from Cambridge analytica code level stealing countries to just figuring out how stable and great 5G is
/us/en/
what-we-do/intelligent-platform
I've seen the Address actually go by in my primary bp and add blocker but that 1 doesn't give me per app metrics so not sure what else goes to them.
Also, suddenly I think I know at least partially why they don't want flashed ROMS(?), at least yet.
I'd actually really like to know if anyone else, specifically related to 5G sees these also. Given the timing of that release device and anal FMRi weather app there. And for some reason even though I use a little cheaper company gives me unlimited data they have swapped my network several times between bigger company the smaller company. Its same towers and stuff usually so no big deal but, doesn't normally do that. (Have noticed that actually from the Galaxy store I see that quite often, but the "same" download from play store different version number less permissions)
(By the way hello this is the 1st device actually looking to rooting, prior the risk of that access to someone else was too much. Thanks for letting me join the community, I do hope I catch on quick ans don't drive any one too crazy)
(I tried to add in pictures of the weather app permissions and everything but can't post pictures either)
A drop shouldn't cause a factory reset... if it was caused by software you have an apk(s) that are trashware.
A 3rd party launcher put mine in a boot loop... twice.
If you did a recent firmware update it may have corrupted that load, reload as you did.
A virus or trojan are suspect as well. Run Malwarebytes and Trojan scanner. Some malware may not always be detected.
If you suspect a virus after a reload be careful what you load and bring into the system including the on SD card and any backups. Start with the base load and add only apps from Playstore at first. Go from there if it runs ok. Be wary of updates, one at a time, look for issues as you progress.
Same with backup data... if it's there you'll need to isolate it or dump all the data.
Use a package disabler like PD MDM to block bloatware from running and to troubleshoot.
blackhawk said:
A 3rd party launcher put mine in a boot loop... twice.
If you did a recent firmware update it may have corrupted that load, reload as you did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was worried so, as I'd never seen it i just know these things actually include that hardware backed encryption. I had worries that I had knocked that loose and might have issues with it later. (Accelerometer is off bit it seems now)
I can say likely:
1. Third party lock screen with data wipe. Not highly reviewed but was but trashy. May have accidently in the tussle woke the screen with motion and performed a wipe.
2. Package disabled. I play with what I can get away with disabling. Some Knox stuff is bit touchy.
3. I'd managed to start process of adding a second secure folder on a secondary profile. It hadn't like it but stayed working.
Or combo 2 & 3 but lock screen most likely I'd say
HungryRobotics said:
I was worried so, as I'd never seen it i just know these things actually include that hardware backed encryption. I had worries that I had knocked that loose and might have issues with it later. (Accelerometer is off bit it seems now)
I can say likely:
1. Third party lock screen with data wipe. Not highly reviewed but was but trashy. May have accidently in the tussle woke the screen with motion and performed a wipe.
2. Package disabled. I play with what I can get away with disabling. Some Knox stuff is bit touchy.
3. I'd managed to start process of adding a second secure folder on a secondary profile. It hadn't like it but stayed working.
Or combo 2 & 3 but lock screen most likely I'd say
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get a good case like the Bolt. High G impacts can cause internal damage but usually not especially if in a case.
I don't use secure folder, encryption or any screen lock especially 3rd party. Any apk you give administrator rights to lock the phone can effectively trash your OS load in a heartbeat.
Have had passwords get corrupted (rare) before and gotten totally locked out on a laptop bios.
That machine is now useless.
On Androids you can reload to recover if all else fails but a reload takes a lot of work...
Can anyone help me carrier unlock my Verizon phone? My phone has been hacked and I hope being able to flash it will help me to get rid of whatever they have done to it. Can anyone tell me why I get this message when I reset my phone? Any help would be greatly appreciated
there is no carrier unlock for VZW models. if you can boot into recovery, sideload the OTA version that was last on your device.
What did you do that resulted in the phone being hacked? With the sectors being wiped that are shown in the images, it looks like you have provided total device access to something whilst having an unlocked bootloader or something similar. If you let us know what happened, it might help us to figure out what options you may still have.
But definitely see if you can do what @uicnren mentioned first.
Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also
How do I find what OTA version was used on my phone?
Nothing hacked here... this is an error when wiping the Secure Element (the trusted secure module).
(https://android-review.linaro.org/p...cure_element/1.0/SecureElementHalCallback.cpp line #66)
Are you initiating the wipe from the recovery? If so, that's likely the reason. If there is an account attached to the device, a wipe must first be initiated from within Android (Settings)
Woodruff87 said:
Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what symptoms were you seeing that made you think you were hacked?
Those errors are normal in Recovery Mode. I see them all the time, sometimes they don't appear, usually they do.
Did you remove your google accounts from settings, do a factory reset from the reset menu and lastly in recovery mode where you posted the screenshots from.
Your Account might be hacked but the phone is unlikely hacked. You would get a message at boot telling you that the device has been modified. With a locked bootloader its extremely unlikely (unless NSO Group is targeting you).
Woodruff87 said:
Can anyone help me carrier unlock my Verizon phone? My phone has been hacked and I hope being able to flash it will help me to get rid of whatever they have done to it. Can anyone tell me why I get this message when I reset my phone? Any help would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you unlock the bootloader? Have custom firmware/kernel installed?
A "hacker" wins nothing by resetting/wiping your phone. They want data, and that only works if the phone can turn on and works. This looks like a wipe/factory reset gone wrong, which spells user error or software error and less likely a "hacker" attack. Most hacks you will never notice. A hacker that makes you notice that something went wrong, is either an amateur or did it on purpose. Ergo, he wants you to know that something went wrong, which usually only happens in order to extort you. If there is no extortion, then an obvious act by a hacker is highly unlikely.
We need some more information. What firmware had you installed? What happened exactly when. Did you install any new apps recently? What did you do prior to something going wrong? All the information that could help us troubleshoot your issue.
You said your phone wiped itself a day after connecting to your girlfriends wifi, and that a replacement device that you got sent by your carrier, did the same. Did you check your Google account? Do you have two factor authentication activated? It sounds like your phone got wiped over wifi, which would require access to your Google account. It's just odd that you get errors, which normally shouldn't happen if someone would use the erase a lost Android device function.
It's also possible that your backup from your GAccount is simply corrupted (many people had issues with random reboots). You should try and set up your (replacement) phone anew without any backup, maybe that can fix your issue.
Beyond that Google account thing-y, anything else is highly unlikely. Even specialized companies have serious issues getting into a modern smartphone, lest alone an Android 12 phone with a Google Server grade Titan m2 chip. The newer the firmware, the less likely the chance that someone from the outside could get in, especially with a phone like a Pixel that isn't very common. Most security firms/govermental agencies can only abuse older, known security loopholes. It's more likely that very popular phones like a Samsung or IPhone are targets from "the bad guys", since there will be bigger payoff for breaking the security of those phones, since there is a greater pool of users to target. Most hacks I've witnessed weren't random, they were targeted. Ask yourself: Am I worth the trouble of getting hacked? Do you have anything of interest on your phone that would warrant an excessive use of resources? Managing to hack a Pixel is not only unlikely in terms of the security you need to breach, but also in terms of the potential payoff in relation to the necessary knowhow and resources. It's just "not worth it".
What you should do immediately, just in case, is secure your Google account. Change your password. Maybe even change your two-factor authentication, if you have one (sms is not secure, use a token generating software/device). Change the wifi password from your girlfriend and check the list of connected devices. make a list of these connected devices + history (find that in the rooter software) and check them against the devices you know of. Also check the list of connected devices to your GAccount. Use the option to log out ALL devices from your Google account, so only your device is connected.
Do any other people have access to your phone? Do any other people know your passwords? Does your girlfriend has access? Do any other people have biometric security saved on your phone? Do you trust your girlfriend completely?
Make sure you use a special, new password for your GAccount, never reuse old ones that you have used somewhere else. Also check your emails on https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Beyond that, if you are not doing already, use a password manager.
Woodruff87 said:
Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait a sec. Verizon sent you a new (refurbished probably but new nonetheless) phone and when you turned it on weren't you greeted with the startup menu? Am I missing something?
Morgrain said:
Did you unlock the bootloader? Have custom firmware/kernel installed?
A "hacker" wins nothing by resetting/wiping your phone. They want data, and that only works if the phone can turn on and works. This looks like a wipe/factory reset gone wrong, which spells user error or software error and less likely a "hacker" attack. Most hacks you will never notice. A hacker that makes you notice that something went wrong, is either an amateur or did it on purpose. Ergo, he wants you to know that something went wrong, which usually only happens in order to extort you. If there is no extortion, then an obvious act by a hacker is highly unlikely.
We need some more information. What firmware had you installed? What happened exactly when. Did you install any new apps recently? What did you do prior to something going wrong? All the information that could help us troubleshoot your issue.
You said your phone wiped itself a day after connecting to your girlfriends wifi, and that a replacement device that you got sent by your carrier, did the same. Did you check your Google account? Do you have two factor authentication activated? It sounds like your phone got wiped over wifi, which would require access to your Google account. It's just odd that you get errors, which normally shouldn't happen if someone would use the erase a lost Android device function.
It's also possible that your backup from your GAccount is simply corrupted (many people had issues with random reboots). You should try and set up your (replacement) phone anew without any backup, maybe that can fix your issue.
Beyond that Google account thing-y, anything else is highly unlikely. Even specialized companies have serious issues getting into a modern smartphone, lest alone an Android 12 phone with a Google Server grade Titan m2 chip. The newer the firmware, the less likely the chance that someone from the outside could get in, especially with a phone like a Pixel that isn't very common. Most security firms/govermental agencies can only abuse older, known security loopholes. It's more likely that very popular phones like a Samsung or IPhone are targets from "the bad guys", since there will be bigger payoff for breaking the security of those phones, since there is a greater pool of users to target. Most hacks I've witnessed weren't random, they were targeted. Ask yourself: Am I worth the trouble of getting hacked? Do you have anything of interest on your phone that would warrant an excessive use of resources? Managing to hack a Pixel is not only unlikely in terms of the security you need to breach, but also in terms of the potential payoff in relation to the necessary knowhow and resources. It's just "not worth it".
What you should do immediately, just in case, is secure your Google account. Change your password. Maybe even change your two-factor authentication, if you have one (sms is not secure, use a token generating software/device). Change the wifi password from your girlfriend and check the list of connected devices. make a list of these connected devices + history (find that in the rooter software) and check them against the devices you know of. Also check the list of connected devices to your GAccount. Use the option to log out ALL devices from your Google account, so only your device is connected.
Do any other people have access to your phone? Do any other people know your passwords? Does your girlfriend has access? Do any other people have biometric security saved on your phone? Do you trust your girlfriend completely?
Make sure you use a special, new password for your GAccount, never reuse old ones that you have used somewhere else. Also check your emails on https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Beyond that, if you are not doing already, use a password manager.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info
bencozzy said:
Two things are they refurbished? And do they work without signing into google?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first one was new, but the one I got from Google as a replacement was refurbished. Ill try resetting through the settings and deactivating all my accounts.
Woodruff87 said:
Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, among many other things, is one of the reasons I use GrapheneOS and NO gooble services (despite all the attention they give to sandboxed gooble services).
Woodruff87 said:
Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your google address was found on that site for another service and you used the same password for both services, correct?
despite what some believe, your google account will not get hacked unless your password is insecure (ie. leaked or insufficient with 2FA). anything less and your asking for trouble (also using GrapheneOS).