Develop Bugs

Just got the new desire today, a few questions

Ok got the phone through Orange and I am currently personalising the device.
Couple of questions
1. When I try to download some Apps it is saying they can get access to my Location, Text Messages, Memory Card etc etc is this anything to worry about, wouldn't like people having access to that information.
2. Do you reccomend the Anti-Virus apps, by that I mean is there a HIGH risk of my details being cloned using the phone online purchase items?
3. Why does it make you create a GMail account?
4. Can you put a screensaver on rather than it locking after 10 seconds?
5. How do I set the weather homescreen to my current location as it always reverts back to UK when I go back to homescreen after changing it unless I am doing it wrong?
6. Can you get MSN Messenger on it?
7. Also everytime I try and go online like Youtube etc it states there is no internet connection, I then have to go into settings and turn on Mobile Network everytime I want to go online, is there not a way where it will automatically connect to the internet everytime I want to open an App etc or do you just leave the mobile network constantly on?
Thanks

1. nothing really to worry about, most of these apps genuinely have a reason to access these things, a messaging client would for example need access to a LOT of your phone.
2. this is a very recent thing, never heard of or heard of anyone who has had viruses on android.
3. gmail is required so that you can back up all your data to it, and it is also linked to the market, so if you pay for an app, and then factory reset your phone, you won't have to repay for the app because it's registered in your gmail name (plus it's a google phone
4. no, and this would really drain the battery if you don't let the phone sleep when not in use.
5. drag the clock widget over the bin, re-add the clock widget to your homescreen, it will give you a list of locations to select from, choose 'my location'.
6. the official msn messenger is only available on 3 but there are many in the market which work perfectly such as 'msn talk'.
7. you can leave it on but this will drain the battery, add a widget to your homescreen, click on settings, and add mobile internet and wifi, this will out on/off toggles on your homescreens.
your welcome

1. Depends on what the app is supposed to do. If it requests information that has nothing to do with it's function, then think twice about installing it.
2. I am personally used to the security that Linux has to offer and as long as you use trusted apps and don't give root access to shady apps, you should be o OK without security software.
3. Because it is a Google OS that uses Google services which, in turn, require a Google account.
4. I don't know about this, but I do know it would kill your battery, even if possible.
6. Try eBuddy from the Market, it's a good service.
Hope this helped!

cgrec92 said:
1. nothing really to worry about, most of these apps genuinely have a reason to access these things, a messaging client would for example need access to a LOT of your phone.
2. this is a very recent thing, never heard of or heard of anyone who has had viruses on android.
3. gmail is required so that you can back up all your data to it, and it is also linked to the market, so if you pay for an app, and then factory reset your phone, you won't have to repay for the app because it's registered in your gmail name (plus it's a google phone
4. no, and this would really drain the battery if you don't let the phone sleep when not in use.
5. drag the clock widget over the bin, re-add the clock widget to your homescreen, it will give you a list of locations to select from, choose 'my location'.
6. the official msn messenger is only available on 3 but there are many in the market which work perfectly such as 'msn talk'.
7. you can leave it on but this will drain the battery, add a widget to your homescreen, click on settings, and add mobile internet and wifi, this will out on/off toggles on your homescreens.
your welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the very helpful respose, in reference to question 1 I am trying to download novelty soundboards, shazam etc which are asking for my location, call identity and SD Card info, surely they wouldn't need that type of information. Can I presume that because these apps are on the official market that the developers are reputable and regulated not to misuse the information?
One Again Thanks

duffbear249 said:
Thanks for the very helpful respose, in reference to question 1 I am trying to download novelty soundboards, shazam etc which are asking for my location, call identity and SD Card info, surely they wouldn't need that type of information. Can I presume that because these apps are on the official market that the developers are reputable and regulated not to misuse the information?
One Again Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most of the time yes, just don't install anything suspicious, shazam might need your location to find a store where you can buy the music and sdcard so that it can download the songs to your sdcard, there really is more to an app than you think

cgrec92 said:
most of the time yes, just don't install anything suspicious, shazam might need your location to find a store where you can buy the music and sdcard so that it can download the songs to your sdcard, there really is more to an app than you think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent Point, Thanks for clearing that up.

Google Now not recognizing my local settings?

HI, I have Modaco JB rom installed and am having trouble with Google Now not recognizing my local settings. When I ask for weather it tells me my location, but it is in C not F and there aren't any card settings. When I ask for Home (which I have set in my maps account) it takes me to the closest "Home" named business to my location. I don't have any customization at all (see pic).
I am using Google Apps and have web history turned on. Also all settings on my phone (time, temp, location) are correct. It isn't the rom as this is the second JB rom I have flashed and had the same problem with that one.
Any Help would be appreciated!!

I had this problem too. It turns out that Apps accounts need to turn Google Now on for it to work. I detailed the steps here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28234402&postcount=13

Damn I love this site!!!
Thanks TaFFeR!!

TaFFeR said:
I had this problem too. It turns out that Apps accounts need to turn Google Now on for it to work. I detailed the steps here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28234402&postcount=13
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't get this at all.
What if you just have a regular Gmail account that all of your services are tied to?

Arthur Hucksake said:
I don't get this at all.
What if you just have a regular Gmail account that all of your services are tied to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you shouldn't need to do this. When I added my normal gmail account to my phone, Google Now automatically worked. When you started Google Now, did you get the little intro/wizard thing, or did it go straight to a search box? If you got the introduction, and whenever you pull up Google Now, you get the colorful banner on top, then Google Now already works on your phone.
If you're having trouble with the Knowledge Graph cards showing up, then you have a different issue regarding your language settings.

TaFFeR said:
Then you shouldn't need to do this. When I added my normal gmail account to my phone, Google Now automatically worked. When you started Google Now, did you get the little intro/wizard thing, or did it go straight to a search box? If you got the introduction, and whenever you pull up Google Now, you get the colorful banner on top, then Google Now already works on your phone.
If you're having trouble with the Knowledge Graph cards showing up, then you have a different issue regarding your language settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, its basically an empty box. lol
Someone else got this working in the UK just fine, I just cannot find the thread where it was mentioned.

Arthur Hucksake said:
Yeah, its basically an empty box. lol
Someone else got this working in the UK just fine, I just cannot find the thread where it was mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've read, along with setting your search and location settings to the US, you'll have to enable Web History and Location History.

My watch says it can't answer personal questions.

Hello, all.
When I use Google Assistant on my Huawei Watch 2 and include personal information (e.g. "Take me home."), it gives me the following error message:
Actually, I need permission before I can answer personal questions about you. To change your settings, just open the Google Home app on your phone. Once that's done, ask me again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This started happening maybe a month back or so. I know that I was able to ask personal questions at first when I got the watch. I have tried looking through the settings on the Google Home app, but I haven't found anything relevant. The watch doesn't even show up as a device alongside my Google Homes, Chromecast, and phone.
I originally had a Nexus 6P, and I recently upgraded to a Pixel 2 XL. I don't know if that has anything to do with what's happening, but I would find that pretty strange. I'm not sure exactly when this started happening, so I don't know if there's any correlation between changing phones and this issue. I just checked, and the watch says the system is up-to-date, and all installed apps are up-to-date.
I was hoping that an update would be pushed to the watch that would fix this, but it's been a long time, and I still have the same issue.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Lets try...
Hi,
lets try the following method:
In your Google App on your Smartphone go to Settings -> Accounts & Privacy -> Google Activity Controls
What does it show here?
Is it the right E-Mail-Address?
If you want to use personalized orders, Google needs to track your information. E.g if you want to say "show me the home rout", it has to analyze, where your home is.
As far as I know, Google does this by checking, where your phone is (via GPS) most of the time - but thats just an idea.
Hope I could help you!
:highfive:

BIitzcrank said:
Hi,
lets try the following method:
In your Google App on your Smartphone go to Settings -> Accounts & Privacy -> Google Activity Controls
What does it show here?
Is it the right E-Mail-Address?
If you want to use personalized orders, Google needs to track your information. E.g if you want to say "show me the home rout", it has to analyze, where your home is.
As far as I know, Google does this by checking, where your phone is (via GPS) most of the time - but thats just an idea.
Hope I could help you!
:highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello.
I just checked, and the email is correct. All of the options are set to "On."
I guess I should add that when I tell my phone to take me home, that still works fine. Also, my Google Homes know where my work is. So, it shouldn't be an issue where Google isn't able to query for that personal information. I have that enabled for my account. But for some reason, I can't do it from my watch.

Any clue yet?
Did anybody figure out how to fix this?
Many others have posted the exact same problem.

[Bounty $500] My note 10+ was hacked with stalkerware

My phone was infected with stalkerware, they had access to my files, could view what was on my screen, listen into my mic, view my cameras remotely, everything! It's incredibly creepy! From what I can tell they somehow loaded q hacked version of Google Chrome and or android web viewer. After getting suspicious I downloaded Kaspersky and ran a scan, I found 2 versions of Google Chrome on my phone one of them had the dual messenger app icon on it. The other one said it wasn't a current version from the apps store. I Uninstallerd and downloaded the current version through the app store. I tried to see if a packet sniffer would lead me to them but I think I was too late by that point. I also pulled the Chrome app qnd decompiler it. There was some weird things in there like ignore playstore version but nothing that I could find that would lead me to who was watching me. Is there anything I can still do that will lead me to who did this? I have a strong idea of who it was but need evidence so I can prosecute them. Any help would be appreciated. Im putting up a 500 dollar bounty if anyone can help me get some solid evidence.

dangerruss said:
My phone was infected with stalkerware, they had access to my files, could view what was on my screen, listen into my mic, view my cameras remotely, everything! It's incredibly creepy! From what I can tell they somehow loaded q hacked version of Google Chrome and or android web viewer. After getting suspicious I downloaded Kaspersky and ran a scan, I found 2 versions of Google Chrome on my phone one of them had the dual messenger app icon on it. The other one said it wasn't a current version from the apps store. I Uninstallerd and downloaded the current version through the app store. I tried to see if a packet sniffer would lead me to them but I think I was too late by that point. I also pulled the Chrome app qnd decompiler it. There was some weird things in there like ignore playstore version but nothing that I could find that would lead me to who was watching me. Is there anything I can still do that will lead me to who did this? I have a strong idea of who it was but need evidence so I can prosecute them. Any help would be appreciated. Im putting up a 500 dollar bounty if anyone can help me get some solid evidence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try logging into your Google account from a computer. Look at what devices have access to your account. I looked at mine a couple of months ago and saw a phone I never owned on AT&T. Funny thing is I have NEVER had AT&T. I've always and still have Verizon. I immediately removed, blocked and reported the device.

HyperChick said:
Try logging into your Google account from a computer. Look at what devices have access to your account. I looked at mine a couple of months ago and saw a phone I never owned on AT&T. Funny thing is I have NEVER had AT&T. I've always and still have Verizon. I immediately removed, blocked and reported the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was the first thing I tried. Didn't find anything unfortunately. These a holes are good.

dangerruss said:
That was the first thing I tried. Didn't find anything unfortunately. These a holes are good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you run a log of your IP addresses?

HyperChick said:
Did you run a log of your IP addresses?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not until after the connection was severed. My first thought was to run a virus scan. The only thing I found was an application was installed feb 1st and the clean version of chrome stopped uploading on Feb 1st.

Why are there two of these? And how did they use dual messenger to install doubles? I've disabled all of them.

dangerruss said:
Not until after the connection was severed. My first thought was to run a virus scan. The only thing I found was an application was installed feb 1st and the clean version of chrome stopped uploading on Feb 1st.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you delete the corrupt Chrome already? The IP history may be in there...
you wish to find your IP address Internet history, you can easily do so directly from your Internet browser.
Step 1
Open your Internet browser, and click on "Tools" located in the horizontal menu bar at the top of the window.
Step 2
Click on "Internet Options"
Step 3
Click on "Settings" located beneath the "Browsing History" subheading.
Step 4
Click on the "View Files" button to find your IP address Internet history.

If you post the chrome apk that you dumped or anything else that you have that was related to the "infected" files, they might be helpful in looking for clues.

These are the apk files that I suspect could have been infected. Unfortunately I didn't pull them until after they were updated. But I believe there is still a change log kind of manifest if you decompile them.

On mobile? Im not seeing those options
HyperChick said:
Did you delete the corrupt Chrome already? The IP history may be in there...
you wish to find your IP address Internet history, you can easily do so directly from your Internet browser.
Step 1
Open your Internet browser, and click on "Tools" located in the horizontal menu bar at the top of the window.
Step 2
Click on "Internet Options"
Step 3
Click on "Settings" located beneath the "Browsing History" subheading.
Step 4
Click on the "View Files" button to find your IP address Internet history.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

From what I can see, those apks unfortunately appear to be normal un-tampered files. The manifest I believe you are referring to is a component of the apk that dictates things like permissions and interfaces, but it does not perform any sort of logging or historical record sadly, as the entire apk is replaced when an app is updated or installed over an existing installation.
I am not sure how much cleaning you have done of your device since it happened, but aside from clues or records which might be available from various services you use (finding connected accounts that aren't yours, history of any account activities that weren't initiated by you, etc), your next best bet would probably be to dig through the files on the device in search of anything that shouldn't be there. Hopefully there is still some artifact of the infection which could potentially point towards its origin. I will follow this thread, happy to dig through files in my spare time.

Does anyone know if android keeps a log of installs or qnything in the root folder perhaps?

Isn't there a relation between duplicate app instances and secure folder?

OnnoJ said:
Isn't there a relation between duplicate app instances and secure folder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but I've never set up secure folder. Never felt a need to.

First thing I do is a factory reset (and hope that gets it) and reset the Google password.
Keep that bloody device 100% isolated from your PC and data backup copies including the SD card*. Wipe the SD card in the device before the reload and again after the reload. Do NOT connect the card or phone to your PC before the new load is proven clean. Load data directly to SD card from the PC then to the 10+ just in case.
Try to piece together when and what did it but that is a secondary concern. Consider it a drill.
Better get while the gettings good... that level of being compromised means no time to lose ditching the OS. I most likely wipe the SD card too and use one of the clean data backups I keep for just such an event. Torch all data on the device.
If it gets into your backup data copies you're boned.
OSs are 100% expendable, critical data is not.
*you can scan it with everything on the planet and still miss trojans, tainted jpegs/pngs, etc if no definitions exist yet. Expect multiple hidden infections now and go full nuke.
Isolating the infection to that device is only priority. It's possible the infection(s) are already on one or more backups and/or your PC. That's why it's important to keep multiple time staggered backups on multiple electronically isolated hdds.
I keep a 3 tier backup and my PC is never internet connected.
Keep your head and limit the spread...

dangerruss said:
Why are there two of these? And how did they use dual messenger to install doubles? I've disabled all of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks normal to me. Those are typical apps that run when dual account messenger service is used .

Remove / Disable Google and MI bloat apps

Hello everyone,
I'm used to the LineageOS on my previous phone and now I've upgraded recently to this phone but I feel my personal info too much available to Google and MI system apps and I don't want that, thats why I went to LineageOS on my previous phone but, like others custom firmwares, it have several bugs which limits the potential of the phone.
Even not using an google account I can feel my life is being spied because a few things happen:
- if someone calls me, a friend or whatever, and its not in my contacts list it asks me if its spam. For what? To send the info somewhere using the internet connection and warns others if its spam? If it reads my contacts for this it can read those for anything, like copy my whole contacts list which I'm not comfortable with and I'm not able to control. I'm afraid that later if i use the regular browser to access Gmail for instance, I'm afraid the OS is prepared to warn google that all the info that' I've shared so far belongs to that particular Google account and that phone IMEI is also used but that account. I'm crazy? Maybe, but all this is possible and I want to make it impossible.
- If i do not allow Google services from accessing my text messages APP (built-in app) i keep getting a warning from the system that something it will not go OK if I do not turn on that access from Google services. Why the hell should google services needs to access my texts? My first phone, 20 years ago, could send SMS without google, why the hell google needs to see my texts now?
The list continues but I'm not willing to loose the nice things this OS have too, but for me personal info is too valuable and I dont want to give away any information from my contacts list, SMS texts, the places I visit, my tastes and so on, all this is my personal life and no one needs to know about it, not even just for statistics. Some people on my contacts list doesn't use Android and dont want the personal phone number stored somewhere and connected to me somehow, not that Im a criminal or something like but all this combined together its like a personal "Facebook" for Google and MI to use, they know who are the persons who I connect with, who are near me at a certain period of the day, where I usually do shopping, well, all my life is being stored somewhere, and I want to end this.
Is there a way to keep the current OS and block every outgoing info coming from the phone? I've made some research and i come to this so far
- AFwall can be a solution, but how good it is?
- Removing google services is not an option using ADB, the OS will not work
- Disable google services is not working. The system keeps turning it on automatically
Please give me your feedbacks with your experiences about this security issue, I think several people feels the same way, and how did you managed a work around to this keeping the original OS.
PS: For now I didnt unlock the bootloader, but I will if the solution goes that way.
Thank you everyone
Tomalamix

Living in the age of Google, one cannot use phone & Internet without your info being collected for ad purposes or whatsoever.

Ad purposes i can live with that,. what I cant live with is my personal data being stored by a 3rd party company besides my cell operator
Ive been watching the Anti-Gapps group but it seems discontinued i guess, i think this is a task fitted for them