Android Security

Discussion in 'mobile device security' started by rm22, Jun 23, 2016.

  1. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Well, that was true for the stable CM versions. However, I've used their nightlies - which are updated weekly - for a long time without problems (and exclusively with LOS), and they integrate the Google patches very fast. Actually, for LOS stable versions don't exist (yet).
    I can't confirm that. I don't know about very old CM versions - but as long as I've been using it there has been full SELinux support.
     
  2. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    I have been testing a firewall called net patch. At first it appeared to be just another "block app or allow app" firewall but on further investigation it is a lot more than noroot in that you can block all apps including all system apps as a global setting then just unblock the ones you need to allow by looking at the firewall connections log to see what connections were requested, it shows you the domain of every ip address by each app and lets you domain block the domain if you want to. Or you can create domain block groups, so you can create a google group and block all unwanted ad or tracking domains that get past your browser ad blocker.
    You can do a similar thing with ip addresses, you can create a single block list of ip's or make ip groups groups and title them So later on you know why you blocked them.
    You can also export the entire config which you can edit in a text editor.
    I can tell you, from a security point of veiw, this thing had me drooling.
    After a few days of using it I have decided it is much better than no root.
    In politician speak, concern about the economy is doublebtalk for the only part of the economy they care about which is Wall Street Corporate profits because they all have their faces well and truly buried in that trough.
    In the real world of working peoples wages and living standards, store prices, gas prices etc, they couldnt care less.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2018
  3. 142395

    142395 Guest

    Thx, I didn't know there's no stable yet. It seems to be not bad. I'll search more.
    Yup, I meant that. :thumbd:
     
  4. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Didn't know about this, sounds sketchy.

    OK this makes sense I guess. And thanks to all others who gave some background info.

    Can't remember where I read it, but apparently there are 2 different PIN's, one to protect the SIM and one to protect the smartphone itself with encryption. A friend of mine got robbed of his smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo), it was secured with a PIN, but he doesn't know for sure whether encryption was enabled, he did use Android 5 I believe.
     
  5. 142395

    142395 Guest

    True, PIN protection for SIM is just to rock the SIM and 4 numbers are sufficient considering 3 times locking out is there. But for the phone protection it's arguable if 4-6 numbers are sufficient, tho in the past FBI couldn't break iPhone's numbers-only PIN.
     
  6. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Basically my friend can't remember if he enabled PIN for the SIM only, or for the phone (encryption), strange that this isn't mentioned clearly in Android. BTW, what do you think about apps like Lookout and Prey, are they worth it?

    https://www.lookout.com/products/personal
    https://www.preyproject.com/
     
  7. 142395

    142395 Guest

    I don't use them. If I lost my phone, I may try to locate it by Google's built-in function if geolocation is enabled when I lost, or if disabled, may try to wipe. But I haven't put much info on my device for the first place, no pic, no movie, no contacts for every day profile. Browsing history & 2 email accounts (1 is further PIN protected) are only concern, but for the latter I can force log out from web if it was not too late. If sby could crack my main account w/ stronger password, he will get some contacts, call & SMS history (but SMS is further password-protected), 1 more email account, and TOTP 2FA codes (but no direct clue to guess for what account each code is used, as I use obfuscated names) but that's all.
    In short, I think built-in find-my-device is enough. BTW I haven't ever lost any single (feature/smart) phone nor tablet nor laptop, tho I fear robbing.
     
  8. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    I also try to avoid putting important info om my device, because I see smartphones as a big risk which aren't that easy to secure. And yes, I noticed that Google and for example Samsung also offer tracking options, but I will still give Prey and Lookout a try.
     
  9. Robin A.

    Robin A. Registered Member

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    I think an Android phone is very much secure. As they say “as secure as a consumer device can be”. Of course, the phone must be encrypted (the default situation), and it´s necessary to define a “good” pattern, PIN or password and to keep the login information for the Google (and/or Samsung) account secure.

    The people who steal your phone are not interested in your information, but in the hardware. The aim is to “clean” the phone and sell it, possibly in another country. And to try to locale the phone and recover it can be a life-threatening operation, at least where I live.

    As for the information, it´s necessary, as always, to keep backups. As a minimum, normally it´s automatically backed up to the cloud.
     
  10. imuade

    imuade Registered Member

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    Just buy a cheap phone, nobody will bother to steal it :argh::argh::argh:
     
  11. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Well, that's debatable. The biggest problem is that many phones do not get any updates after a relatively short period of time. Consequently, they are affected by a more or less large number of known vulnerabilities. For those devices this problem can only be avoided by using a custom ROM like LineageOS - provided they are supported.

    Another question is what you mean by "secure". For me, privacy is as important and is actually a part of it. Yes, there is a permission system in Android but it's not as tight as on an iPhone. A better alternative is the Privacy Manager in LineageOS. Another problem privacywise is that adblockers are not allowed in the Play Store (which speaks volumes). Fortunately, such apps can be installed from, e.g., F-Droid or from the Adguard site. But most Android users don't install them - and are being tracked and spied out by many apps.
     
  12. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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  13. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Ah, good to know - I stand corrected. When I was still using Android (or actually LOS - I'm now using an iPhone but still playing around a bit with my old Samsung Galaxy S5) they had thrown out AdBlock Plus, Adguard and Adaway. So yes, they have changed that in the meantime. Good!
     
  14. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    You were right about the iphone permissions though it is better than the Android equivalent although after looking at various Android devices the permission management functionality seems to vary between devices. The best one I have seen so far is on a little Huawei tablet with Android 6. It seemed all the permissions were available for user control.
    I almost bought one, quad core, 1 gig ram, not bad for 79.99.
    (If my wife hadn't been with me I would have. She said, OMG how many computers do you need?)
    I said I'm not buying it I'm just looking!
    lol
     
  15. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    Gave my daughter a Honor 5x this Christmas. Bought it new awhile back through Amazon but had to wait almost a whole year before a fix came through for that issue where at idle it was running all 4 Cores instead of one and drained the battery fast. After that it was ready for prime time.

    That Huawei has the goods on permissions much better than the Phablet Huawei Mate I use but wouldn't be without it. The thing is a technical marvel in my book. Well acquainted with Huawei mobile products and Android rocks for me since being a rooter.
     
  16. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    @EASTER
    Yes Huawei stuff is cutting edge for sure. I think I will go back and get that little tablet hehe.
    It's not even plastic it's made of metal.
    Have you seen their latest phones have 40 megapixel rgb image sensors and Leica lenses?
     
  17. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    No I have not seen that or made time to catch up them for quite a spell so thanks a bunch for bringing it to my attention.

    I picked up on them early since no one seemed to want a phone that brand but the specs and especially at the time the near 4000 mAh battery which was right for the price unlocked. I buy off Amazon only and all 3 are still performing nonstop.

    It's been a long while but that's how resilient I've found them. Yes I researched a little beforehand but had no idea they were awesome and smacked at most the other brands flagship phones.

    Android Security was doable at the time and they been steadily improving. I know no other OS for mobile I prefer of this type r any other brand but Android.
     
  18. 142395

    142395 Guest

    Yes, the answer to the question if Android is secure all depends on how you define security.
    Maybe more than 90% of probability he/she just sells the phone, but I can't know who pick/rob/steal my phone so that's nonsense. If there's a 5% of probability my data can be in danger, it's worth worrying.
    I disabled automatic backups as much as possible on all my phones & tablets. My choice is not to put anything which need to be backed up on the phone.
     
  19. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    I disabled all of that too, I got it down to where the only attempts to connect to the internet that I did not initiate is an occassional system app that is prevented by firewall.
     
  20. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Yes correct, but it's never a good feeling to know that others might be able to access you personal data. I'm even thinking about starting to use an encryption tool on my desktop, for most important data. Funny thing is, a gang of Bulgarian smartphone robbers were arrested in Holland a couple of weeks ago, they were busted because of the "Find My iPhone" feature.
     
  21. kenw

    kenw Registered Member

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    My Moto phone gets updates and not from my carrier
     
  22. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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    Google Turns TLS on By Default on Android P
     
  23. guest

    guest Guest

    DNS over TLS support in Android P Developer Preview
    April 17, 2018
    https://security.googleblog.com/2018/04/dns-over-tls-support-in-android-p.html
     
  24. kimcros

    kimcros Registered Member

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    I do not know that this thread will be suitable, but I bought my son a smartphone and I would like to protect it with some kind of parental filter, will someone recommend something?
     
  25. Alexhousek

    Alexhousek Registered Member

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