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Help I bought a used HTC One S, antivirus says it's rooted. What do I do?

Stteffann

Newbie
Jul 25, 2015
14
10
Hello,
I bought a used HTC One S, and then I installed AVG antivirus, and it says the device was rooted. I then installed root checker and it says that "root access is properly installed on this device". As far as I know, the phone is running on official Android 4.1 with Sense 4 UI. Could there be a fake HTC "Sense UI" installed so that it could breach my security and privacy?
 
Hello,
I bought a used HTC One S, and then I installed AVG antivirus, and it says the device was rooted. I then installed root checker and it says that "root access is properly installed on this device". As far as I know, the phone is running on official Android 4.1 with Sense 4 UI. Could there be a fake HTC "Sense UI" installed so that it could breach my security and privacy?
NOPE!! Just sit back and enjoy it!
 
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Yep, root is nothing bad or anything to worry about. :) What sort of security risks are you concerned about?

Well, since I am notthe first owner, I don't know if the previous owner installed a fake HTC firmware, that looks exactly like the original. I don't undestand why AVG antivirus gives me a warning if the firmware installed IS official, could it be some sort of a false positive?
Also, when I turn the phone on, I don't see any custom boot option, just the HTC logo (forgive my ignorance, I know almost nothing about rooting, I was an iOS user, so I base this in comparison with jailbreaking)

I can post screenshots to show you what the interface looks like, if that is of any help.
 
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Rooting allows for a custom ROM to be installed but not everyone who roots their phone does so. I've rooted all my devices and always kept the stock ROM in place. The benefits of rooting include the ability to install certain apps (i.e. Titanium Backup, AdAway etc) that wouldn't work without root, and to generally be able to access and modify system files.
So it's not unusual or suspicious to have a phone that is rooted but otherwise stock.
 
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Probably a false positive.

Generally speaking, AV isn't needed on Android (I've been an Android user since 2010 and I've never had AV installed, nor felt I needed it).

If you're worried about threats etc, just be careful with what you install, be mindful of app permissions and take a look at something called Malware Bytes: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.malwarebytes.antimalware&hl=en_GB. It will let you know if there are any real threats on your device.

A "fake HTC firmware" would be called a Custom ROM and they're pretty popular. Pretty much every device I've ever owned either is running or has ran a Custom ROM at some point in its life. They're generally better than the stock offerings because the devs will have tweaked them for performance, battery life etc. They're also updated quicker and if bugs are spotted, they're normally squashed by the devs before an official update.
 
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Probably a false positive. Generally speaking, AV isn't needed on Android (I've been an Android user since 2010 and I've never had AV installed, nor felt I needed it). If you're worried about threats etc, just be careful with what you install, be mindful of app permissions and take a look at something called Malware Bytes: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.malwarebytes.antimalware&hl=en_GB. It will let you know if there are any real threats on your device. A "fake HTC firmware" would be called a Custom ROM and they're pretty popular. Pretty much every device I've ever owned either is running or has ran a Custom ROM at some point in its life. They're generally better than the stock offerings because the devs will have tweaked them for performance, battery life etc. They're also updated quicker and if bugs are spotted, they're normally squashed by the devs before an official update.

I know what a custom ROM is. I am slightly paranoid because what would prevent someone to make a geniune looking fimware, but also add a keylogger which forwards information to the author of the ROM. I think that is a possible scenario. Does Malwarebytes scan the ROM it would be hypotethically running on?

P.S. WouldAVG and Malwarebytes conflict eacho ther or can they work simulatenously?

Edit 2: Could this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kms.free&hl=en_GB be a better solution?
 
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The likelihood of a dev adding a keylogger to their ROM is non existent and they would get found out and shamed pretty quickly if they did anything like that.

I'd say there's more chance of official software containing a keylogger/monitoring software tbh. Remember the Carrier IQ scandal? Devs were pretty quick to remove that from their ROMs when they found out what it did.

If you want to know for sure whether or not it's stock and rooted, or a custom ROM, can you head to Settings -> About Phone -> Software Info and post a screenshot of what's there? Hold Volume Down & Power at the same time and it should take a screenshot for you.

You don't need both, but if you want to run AVG and Malware Bytes at the same time, you can. You'll probably find AVG picks up a lot of stuff that isn't actually anything to worry about, but you're more than welcome to ask here if you're unsure. :)
 
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The likelihood of a dev adding a keylogger to their ROM is non existent and they would get found out and shamed pretty quickly if they did anything like that.

I'd say there's more chance of official software containing a keylogger/monitoring software tbh. Remember the Carrier IQ scandal? Devs were pretty quick to remove that from their ROMs when they found out what it did.

If you want to know for sure whether or not it's stock and rooted, or a custom ROM, can you head to Settings -> About Phone -> Software Info and post a screenshot of what's there? Hold Volume Down & Power at the same time and it should take a screenshot for you.

You don't need both, but if you want to run AVG and Malware Bytes at the same time, you can. You'll probably find AVG picks up a lot of stuff that isn't actually anything to worry about, but you're more than welcome to ask here if you're unsure. :)
I myself personally use AVG Pro for a very long time and have to say that @El Presidente is right: it's been virtually useless to the point I've been considering uninstalling it... It's done nothing but throw up flags about being Rooted and flagging APK's that I keep on a back burner (not even installed) for Rooting in the future. It's always running a check in the background due to some mystical timeframe it set itself to and hogging up system resources when I'm trying to do something else. In fact, I'm so aggravated thinking about it I'm uninstalling before I've finished this msg.
 
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I myself personally use AVG Pro for a very long time and have to say that @El Presidente is right: it's been virtually useless to the point I've been considering uninstalling it... It's done nothing but throw up flags about being Rooted and flagging APK's that I keep on a back burner (not even installed) for Rooting in the future. It's always running a check in the background due to some mystical timeframe it set itself to and hogging up system resources when I'm trying to do something else. In fact, I'm so aggravated thinking about it I'm uninstalling before I've finished this msg.
Could you please define "back burner?"
 
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If you want to know for sure whether or not it's stock and rooted, or a custom ROM, can you head to Settings -> About Phone -> Software Info and post a screenshot of what's there? Hold Volume Down & Power at the same time and it should take a screenshot for you.
Here they are 2015-07-25_23-05-44.png 2015-07-25_22-43-35.png
 
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It really looks like you have a "Stock Rooted ROM". Those are quite nice as there's an extremely high guarantee that everything works off the rip (unlike custom ROMs that need constant hammering out). Just look for SuperSu, SuperUser, or KingRoot apk and make sure nothing happens to it. You should be good to go! And you're a step ahead of most ppl LOOKING for Root. I'd let it be, since you have more options available than most. If Root still terrifies you then you can certainly unRoot it but that's on you. Basically, someone sold you a gem for the price of a chunk of dirt. Enjoy, bro!
 
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Settings, Power, make sure that fast boot is turned off.

Power down the phone. Hold volume down while powering on.

You'll enter the bootloader.

Note if the top of the screen says s-off or unlocked.

Using the on screen instructions, navigate to HBOOT (or BOOTLOADER, the name could change as a region preference, same thing though) and from there, go to RECOVERY.

Note if it says TWRP or ClockworkMod or has options to install AND backup.

Report back.

If the right combination of those things are true, it has been properly rooted.

In such a case, you can install a custom, rooted rom that you can trust, or return it to a stock, unrooted state.

Naturally, we'll advise on the custom rooted approach because you'll probably have a better HTC experience, but it's your choice, and we can help either way.

If it's rooted, but not properly rooted, I'd advise properly dealing with it to get either outcome you want.

I think that the chances of being spied on are infinitesimal. But it's your phone so the odds don't matter.

What I think matters is that you don't know exactly what you bought or how the HTC experience has been modified, and you deserve to know.
 
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Another question: The phone behaves like a media, device, not storage. Is this because it was rooted? I tried using HTC Sync but I think there is not reason for it since one can easily copy files to desired folder with minimal effort. Also, the program does not see the phone every time, and I think this happens because of "USB debugging", but I have no idea, to be honest.
 

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Settings, Power, make sure that fast boot is turned off.
Power down the phone. Hold volume down while powering on.
You'll enter the bootloader.
Note if the top of the screen says s-off or unlocked.
Using the on screen instructions, navigate to HBOOT (or BOOTLOADER, the name could change as a region preference, same thing though) and from there, go to RECOVERY.
Note if it says TWRP or ClockworkMod or has options to install AND backup.
Report back.
Could anything go wrong if I make any mistakes?
 
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Another question: The phone behaves like a media, device, not storage. Is this because it was rooted? I tried using HTC Sync but I think there is not reason for it since one can easily copy files to desired folder with minimal effort. Also, the program does not see the phone every time, and I think this happens because of "USB debugging", but I have no idea, to be honest.
Turn off USB debugging and you'll (usually) gain full access to the SD cards (internal & external) instead of just media
 
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Could anything go wrong if I make any mistakes?
Nope.

The on screen menu is crystal clear. Don't select factory reset when you intend to select recovery.

Take your time.

Recovery - custom or stock - has options to wipe data (custom recovery will let you erase the whole phone).

So just look at the entry screen to recovery, don't touch anything or explore, note what you see and reboot - you'll be fine.

If you suddenly get stricken with temporary insanity and erase everything despite all warnings to the contrary, we can help you fix that too.

But please don't, it'll save a lot of work. :D

And mounting as media is the Android default, has been for quite a while - it's part of the compatibility with Microsoft MTP.
YES!! Look for what he asked (NOTHING ELSE) then hit "reboot system" and report back.
Here we're using different definitions than different opinions ok.
 
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