Help malware/spyware built into phone - help

[little_green]

Oh I also read that you can uninstall potential suspicious apps etc by booting in safe mode..... But I'm guessing this wouldn't work for this as I would need root access to uninstall PB
But let me know as I'd try the safe mode solution before flashing the stock rom

 

[svim]

No running your phone in Safe Mode won't allow you to remove that cruft. Safe Mode is just booting your phone up so it's running in a 'clean' Android mode, without loading up any of the apps you've installed. It doesn't allow you root privileges. Since those Pandora's Box services are running as part of your operating system, Safe Mode won't help you in this instance.
When your phone is running in Safe Mode, the various apps and things you've installed that might normally be running in the background won't be started, your phone will be running just it's clean Android OS, no third-party apps or processes. So apps like your texting app, that normally will get automatically started and run in the background, will still work, you just have to launch the app the manually. Safe Mode is when you're trying to diagnose a problem. As a hypothetical example, you might have installed two apps that both use Bluetooth and because of some random conflict those they kill off Bluetooth completely. But as far as you know, it's just a matter of Bluetooth has stopped working. By running your phone in Safe Mode those two apps aren't being loaded up so you can at least rule out a hardware failure, that narrows the problem down to being software related. Determining which one of those two apps is another matter.

 

[little_green]

A new user over at xda says pandoras box is in the original firmware so isn't nesc a sign of malware
....
I've asked them why it's there then awaiting response.
Not sure. I'm convinced seeing as no o one else knows what's this pb is used for or why it requires full app permissions

 

[svim]

Yes, by definition you shouldn't be referring to PB as malware, it's just typical bloatware. But whatever you call it, the basic problem is you, the phone's owner, should be able to disable or uninstall apps you don't want or don't need.

 

[little_green]

Yes, by definition you shouldn't be referring to PB as malware, it's just typical bloatware. But whatever you call it, the basic problem is you, the phone's owner, should be able to disable or uninstall apps you don't want or don't need.

What's the difference? I thought bloatware was generally safe but malware spyware more infections that are harmful and pose a risk like stealing ur information.
Bloatware u thought bwouod be like a Sony app on a Sony device that can't be uninstalled and I find useless but actually Haas a purpose whereas malware would be tracking my activities, recording conversations etc and sending it back
Hence why I thought pb is more malware/spywarre than bloatware. But my understanding could be wrong

 

[ChangeOfJinzo]

@little_green here, check this outhttp://www.kingroot.net/wap . It a one click root method. I have used and its nothing bad. I've used on so many phones. You click Install then, click root. It will download a smallish app called Purify which is it's counterpart that let's you unistall stuff like system apps.

 

[svim]

OK so Pandora's Box is an app that can be user installed from the Google Play. In your case it was installed by either the the manufacturer or that third-party reseller you bought the phone from as a system app. PB is in essence a regular app, but by the definition you're using for malware, that can also be applied to the Chrome browser or even Android itself. Google vacuums up a lot of data, Facebook does the same, as do countless other things relative to any smartphone. It's not an ideal situation but for now that's the state of things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

 

[ChangeOfJinzo]

OK so Pandora's Box is an app that can be user installed from the Google Play. In your case it was installed by either the the manufacturer or that third-party reseller you bought the phone from as a system app. PB is in essence a regular app, but by the definition you're using for malware, that can also be applied to the Chrome browser or even Android itself. Google vacuums up a lot of data, Facebook does the same, as do countless other things relative to any smartphone. It's not an ideal situation but for now that's the state of things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

Google/Android takes data securely at least.

 

[little_green]

@little_green here, check this outhttp://www.kingroot.net/wap . It a one click root method. I have used and its nothing bad. I've used on so many phones. You click Install then, click root. It will download a smallish app called Purify which is it's counterpart that let's you unistall stuff like system apps.

OK so just download kingroot directly to the phone and follow the instructions or do I have to dl it to a PC first

 

[ChangeOfJinzo]

OK so just download kingroot directly to the phone and follow the instructions or do I have to dl it to a PC first

You don't need PC version I believe. Just install the Apk and click "root" in app. It will take a few minutes so don't worry. And if this method doesn't work for any reason, you can also download the PC version which has better rooting methods cause there is only so much a phone application can do. So just install app and you should be good

 

[little_green]

OK so Pandora's Box is an app that can be user installed from the Google Play. In your case it was installed by either the the manufacturer or that third-party reseller you bought the phone from as a system app. PB is in essence a regular app, but by the definition you're using for malware, that can also be applied to the Chrome browser or even Android itself. Google vacuums up a lot of data, Facebook does the same, as do countless other things relative to any smartphone. It's not an ideal situation but for now that's the state of things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

but it doesnt show as an app, if its an app shouldnt it? that's why i'm suspicious.

 

[ChangeOfJinzo]

@little_green how did rooting go?

 

[little_green]

You don't need PC version I believe. Just install the Apk and click "root" in app. It will take a few minutes so don't worry. And if this method doesn't work for any reason, you can also download the PC version which has better rooting methods cause there is only so much a phone application can do. So just install app and you should be good

just about to try!
assuming it works do I then just delete PB & PB services? and i'm good to go?

 

[ChangeOfJinzo]

@little_green bud, just install it and let it install purify. that will let you remove system apps. Everything should pop up and just scroll down to anything you wanna uninstall. Make sure you know what you are uninstalling. im not held responsible, be careful.

 

[little_green]

@little_green bud, just install it and let it install purify. that will let you remove system apps. Everything should pop up and just scroll down to anything you wanna uninstall. Make sure you know what you are uninstalling. im not held responsible, be careful.

no worries, i totally appreciate your help
yeah I only really want to uninstall pb & pbs but how do I know that uninstalling them won't interfere with the running of the phone seeing as they seem to have special privaleges & link to other apps when using netguard

 

[ChangeOfJinzo]

@little_green so it worked? thats the risk factor that comes in. if you did research and/or knows you can uninstall it without problems then go for it but if anything happens its on you. it sounds like something you can uninstall but i dont have the phone, im just using past knowledge from past china phones ive worked with. good luck

 

[little_green]

@little_green so it worked? thats the risk factor that comes in. if you did research and/or knows you can uninstall it without problems then go for it but if anything happens its on you. it sounds like something you can uninstall but i dont have the phone, im just using past knowledge from past china phones ive worked with. good luck

rooted succesfully!
so have 4 menus now
-root authorization, uninstall tool,autostart & purify.
which do I pick.
it also says above that there is 1 risk and gives me a clicky "optomize now" button

sorry you have to spoon feed me!

 

[ChangeOfJinzo]

@little_green use uninstall tool and keep scrolling till you find the thing you wanna get rid of. You can click Optimize now if you want. it tries to fix anything bad but i uninstall purify since i dont use it. Hope i helped ya! Welcome to AndroidForums!

 

[little_green]

@little_green use uninstall tool and keep scrolling till you find the thing you wanna get rid of. You can click Optimize now if you want. it tries to fix anything bad but i uninstall purify since i dont use it. Hope i helped ya! Welcome to AndroidForums!

you have helped me massively! thank you so much.
it seems that pandoras box & pandora's box service are listed as "system core app modules" and there is a warning that removing them will cause system error, so I havent uninstalled them.
But the mystery of what they are continues and why they are so deeply embedded into the phone. As I said previously I can't see what relevance they have. As svim pointed out there is an app out there with the same name, but as I said this can't be that app.
any ideas? was I wrong it's not malware or am I right in that it is but am I screwed in that it's totally embedded into the core running of the phone.

 

[ChangeOfJinzo]

@little_green , just do whatever you wanna do. if you wanna take the risk then go for it. it could be malware or bloatware. i personally think it sounds like adware. what that does it, it collects what you visit, what you look up and usage data then it sends them to the Chinese company then they sell the information to Ad companies or other companies that could use the data.

 

[Father Guido]

@little_green use uninstall tool and keep scrolling till you find the thing you wanna get rid of. You can click Optimize now if you want. it tries to fix anything bad but i uninstall purify since i dont use it. Hope i helped ya! Welcome to AndroidForums!

Having never used Purify, I strongly recommend against removing any system app unless I know the consequences. The safer method would be to install titanium backup and "freeze" the app vs removal to see if it breaks anything. If it does, simply defrost it. TiB is the best $6 I ever spent for a paid app and is highly regarded by most every root user.

 

[svim]

+1 for Titanium Backup!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackupPro

 

[little_green]

@little_green , just do whatever you wanna do. if you wanna take the risk then go for it. it could be malware or bloatware. i personally think it sounds like adware. what that does it, it collects what you visit, what you look up and usage data then it sends them to the Chinese company then they sell the information to Ad companies or other companies that could use the data.

i'm less bothered if that's what they do. I mean it's not ideal but it's trivial. What i'm worried about is them activating the phone/camera at anytime and recording things without my knowledge then it being splashed god knows where on the net. Also stealing passwords to email accounts, images from fb, accessing any website I use for payments etc.

Having never used Purify, I strongly recommend against removing any system app unless I know the consequences. The safer method would be to install titanium backup and "freeze" the app vs removal to see if it breaks anything. If it does, simply defrost it. TiB is the best $6 I ever spent for a paid app and is highly regarded by most every root user.

thanks I'll look into the above.

 

[mikedt]

The one who's in China, looks very very carefully at whatever China phone he might be buying, especially for spyware.

 

[little_green]

The one who's in China, looks very very carefully at whatever China phone he might be buying, especially for spyware.

and do you know anything about this particular case? I did do a lot of research prior to getting the phone and no reports of malware.

so i can only freeze apps in the paid version. but since this is on the potentially infected phone i'm a bit iffy about putting in my card details to buy it.... :/ do you think its risky or is there another way to access it without using the infected phone to input the card details