Help malware/spyware built into phone - help

[svim]

Well that is an interesting dilemma. If you have a computer/laptop you can always just use a browser, go to play.google.com, log into your account, and purchase Titanium Backup Pro so it installs on your phone remotely.

 

[Father Guido]

Well that is an interesting dilemma. If you have a computer/laptop you can always just use a browser, go to play.google.com, log into your account, and purchase Titanium Backup Pro so it installs on your phone remotely.

Or purchase a prepaid Google play card and/or create a dummy account to use it with? I have several of these. So many in fact that I forget which one I used to purchase a particular app

 

[little_green]

Well that is an interesting dilemma. If you have a computer/laptop you can always just use a browser, go to play.google.com, log into your account, and purchase Titanium Backup Pro so it installs on your phone remotely.

so if i use my laptop log into google play store with my google account that i used to set up that phone (i use different accounts for different phone) then use my card to pay for titanium pro, it will it automatically download and install on that phone?

 

[svim]

Yes, you can install apps remotely on a computer to your phone, as long as that phone is tied to whichever Google account you're using at the time.

 

[little_green]

Yes, you can install apps remotely on a computer to your phone, as long as that phone is tied to whichever Google account you're using at the time.

tried twice and keeps saying "your transaction can't be completed at this time. Please try again. [BM-CPE-13]"
also tried it from the phone directly and getting the same error.
so confused.

 

[svim]

http://www.askmefast.com/Comments_f..._again_in_30_minutes-qna6941752.html#q4546661

http://botcrawl.com/your-order-was-declined-because-it-was-considered-high-risk-fix/

 

[little_green]

http://www.askmefast.com/Comments_f..._again_in_30_minutes-qna6941752.html#q4546661

http://botcrawl.com/your-order-was-declined-because-it-was-considered-high-risk-fix/

it didnt give me a specific time. i tried using paypal which the second like says can not work for no random reason. now i'm not sure whether I should wait or try again.

jeez its problem after problem lol

 

[little_green]

used my credit card & it went through. right I have frozen pb & pb services. so what do I do now to check that it would be safe to uninstall them using kingroot?
just text most of the device features?
we are almost there, i think thanks for being so patient with me everyone!

 

[svim]

Well at this point those PB services are disabled, they're basically inert. They won't be collecting data, nor turning on things without your knowledge or permission, nor sending anything out to some server across the ocean. You can keep trying to uninstall them but you should defrost them first, then hack away at removing them. Personally I'd just leave them frozen and forget about them, they're relatively insignificant in size. Another nice thing about Titanium Backup is when you freeze an app it gets hidden in your Apps menu.

 

[little_green]

Well at this point those PB services are disabled, they're basically inert. They won't be collecting data, nor turning on things without your knowledge or permission, nor sending anything out to some server across the ocean. You can keep trying to uninstall them but you should defrost them first, then hack away at removing them. Personally I'd just leave them frozen and forget about them, they're relatively insignificant in size. Another nice thing about Titanium Backup is when you freeze an app it gets hidden in your Apps menu.

Yay so i'm basically sorted and it's now safe to use the phone without having to worry passwords etc will be stolen.
i've included below a screen shot of all the things that require full permissions, if anything stands out as dodgy there let me know & i'll try freezing it too.
I've also frozen "location em2"

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(cant seem to make it a readable size, try here: http://postimg.org/image/odms4wh8x/ )
thank you all very much for your help, you have been patient and quickly responsive, really couldnt have done it without you's

also i'm keen to remove my card details from the google account, will it affect my purchase of titanium backup pro?

 

[svim]

Don't get too 'trigger happy' disabling things, at some point it's a matter of killing off the benefits and functionality of owning a smartphone. But if you suspect some app/process to be a problem, just do a Google search on it. Most things will have show a bunch of results. Also, a lot of things you can adjust or turn off in your phone's Settings, Titanium Backup is more for those things you can't typically access.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/how-to/disable-google-location/
Also, on a computer log into your Google account and there's a bunch of things you can change as far as privacy settings
https://myaccount.google.com/intro
As you've already paid for the app, you can remove your card details and it won't affect anything.

 

[Father Guido]

As you've already paid for the app, you can remove your card details and it won't affect anything.

I might add that you can install the app on any other device/smartphone that you use if logging into the same play-store account. IOW, if you have a number of paid apps in account #1, you can initially use this account to install them. You can then add/create account #2, delete account #1 from the device, and your paid apps remain.

 

[little_green]

But if you suspect some app/process to be a problem, just do a Google search on it. Most things will have show a bunch of results. .

haha most things except pandor's box

 

[little_green]

I might add that you can install the app on any other device/smartphone that you use if logging into the same play-store account. IOW, if you have a number of paid apps in account #1, you can initially use this account to install them. You can then add/create account #2, delete account #1 from the device, and your paid apps remain.

Don't get too 'trigger happy' disabling things, at some point it's a matter of killing off the benefits and functionality of owning a smartphone. But if you suspect some app/process to be a problem, just do a Google search on it. Most things will have show a bunch of results. Also, a lot of things you can adjust or turn off in your phone's Settings, Titanium Backup is more for those things you can't typically access.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/how-to/disable-google-location/
Also, on a computer log into your Google account and there's a bunch of things you can change as far as privacy settings
https://myaccount.google.com/intro
As you've already paid for the app, you can remove your card details and it won't affect anything.

jeez problems STILL not resolved. so I shut the phone down last night and have just pwered it up again today now.
looks like pb & pbs automatically unfreeze everytime the phone is shut down.... WTF - location EM2 remains frozen.
....
uninstall pb & pbs or will that just f*ck everything up seeing as they seem to be able to over ride titanium backup freeze on reboot.

the fact that pb is over riding titanium back up pro further proves to me that it is infact something dodgy

 

[little_green]

oh and if i uninstall should i back up the apps first usuing titanium? but then wont they be stored somewhere on the phone & the whole idea is to get rid of them.....

 

[svim]

So this just gets more and more interesting. At this point it's a matter where you can't uninstall those two PB processes, you can't block them with a firewall, and you can't disable (permanently at least) them with an app like Titanium Backup, I know I'm out of ideas. Apparently since those PB processes appear to be linked into the operating system on your phone, let's just hope that in the near future someone will make a third party ROM for your phone, or at least someone will reply here referring to an existing one. Other than that just keep freezing those two PB services with TB whenever you restart your phone (I typically don't restart mine except every few months or so).

 

[little_green]

So this just gets more and more interesting. At this point it's a matter where you can't uninstall those two PB processes, you can't block them with a firewall, and you can't disable (permanently at least) them with an app like Titanium Backup, I know I'm out of ideas. Apparently since those PB processes appear to be linked into the operating system on your phone, let's just hope that in the near future someone will make a third party ROM for your phone, or at least someone will reply here referring to an existing one. Other than that just keep freezing those two PB services with TB whenever you restart your phone (I typically don't restart mine except every few months or so).

Hmmm so I can't uninstall them using titaniumbackup? Freezing them doesn't seem to affect anything it's just that as I say the defrost on reboot. Why would this be? And if that's the case how can I be sure that they are even properly frozen

 

[svim]

You could try to remove them using TB but it does appear as if Pandora's Box is integrated pretty tight into the ROM running on your phone. Keep those that firmware site you found handy in case you need to reflash your phone.
https://androidmtk.com/download-infocus-stock-rom
https://androidmtk.com/download-sut-l3-tool

As for checking if those PB processes are indeed frozen, try installing this 'Trepn' system profiling app and do a before and after test:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quicinc.trepn&hl=en

 

[little_green]

You could try to remove them using TB but it does appear as if Pandora's Box is integrated pretty tight into the ROM running on your phone. Keep those that firmware site you found handy in case you need to reflash your phone.
https://androidmtk.com/download-infocus-stock-rom
https://androidmtk.com/download-sut-l3-tool

As for checking if those PB processes are indeed frozen, try installing this 'Trepn' system profiling app and do a before and after test:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quicinc.trepn&hl=en

yeah so i'm thinking that pb may not affect the use of the phone but since it seems to refesh on rebooting maybe if i unstall it it will affect the powering up process of the device....
If I were to try uninstalling them & a problem occurred would it be as simple as reflashing the stock rom following the above even though I'm now rooted?

also bottom post on this thread mentions m560 rom but not entirely sure, maybe one of you can shed some light

 

[svim]

There are no absolutes with your situation, it's all trial and error on your part. If Titanium Backup can remove your problems that would be great, but you also have to weigh the consequences of either bricking your phone or just using it with whatever kluges you can apply to it to meet your needs.

 

[little_green]

There are no absolutes with your situation, it's all trial and error on your part. If Titanium Backup can remove your problems that would be great, but you also have to weigh the consequences of either bricking your phone or just using it with whatever kluges you can apply to it to meet your needs.

hmm yeah. I would definatley feel better if they werent on there at all..... but as you say risk bricking it.... but i'm not sure I can trust to use it knowing they are on there even though frozen with titanium bu but again are they really frozen!? -_- gargh seeing as they seem to be able to defrost on reboot.
if they can defrost on reboot can they defrost at any point? i dont really want to be constantly checking that it hasnt lol

 

[svim]

When you restart your phone it reloads its operating system. PB on your phone appears to be 'baked' into the operating system so it also gets restarted. There are a number of option in Titanium Backup Pro you might want to look into that may or may not help, one in particular named 'Chuck Norris' mode. Dig into TB's Settings menus.

 

[little_green]

When you restart your phone it reloads its operating system. PB on your phone appears to be 'baked' into the operating system so it also gets restarted. There are a number of option in Titanium Backup Pro you might want to look into that may or may not help, one in particular named 'Chuck Norris' mode. Dig into TB's Settings menus.

ahh i see so I guess the question is does PB need to be present in order for the os to boot up properly.
i've checked and chuck norris mode is ticked.
i guess its just whether or not I want to take the risk & uninstall them - if I do should I first back them up using titanium? although i'm assuming i'd need the phone to boot properly to reinstall them if things go wrong and chances are the booting up process is where it'll go wrong
-_-

I guess i'll think about it..... I mean is the phone "safe" to use if they are just frozen? its just annoying that they defrost on reboot not that I reboot a lot but definatlely makes me more suspicious of them

 

[little_green]

The most annoying thing is I've asked other. People who have this phone about the issue and whether their device also had it etc but none of them have replied. Asked one 2 guys on xda who have it and a guy on YouTube.

 

[svim]

Those two Pandora's Box items appear to be integrated into the operating system itself. As you already determined, using NetGuard when selecting just one that would result in a string of other system processes also being blocked. So removing PB could affect that same grouping of processes, possibly bricking your phone or maybe just making it run in quirky ways. But again, this will be trial and error on your part. As there is a source to get a factory ROM to reflash your phone, at least you've got a tentative exit strategy to fall back on.
From my perspective, after following the saga you've posted, at this point I'd just let Titanium Backup freeze that PB crap and move on. (But if you do want to keep going, don't let that stop you in any way.)