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    Home Unlabelled Android MAGA-branded ‘Freedom Phone’ Is a Major Security Hazard

    Android MAGA-branded ‘Freedom Phone’ Is a Major Security Hazard

    July 17, 2021

    Android MAGA-branded ‘Freedom Phone’ Is a Major Security Hazard

    MAGA-branded ‘Freedom Phone’ Is a Major Security Hazard

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 09:59 AM PDT

    Sony Xperia 1 III will only get one major Android update

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 11:43 PM PDT

    Gboard’s new Dynamic Color theme syncs with your wallpaper on Android 12

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 11:42 AM PDT

    Polishing up emoji and making them easier to share

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 10:22 AM PDT

    TCL 20S Review: Too many compromises to recommend over the competition

    Posted: 17 Jul 2021 01:57 AM PDT

    How to utilize Android's Data connection via socks proxy on Linux using USB-tethering without root

    Posted: 17 Jul 2021 03:45 AM PDT

    It's done with Termux on the phone and ssh client on the desktop. It does not require a rooted phone. Should work on mobile-only plans, unless you give yourself up with unencrypted User Agent requests1 or by visiting desktop-only2 sites. Don't blame me if you'll get charged additional money. Applicable for Android 7-11. These steps does not suit Network Manager setups exactly.

    However, it won't work when activating mobile Data and connecting via Wi-Fi (no AP). In this way Wi-Fi will be prioritized as default gateway on the phone. Please let me know if you'll find a workaround for that.

    ​

    1. Set up udev rule to assign a constant name to RNDIS device

    Connect and enable USB tethering on the phone. It will be assigned an incremental name like usb0 or usb1. Determine the serial:

    desktop$ udevadm info -a -p /sys/class/net/usb0 | grep serial

    Place similar file into include folder; note the usb20 interface name:

    /etc/udev/rules.d/95-usb.tethering.rules

    SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", DRIVERS=="usb", ATTRS{serial}=="xxxxxxxxx", NAME="usb20"

    Reload the rules:

    d# systemctl reload udev

    ​

    1. Set up DHCP on that constant interface

    Place following lines in /etc/network/interfaces:

    allow-hotplug usb20

    iface usb20 inet dhcp

    ​

    1. Install and set up Termux with openssh package

    termux$ pkg update

    t$ pkg install openssh

    t$ whoami # determine randomized user name

    t$ passwd # set up initial password

    t$ nano ../usr/etc/ssh/sshd_config

    Unfortunately, local address space is not available until tethering is activated, so we have to listen everywhere. But, we can whitelist the local network. Note the randomized username.

    ListenAddress 0.0.0.0

    Port 12345 # additional obscurity; choose your own

    AllowUsers u0_a123@192.168.0.0/16

    t$ sshd # run the server

    Connect the phone, enable USB tethering and ssh-connect for the first time:

    d$ ssh -p 12345 u0_a123@$(grep usb20$ /proc/net/arp | awk '{ print $1 }')

    Place your public key into .ssh/authorized_keys on the phone, test, disable

    PasswordAuthentication no

    and restart the service on the phone:

    t$ pkill sshd # stop the server

    t$ sshd

    You may want to disable battery optimizations for Termux.

    ​

    1. Install Termux:Widget to control sshd from the screen, or Termux:Boot to run sshd at boot

    t$ cat .shortcuts/start-sshd.sh

    sshd

    t$ cat .shortcuts/stop-sshd.sh

    pkill sshd

    ​

    1. Use following scripts to start and stop socks proxy:

    https://gist.github.com/nobodysu/7a8854eab932493d65406310b5dd36e8

    https://gist.github.com/nobodysu/c9e9276e4d590c37f582b1a3621181c1

    Remember to chmod +x the scripts.

    Ensure the proxy is running:

    d$ ss -antupl | grep ssh

    Graceful connection shutdown is advisable, or you'll have to remove the .sock file or reboot.

    ​

    1. DNS (optional)

    Something like:

    d$ nslookup google.com $(grep usb20$ /proc/net/arp | awk '{ print $1 }')

    or (OVERWRITE)

    d$ echo "nameserver $(grep usb20$ /proc/net/arp | awk '{ print $1 }')" > /etc/resolv.conf

    ​

    1. Use cases

    d$ tail -1 /etc/proxychains.conf

    socks4 127.0.0.1:20020

    d$ proxychains curl ifconfig.co/json

    or

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/container-proxy/

    WARNING: not 100% robust.

    ​

    1 Enable https-only mode in Firefox without fallback

    2 windowsupdate.com, etc

    ​

    References:

    https://www.monblocnotes.org/node/1895

    https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/388300/udev-does-not-rename-usb-ethernet-device

    https://askubuntu.com/questions/21914/how-can-i-make-networkmanager-ignore-my-wireless-card

    submitted by /u/nobodysu
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    Popular Podcast App Pocket Casts Joins Automattic

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 01:40 PM PDT

    The Z Fold3 and Flip3 will have IPX8 certification

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 09:53 AM PDT

    Both will have IPX8

    Unless I'm completely misreading the situation, but he appears to be referring to the Z Fold3 and Flip 3

    submitted by /u/FragmentedChicken
    [link] [comments]

    Using a Galaxy S3 (and S3 Mini) in 2021

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 07:40 AM PDT

    A while back a youtube video about using an S4 in 2021 was posted here and I was disappointed that it barely said anything about using the thing; it was all retrospective. People liked my comment about the S3 so I thought I'd make it a full review. Starting with the S3, and my reason for keeping it this long:

    The S3 is the best-designed phone I have ever held. The body and screen are both the perfect size for me and the smooth plastic back not only feels nice, but is so grippy that I feel like I'm not even holding it. It just stays in my hand and doesn't start slipping until it's nearly vertical. I don't go for that "premium materials" nonsense reviewers rave about. The software on the other hand was Touchwiz at its worst. Barely usable even in the 2010s. That's what got me into ROMs, though I stuck with a debloated Touchwiz and some aggressive kernel tweaks until recently when a number of apps stopped supporting Jellybean. At first I was going to retire the phone, but I wanted to push it one last time so I started looking for ROMs again.

    The newest I found for my model (i9300, the Exynos 4 Quad version with 1GB RAM) is Android 11, but it's an alpha build of LineageOS. So I opted for Android 9 with SuperiorOS instead. I figured it would run really badly, but to my surprise it's actually faster than my previous ROM. Like way faster. Most apps do take a second or two to load from the old flash storage, but once it's open Kiwi with several addons runs well and loads pages quickly. They scroll fairly smothly too, though I couldn't get this on video (images/video are at the end of this section). It can keep dozens of tabs active while I switch to Whatsapp or Discord and listen to music on Youtube, something I've seen people complain about being impossible even on the newest flagships. It's not a hardware problem, it's just over-eager RAM/battery management.

    And best of all I didn't have to tweak anything myself to achieve that, like I'm used to doing. I installed Magisk and Kernel Adiutor out of habit but I honestly couldn't find anything that needed teaking, not even to balance this performance with efficiency since that's already covered too. So I spent that time messing with visual customization instead, which SuperiorOS has no shortage of. Either through a built-in theme picker (with Substratum compatibility) or individual options for every last part of the UI. It even has 2 different gesture systems built in, both of which work just fine though I'm not a fan of gestures.

    It's stable as well, with only 1 bug I've encountered. Whenever I open Firefox the phone reboots. This is a known inheritance from LOS' kernel that has already been fixed upstream, so once Android 11 leaves alpha we're good to go. It should be possible to patch Firefox too since the call that causes the kernel panic is known, but it's easier to just use a different browser.

    Now I'm not saying you'd be happy with this phone. Things like Google Maps are sluggish no matter what I do, and Playservices would bring it to its knees. Maybe microG would do ok but I didn't try since none of the apps I use actually need it. I don't use my phone for more than messaging and web browsing, but that's true for a lot of people. Anyway here's some photos before I move on to the S3 Mini:

    https://i.imgur.com/m17eSgT.jpeg

    https://imgur.com/a/YsN0ZWc

    And the video, if you enjoy looking at abstract art created by unfathomable glitches. I don't know what's wrong with the phone I used to take it: https://thumbs.gfycat.com/FelineAllAmphibian-mobile.mp4

    Ok, on to the S3 Mini. It's the i8190 with an ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 SoC (bet you haven't heard that name in a while!). It did not recieve the same community support as its big brother. Development stopped at Android 7 with several very laggy ROMs. The most usable I could find is Vibrant OS (Android 5). It's not as flashy as SuperiorOS and did take some tinkering in Kernel Adiutor so I could switch apps without them immediately being killed. It's still not great TBH, and websites take a while to load if there are pictures, but for something like Reddit it's fine. It has a lot of customization built in as well, though it's not as flashy as SuperiorOS. I don't know what else to say about this. It's basically a smaller, weaker S3 and not very fun to use. Firefox works though!

    Here's some photos: https://imgur.com/a/gaFFiBj

    Oh, and if you're wondering about the cables: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupportmacgyver/comments/foe683/who_needs_batteries_when_you_have_usb_cables_a/

    submitted by /u/SinkTube
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    Poco X3 Pro and Other phones with Game Booster also boosts volume of OTT apps.

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 05:17 AM PDT

    I noticed that when I started using YouTube while a game boosted by Game Booster was running, sound was quite loud.

    Currently I've added YouTube to Game Booster so I can hear sound clearly even in loud environment.

    Similarly, Netflix and Prime Video etcetera can be added to Game Booster while watching content without headphones.

    This obviates the need of Volume Booster apps. To activate go to Security>Game Booster and add any such apps with Plus sign. Some apps like MX Player can use their own volume boosting services so no need to add them I guess.

    submitted by /u/Brahmadeo
    [link] [comments]

    Weekend discussion: what realistic options are for a phone that is very good on privacy? One that is very good on security? On both? What about something less than perfect but still better than current popular models? From "phone for your grandparents" to "phones for geeks" and beyond.

    Posted: 16 Jul 2021 11:27 AM PDT

    The "Freedom Phone" suggests that some people definitely want better privacy and security but what can we get right now?

    On the level of "privacy for dummies if you can trust one company" the main competitor here is obviously Apple, and unfortunately I can not see any major company in the Android world that has a decent alternative to that right now, could it be that the alternative is a smaller company? Or is the issue here the original business model of Android and things will never get much better without some major push from a dedicated organization?

    In the "do it yourself" space things might be even better, LineageOS for instance looks like a reasonable alternative with up-to-date security updates - as long as you don't get extra-serious on security, in which case I believe you need something equivalent but which lets you lock back the bootloader, and so far I know of only GrapheneOS which does that on specific Pixel models (by definition very few and with less than stellar hardware).

    submitted by /u/catalinus
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