General Question: Phone Hacking

Ok, so I'm not the best when it comes to technical things like this but I'm far from the worst and learning New things everyday.

My question isn't any thing personal just a thing I've often wondered and pondered about/over.

Like most people, I have a smart phone. I Do have protection in place for the phone just as I do for all my PCs but I'm wondering is it really that necessary? Being that I use my own protected WiFi service, am I still at risk from hackers, identity thieves, etc?

How do they do it and what makes a phone most vulnerable? Besides what I'm doing now is there anything else I should be doing to protect my phone from hacking and such?

Well, I hope that gives enough info into what I am asking. Thank you in advance to any and all replies. Stay safe!

KKA

Do you have a VPN set up? Can be used for any and all web activity, most android phones can be set up as well. I have not had an Iphone in years so not sure about those. PM if you want more info.

don't install unknown applications and try to be aware of applications that ask for access to location, phone/text records. Ensure storage encryption is enabled on your phone - iphone does this by default when you enable a passcode, some Androids do as well, but some do not. Most importantly, don't let the phone out of your control, most phone hacking requires physical access to the phone.

If you don't use a VPN service when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, you are at risk for man-in-the-middle attacks

If you own one of these Android smartphones, your phone is already infected with preinstalled malware

• Galaxy Note 2
• LG G4
• Galaxy S7
• Galaxy S4
• Galaxy Note 4
• Galaxy Note 5
• Galaxy Note 8
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
• Galaxy A5
• ZTE x500
• Galaxy Note 3
• Galaxy Note Edge
• Galaxy Tab S2
• Galaxy Tab 2
• Oppo N3
• vivo X6 plus
• Asus Zenfone 2
• LenovoS90
• OppoR7 plus
• Xiaomi Redmi
• Lenovo A850

I forgot to include a link for the preinstalled Android phone malware news

https://arstechnica.com/security/201...two-companies/

I have a cyber security degree and it doesn't matter if you have a vpn private network or anything. FBI already has a "backdoor" (which means they can access anyone's phone) without no problem.... I know a lot of ethical (legal) hackers as well.

Some things to think about:

- If you leave Wi-Fi discover mode on, your phone's unique ID will be recorded by every Wi-Fi it comes into range with, WHETHER YOU CONNECT TO THAT ROUTER OR NOT. If someone learns your phone's ID #, they can track your movement in real time on any one of several apps that are available on the web.

- Unless you have a good reason to use them, turn off your phone's geolocation features, and try to avoid using apps that geotag you. The general rule of thumb is, the more apps you have running, the more geotagging is going on in background. My phone has a feature (not easy to find) where I can toggle on / off each app's access to phone info, like GPS data, etc. Remember that every JPG you snap and every video you take has your phone's unique ID number and geotag info embedded into it. Yes, you can left click on pictures and vids that people have embedded into reviews and see the exact time, date, location (lat/long), type of device and device serial number. Type the lat/long into a maps program and it will give you the street address where the pic was taken.

- Android phones come loaded with hackware / malware. It's next to impossible to uninstall all of it. I refuse to purchase or use an Android phone.

- I make good use of burner virtual phone numbers / text messaging services that are not related to any Google product, such as GMail, Google Voice, etc. Google has the most intrusive and complete customer database on the planet, which they sell to the FBI, NSA, CIA, etc. on a regular basis for lots of $$$$. Google's search engine in the USA cannot be used in the EEU because it violates EEU privacy laws. Google has been fighting the EEU in the world court to have the same intrusive tracking capabilities that it has had in the USA for years, at a cost of millions of Euros.

- Make DuckDuckGo your default search engine and Mozilla Firefox with Private Browsing Mode permanently enabled your default browser / search engine.

- If you have a firewall program (like Norton 360), manually configure the program access to block all inbound and outbound traffic for Internet Explorer / Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, depending on your OS.

- If you notice that your phone's battery starts discharging much more rapidly than it used to, you've got an app or apps that are running in background, sending information to the source organization from your phone continuously. Again, my phone has a (hard to find) feature where I can control those background apps / tasks.

Good luck!

Or u could switch to an iPhone bc ain't nobody got for all that crazy town. Trap phone, burner app iwhatevet....if they want to find u they will come and find u. So stay off the dark net & away from minors and I can assure u, u will be fine

People try to ''sniff'' out passwords on people's networks all the time, I had a couple teenagers come up on my lawn with their hoods on and my Rot had to glare at them for a half a second before they took off on their wee little Bicycles. They came with their phones trying to pick up my signal and (probably) crack the connection.....not that they would have gotten that far. But this shit happens all the time, just because you only access Wi-Fi on your own network doesn't mean you are 100% Private. You could have a neighbor trying to crack your password and use your Wi-Fi.

Actually not enough info given in your question to give an accurate answer.

What "protection" are you looking for and what "protection" do you think you have?

Ok, so I'm not the best when it comes to technical things like this but I'm far from the worst and learning New things everyday.

My question isn't any thing personal just a thing I've often wondered and pondered about/over.

Like most people, I have a smart phone. I Do have protection in place for the phone just as I do for all my PCs but I'm wondering is it really that necessary? Being that I use my own protected WiFi service, am I still at risk from hackers, identity thieves, etc?

How do they do it and what makes a phone most vulnerable? Besides what I'm doing now is there anything else I should be doing to protect my phone from hacking and such?

Well, I hope that gives enough info into what I am asking. Thank you in advance to any and all replies. Stay safe!

KKA Originally Posted by KlassyKelliAnn

Some things to think about:

- If you leave Wi-Fi discover mode on, your phone's unique ID will be recorded by every Wi-Fi it comes into range with, WHETHER YOU CONNECT TO THAT ROUTER OR NOT. If someone learns your phone's ID #, they can track your movement in real time on any one of several apps that are available on the web. Originally Posted by Anonymous01

That's why i ONLY use my Wi-fi when i am in a known secure area.. Same with my laptop.

- Unless you have a good reason to use them, turn off your phone's geolocation features, and try to avoid using apps that geotag you. The general rule of thumb is, the more apps you have running, the more geotagging is going on in background. My phone has a feature (not easy to find) where I can toggle on / off each app's access to phone info, like GPS data, etc. Remember that every JPG you snap and every video you take has your phone's unique ID number and geotag info embedded into it. Yes, you can left click on pictures and vids that people have embedded into reviews and see the exact time, date, location (lat/long), type of device and device serial number. Type the lat/long into a maps program and it will give you the street address where the pic was taken. Originally Posted by Anonymous01

Did that, cause its NOT just a security feature to me, but it also saves battery life..

People try to ''sniff'' out passwords on people's networks all the time, I had a couple teenagers come up on my lawn with their hoods on and my Rot had to glare at them for a half a second before they took off on their wee little Bicycles. They came with their phones trying to pick up my signal and (probably) crack the connection.....not that they would have gotten that far. But this shit happens all the time, just because you only access Wi-Fi on your own network doesn't mean you are 100% Private. You could have a neighbor trying to crack your password and use your Wi-Fi. Originally Posted by Inversion

This is why if at all possible, i use a physical Cat-5 connection to do my surfing.. Especially when on the road and staying in hotels..

Depending on how the hotel setup their network you are most likely only marginally safer connected via cat5 than wifi.

Some things to think about:

- If you leave Wi-Fi discover mode on, your phone's unique ID will be recorded by every Wi-Fi it comes into range with, WHETHER YOU CONNECT TO THAT ROUTER OR NOT. If someone learns your phone's ID #, they can track your movement in real time on any one of several apps that are available on the web.

- Unless you have a good reason to use them, turn off your phone's geolocation features, and try to avoid using apps that geotag you. The general rule of thumb is, the more apps you have running, the more geotagging is going on in background. My phone has a feature (not easy to find) where I can toggle on / off each app's access to phone info, like GPS data, etc. Remember that every JPG you snap and every video you take has your phone's unique ID number and geotag info embedded into it. Yes, you can left click on pictures and vids that people have embedded into reviews and see the exact time, date, location (lat/long), type of device and device serial number. Type the lat/long into a maps program and it will give you the street address where the pic was taken.

- Android phones come loaded with hackware / malware. It's next to impossible to uninstall all of it. I refuse to purchase or use an Android phone.

- I make good use of burner virtual phone numbers / text messaging services that are not related to any Google product, such as GMail, Google Voice, etc. Google has the most intrusive and complete customer database on the planet, which they sell to the FBI, NSA, CIA, etc. on a regular basis for lots of $$$$. Google's search engine in the USA cannot be used in the EEU because it violates EEU privacy laws. Google has been fighting the EEU in the world court to have the same intrusive tracking capabilities that it has had in the USA for years, at a cost of millions of Euros.

- Make DuckDuckGo your default search engine and Mozilla Firefox with Private Browsing Mode permanently enabled your default browser / search engine.

- If you have a firewall program (like Norton 360), manually configure the program access to block all inbound and outbound traffic for Internet Explorer / Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, depending on your OS.

- If you notice that your phone's battery starts discharging much more rapidly than it used to, you've got an app or apps that are running in background, sending information to the source organization from your phone continuously. Again, my phone has a (hard to find) feature where I can control those background apps / tasks.

Good luck! Originally Posted by Anonymous01

<<--- partially correct information.
The "discover mode" exists for the Bluetooth feature and not the cell phone wi-fi device. The cell phone has wi-fi capabilities to connect to another computers Internet service and once it's in the range of that service signal and using the encryption pass code to access, the original computers owner can see them in their list of connected devices. But WiFi as a general rule is not how cell phones get hacked. Hacking into cell phone data usually happens when rogue apps are downloaded and the permissions granted give access to everything you deem private. If you have concerns about how much is shared turn the phone off in places you feel vulnerable like malls or casinos, if your phone is synced to share your info with your email that is the used to set up Facebook or social media apps, the phone calls you make will identify you to that media's data mine and that's how escorts get outted by sharing phone number and email "germs." Make an email account that you only use for services that don't need phone number, address, credit card etc. If you have to have that info to use a service get a completely different server account and sign out completely when you aren't using it, don't set it to stay logged in and don't use that email address to send email or IM anyone. So much of these corporations data breaches happens when they keep sharing the same software that holds their data servers with their telephone routers.

Way to involved answers for the op question.

Op:
Keep your phone software updated.
If you're not using an app, delete or disable. Most problems are introduced by disguised apps.
Turn off Bluetooth "here I am discover me" location/address broadcasting (different than actually turning off the radios).
If your phone is fairly recent, tge manufacturers software is fairly good on protecting the handheld.

There's other security software that can be added.
I use Kaspersky for all my equipment. And even though on the handheld, it's not had to do anything ever.

Russian hackware. Opens a back door to any device it's installed on. Welcome to Uncle Vladimir's Troll Farm!