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A Solid Anti-Theft App?

C

c0ldpr0xy

Newbie
Hello. I made the jump today from iPhone 3GS to Galaxy S4 and I am very unfamiliar with the Android realm. So far it's been great, but I have one question. Is there ANY app that let's you track your phone regardless of what the supposed "thief" does to the phone? Suppose they uninstall/format/boot up in recovery mode to completely wipe the phone, is there any app that would still let me track my device?

I know the idea may be far-fetched but I'm just trying my luck. So it's either an app or maybe it's possible to insert a GPS device inside the case where the battery is. Cheers.
 
c0ldpr0xy said:
Hello. I made the jump today from iPhone 3GS to Galaxy S4 and I am very unfamiliar with the Android realm. So far it's been great, but I have one question. Is there ANY app that let's you track your phone regardless of what the supposed "thief" does to the phone? Suppose they uninstall/format/boot up in recovery mode to completely wipe the phone, is there any app that would still let me track my device?

I know the idea may be far-fetched but I'm just trying my luck. So it's either an app or maybe it's possible to insert a GPS device inside the case where the battery is. Cheers.
Click to expand...
Avast is good. But if you are willing to spend a little bit I would go ahead and buy Cerberus anti theft
Because it not only allows you to track the phone but also lets you take a picture of the thief, send pop up messages, and much more. These will also allow you to prevent the "thief" from wiping your phone
 
Can i piggyback this thread a bit please OP?
your post just gave me a thought.. can someone who is rooted simply install an anti theft app as a System App to prevent it being removed by a reset?
Is it possible for an app to do this automaticly?
 
brownchm said:
Avast is good. But if you are willing to spend a little bit I would go ahead and buy Cerberus anti theft
Because it not only allows you to track the phone but also lets you take a picture of the thief, send pop up messages, and much more. These will also allow you to prevent the "thief" from wiping your phone
Click to expand...

Nice :). Did some research and seems like Cerberus is a very good one. But I'm wondering what can a person do to avoid being tracked by Cerberus? I just want to cover every scenario possible in case of theft. Of course I would understand that there may be no app that garauntees 100% recovery.
 
funkylogik said:
Can i piggyback this thread a bit please OP?
your post just gave me a thought.. can someone who is rooted simply install an anti theft app as a System App to prevent it being removed by a reset?
Is it possible for an app to do this automaticly?
Click to expand...
When you install it as a root user you give it root/administrative access to your device allowing you to perform the functions that it allows you to do such as access various pieces of hardware, such as the camera or speakers. But if you have apps that have a higher priority, like verizon sms on verizon smartphones interferes with your ability to send the sms messages needed to activate anit-theft features.
 
funkylogik said:
Can i piggyback this thread a bit please OP?
your post just gave me a thought.. can someone who is rooted simply install an anti theft app as a System App to prevent it being removed by a reset?
Is it possible for an app to do this automaticly?
Click to expand...

Yes! This is exactly what I am trying to figure out so I can do it if it's possible!
 
c0ldpr0xy said:
Nice :). Did some research and seems like Cerberus is a very good one. But I'm wondering what can a person do to avoid being tracked by Cerberus? I just want to cover every scenario possible in case of theft. Of course I would understand that there may be no app that garauntees 100% recovery.
Click to expand...
The thing is when you install Cerberus it allows you to hide it from the app drawer, so before the thief figures out you have it installed you can activate it.
 
funkylogik said:
Can i piggyback this thread a bit please OP?
your post just gave me a thought.. can someone who is rooted simply install an anti theft app as a System App to prevent it being removed by a reset?
Is it possible for an app to do this automaticly?
Click to expand...

Actually, from what it says on the page, for rooted users, there is a seeing that locks the application so that the only way to remove it is by flashing another ROM.
 
brownchm said:
The thing is when you install Cerberus it allows you to hide it from the app drawer, so before the thief figures out you have it installed you can activate it.
Click to expand...

Okay, how about this: Is it possible to make my device factory-reset resistant? Which means, even if they boot in recovery mode (my experience from iOS), they still won't be able to reset the device OR at least not remove Cerberus. That way, even if the device is wiped clean locally (not remotely), I would still be able to track the device assuming Cerberus is still in it.

Forgive me if I'm getting too confusing.

Edit: Btw, what does it mean to be a "rooted" user? How do I check if my phone is rooted? Thanks.
 
Basicly the app has to have some kind of connection to be able to do its job so a phone with no power or no sim is gone.. i havent checked out Cerberus yet but other apps will text you the phone number of a new sim put in the phone which is cool. Not sure if this is possible without root access but some apps can record every call made and email that recording to you which is also cool. Im guessing that on an unrooted phone, it would be impossible for it to use GPS or mobile data sneakily (without asking the person holding the phone to switch them on)
Just thinking about it, it seems like a rooted phone has the potential to be far more secure than a locked one? At least until manufacturers start including great anti-theft software in the firmware
 
c0ldpr0xy said:
Okay, how about this: Is it possible to make my device factory-reset resistant? Which means, even if they boot in recovery mode (my experience from iOS), they still won't be able to reset the device OR at least not remove Cerberus. That way, even if the device is wiped clean locally (not remotely), I would still be able to track the device assuming Cerberus is still in it.

Forgive me if I'm getting too confusing.

Edit: Btw, what does it mean to be a "rooted" user? How do I check if my phone is rooted? Thanks.
Click to expand...
1. The purpose of installing Cerberus is that it allows you to deny access to your phone while tracking it.
2. Root User
 
Well it seems like avast! has hard-reset proof feature but in one condition: Phone needs to be rooted. I'm googling a lot about rooting my newly bought phone and it seems like it MAY damage the phone in many ways. Bummer...

Thanks for your help guys.
 
c0ldpr0xy said:
Okay, how about this: Is it possible to make my device factory-reset resistant? Which means, even if they boot in recovery mode (my experience from iOS), they still won't be able to reset the device OR at least not remove Cerberus. That way, even if the device is wiped clean locally (not remotely), I would still be able to track the device assuming Cerberus is still in it.

Forgive me if I'm getting too confusing.

Edit: Btw, what does it mean to be a "rooted" user? How do I check if my phone is rooted? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Tbh i think if an android phone was made where it was imposible to "tamper" with it, the carriers would have done that already and noone on this site would buy it lol. like weaknesses bring strengths and vice versa :)
If you bought the phone new, it wont be rooted but theres the Root Checker app in play store.
Rooting basicly gives you (and apps that you choose) full administerative permissions over the device, strips away the dumb-proofness lol :)
 
c0ldpr0xy said:
Well it seems like avast! has hard-reset proof feature but in one condition: Phone needs to be rooted. I'm googling a lot about rooting my newly bought phone and it seems like it MAY damage the phone in many ways. Bummer...

Thanks for your help guys.
Click to expand...

Rooting is usually a very safe procedure tbh mate. They say "with great power comes great responsability" though lol, bit dramatic but thats kinda how it is. Once the phone is rooted, its easyer to mess it up. Rooting wont kill it but things that you become capable of doing can :thumbup:
 
funkylogik said:
Rooting is usually a very safe procedure tbh mate. They say "with great power comes great responsability" though lol, bit dramatic but thats kinda how it is. Once the phone is rooted, its easyer to mess it up. Rooting wont kill it but things that you become capable of doing can :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I seem to understand now. I just didn't know Android was so well developed and versatile. Unlike iOS which is very limited and strict but I have yet to get used to the Android world. I'll probably be rooting my phone sometime in the future I guess.
 
Yeah iOs is very locked down man. Android os is completely free and open to use. Manufacturers just choose to lock down their own version of Android enough that the average person cant get into the System etc parts of the memory and delete stuff that would "kill" the device or open up the potential for apps to do things that deep in the OS but on most devices its really simple. Thats why manufacturers try to use the line that rooting a device renders the warranty void :thumbup:
 
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