Heeeeelllllppppp

Discussion in 'Computer Science & Culture' started by scifes, Feb 23, 2014.

  1. scifes In withdrawal. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,573
    F***ING google, android, smartphones and cyber criminals, who should have their limbs cut off at one day intervals and videos of them posted online for all to see.

    As computer savvy as i am, i was always against smartphones as the hybrid sick mutants between full fledged computers you do real work and big screen stuff on, and small light "feature phones" which go 2 days with a single charge, make calls, play music, keep you synchronized to email and calendar, and support browsing the occasional webpage.

    but no, if you don't have an android or iphone then you're retarded, and even my PARENTS were angry when i was gonna buy a new feature phone as opposed to a modern smartphone, so i thought i'd give it a try, as maybe i'm hating something i don't even know, that i'm just resisting change, so i got an android.

    in short, my woes were confirmed, i now hate them from experience, everything(mostly) has been confirmed.

    now the reason for this thread(sorry for the rant), is that recently i've been hearing my shutter turn on and off by itself, and it's driving me INSANE. i thought, if someone's taking pics randomly and having them sent over then good luck for him, he'll be taking pics of my legs, table top and floor, till 10 mins ago i was cleaning my room, an old flight itinerary was lying on the floor, i was standing browsing my music, and there was the shutter sound, FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU**********************!!!

    I only install apps from google play, the only APKs i installed were two live wallpapers which were withdrawn from almost everywhere, but i could download them from some place.

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    eek::bugeye:

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    :scratchin

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    when i first got the device i took the permissions seriously, but soon i found that if i kept considering them i'll end up not installing anything at all, so i surrendered my reservations and just installed whatever.



    the wallpapers
    http://www.livewallpapers.org/8-bit-waterfall-1170/
    http://www.mobiles24.com/downloads/s/467228-294-8-bit_waterfall_live_wallpaper
    http://www.mobiles24.com/downloads/s/467227-294-8-bit_magic_castle_live_wallpaper

    sorry for the long irrelative parts.
    anybody had something similar with their camera?
     
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  3. Stryder Keeper of "good" ideas. Valued Senior Member

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    Unfortunately it's one of those things I'd have to "toy" with to work out the problem, since I don't have one, never have and probably never will... So you'll have to put up with some guestimates based upon what would seem logical.

    First off, is your phone set to "lock out" from misuse or theft after a given time period? I ask this because it's possible that when it locks currently it might play the "shutter" sound to tell you it's locked itself. I can just imaging you hearing the sound as it locks after a set time sat on a desk/dress/table across the room, you then pick it up to look to see what it's doing now, not registering that you have to unlock it and being bemused and frustrated by not knowing what it was doing. (I'm not saying this to assume that your silly not for spotting that, but it's the kind of trivial thing that people often overlook first, before they start downloading a whole bunch of useless damaging apps trying to remove a ghost problem)

    If someone was taking Clandestine pictures using your phone, they wouldn't likely turn off the setting for playing the shutter sound since that's a dead give away, so perhaps it's not actually taking pictures. (there's also the fact that pictures would have to be stored somewhere on your phone, prior to being uploaded, so you should be able to find those pictures. The concern with third-party purveyors would really be with live streaming, which I'm sure you'd notice by either constantly maxing out your tariff or running out of credit.)

    One other potential is if you are using your phone with a wifi enabled so that you can use your home network to surf on. connection/disconnection (especially if the phone locks out) could theoretically play a sound.
     
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  5. scifes In withdrawal. Valued Senior Member

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    Well I'm both bemused and slightly relieved that the Mod of the computer subfora doesn't have a smartphone (or just not an Android?)..

    I have been toying with it for some time, there are apps which display Android's hidden "app ops" screen to manage and cut off specific permissions given to applications, but that is only available for ver 4.3 and up and mine's 4.2. Not to mention that when you cut some permissions from an app sometime's it'll crash. There are other apps which give you the ability to fake permissions to other apps but I haven't had a lot of luck with those either.

    Two clarifications though:
    1-the shutter sound I hear is the PHYSICAL shutter sound, not some software played sound. And while sometimes it happens while the phone is just laying on my desk, it often does it while I try to initiate a call.

    2-I am continuously connected to WiFi at home, and not only that, my T-mobile plan gives me unlimited data, and I already take pics and send them on daily basis, so there won't be much to notice. As for saving them on the phone, not only are the directories messed up, what with the sd card and local storage and system storage, then there's the fact that system files are hidden for mobile browsing and only show up from a computer. But also, android is sophisticated enough to take a pic, send it, and delete it, definitly not enough time for me to know where to find it.
     
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  7. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    Lock it away and throw away the key, is my advice. Your life will be so much better.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2014
  8. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Pretty sure there is no physical shutter on my HTC One android phone. And it's awesome.
     
  9. leopold Valued Senior Member

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  10. leopold Valued Senior Member

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    you might be interested in some of the following topics:
    https://archive.org/details/25c3video

    edit:
    the forum software said i had to wait 15 seconds before posting, so i did.
    SOFTWARE GLITCH ! !
     
  11. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    As already stated - most phones do not have a physical shutter, and use a sound clip to emulate it. However, this sound could also potentially be assigned to any number of other features - on my Galaxy note 3, the sound my phone makes when it locks/unlocks is the same sound the camera makes when it takes a picture, for example.

    One thing you can do is plug your phone into your computer via USB, and browse to the DCIM folder. You should find any and all pictures stored there (that is the standard, default location for pictures to be kept). If there are no pictures there that you did not intentionally take, then you can safely assume you are safe (no non-developer application can store a photo anywhere else on the device without root access, and unless you have rooted your phone, you are safe)
     
  12. scifes In withdrawal. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,573
    I've already rechecked the price for the "feature phone" i had in mind before buying this one, and might just put this back in its box as a backup or give it to someone and buy that old one.
    i don't mean the physical shutter button, but the mechanism in the lens that opens and closes for the light to come in.
    my smartphone is an xperia, sony's camera phones are usually more complex than others, since they incorporate their cyber shot technology into their phones often.
    those seem old, i did have viruses in my old phones but those were easy to detect, the one i had would send itself as a multimedia message to my contacts.
    indeed after double checking it seems camera phones lack the shutter in their lenses, however my phone makes no sound when locking/unlocking nor when taking pictures(i disabled the latter).
    interesting, but Evernote had pictures outside that folder, other chatting programs too.
     
  13. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    *nods* And when you installed those programs they were given permission to store images they took in their own folders and given permission to access the camera.

    However, if you are worried about potential malware / spying on your device, one of the best android security applications I have seen is TrustGo (http://www.trustgo.com/) - it's also completely free. Give it a whirl - if there's a security hole in your device, chances are TrustGo will help you find it

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  14. scifes In withdrawal. Valued Senior Member

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    As I said I stopped looking at the permissions long ago, it's too messy to keep track of.
    I installed TrustGo, seems a great find, though scanning my device showed up nothing. I'm still hearicng the occasional ticking of the shutter though..

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  15. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    Question - if you put the phone on mute, does it still occur? Or if you turn the volume off for system sounds?

    What phone, exactly, is it?
     
  16. Stryder Keeper of "good" ideas. Valued Senior Member

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    Last edited: Feb 25, 2014
  17. R1D2 many leagues under the sea. Valued Senior Member

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    Get mad enough just shoot ur phone with a pellet gun ... Have fun getting tArget tactical
     
  18. scifes In withdrawal. Valued Senior Member

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    2,573
    didn't try, but i know the sound, when i turn on the camera i hear it coming from the lens, and when i exit the camera i hear it again.

    Xperia Go/Advance, St27i/a
    very interesting, I also hate the new cellphone race, or even technology race in general; we move on to newer stuff before utilizing a tenth of the potential of what we already have.


    official Sony retailer, but abroad, not in the US(where I reside).
    the only difference between the international model Go-St27i and the american one Advance-St27a is some of the frequencies they support.

    A friend previously scared me by saying it might be the NSA, now this. Those suit such sinister spying plot more.

    want to collect fingerprints of people? make a fingerprint lock app and distribute it for free, people would be happy to show off their fingerprint locked phone to their friends.

    Very funny you'd say that. 2 days ago I had a nervous breakdown with my phone, after being late 10 mins trying to make a single call and not being able to, and did what i imagined doing so many times before, i snapped the device in my hand. well, at least i tried to. Torsion test syle.

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    while squinting my eyes for when the pieces shatter all over, my muscles reached their max and it didn't snap. it remained slitly twisted though, and the quite freaky thing is that it works just fine as such, the screen is notably cylindrical now instead of flat, but no cracks or anything, almost as if it was designed that way, all other functions are the same.
    then i just formatted the phone and am now minimizing the "smart" part of my smartphone so the "phone" part can function. I knew it was a mistake all along. smartphones are a blunder of human ingenuity, like silicone breasts. they thrive on people wanting what they don't need, it's like phone companies made the most perfect phone then couldn't just sit there, so they invented smartphones.

    anyway, problem solved for now, no random shutter sounds, and phone works smoothly, thanks all.
     

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