Millions of Androids Infected: How to Protect Your Device
https://www.gizchina.com/2024/09/30/millions-of-androids-infected-by-malware-how-to-protect-your-device/

Android 16 could possibly appear much earlier than expected
https://www.gizchina.com/2024/10/01/android-16-early-release-baklava/

The Android 16 codename has been revealed, and it isn't a dessert that starts with the letter W!

That might seem odd since Android 14's codename was Upside Down Cake & Android 15's was Vanilla Ice Cream, but the reason why makes sense once you read it.

Here's the Android 16 news I was ACTUALLY teasing today:

Google may release Android 16 much earlier than expected. Evidence and sources point towards a release happening in Q2 - not Q3 - of 2025!

Details + evidence can be found in my latest article on Android Authority.

Check official statements from GOS team here:

https://grapheneos.org/faq#cellular-tracking

Legacy calls and texts should be avoided as they're not secure and trust the carrier / network along with having weak security against other parties. Trying to detect some forms of interception rather than dealing with the root of the problem (unencrypted communications / data transfer) would be foolish and doomed to failure.


Also more info on LTE only:
https://grapheneos.org/usage#lte-only-modehttps://grapheneos.org/usage#lte-only-mode

Sorry for linking this, but this was source for latest finnish news regarding that...

https://about.fb.com/news/2024/09/an-update-on-how-were-building-safe-and-secure-third-party-chats-for-users-in-europe/

Short quote:
We’ve also gone above and beyond the “basic” features required for interoperable messaging under DMA, and we will provide rich messaging features such as reactions, direct replies, typing indicators, and read receipts. In accordance with the DMA, in 2025 we will include the option to create groups, and voice / video calling in 2027. 

Signal and Telegram are both messaging apps that emphasize privacy and security, but they have several key differences in terms of features, encryption, and overall approach to user data:

### 1. Encryption
- Signal: It uses end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by default for all conversations, including one-on-one chats, group chats, and voice/video calls. This means only the people involved in the conversation can read or hear the messages.
- Telegram: Telegram offers E2EE only in its "Secret Chats" feature, while regular chats are encrypted between the device and Telegram's servers (MTProto encryption). However, Telegram stores regular chat data on its cloud servers.

### 2. Cloud Storage
- Signal: Does not store user data on its servers. All conversations are stored locally on the user's device, and backups, if any, are also encrypted and managed by the user.
- Telegram: Stores regular chat data in the cloud, which allows for multi-device synchronization. Users can access their chat history from any device. Secret chats, however, are device-specific and not stored on Telegram's servers.

### 3. Open Source
- Signal: Both Signal's protocol (the encryption technology) and the app are fully open source. This transparency allows security experts to review the code for vulnerabilities.
- Telegram: Telegram's protocol (MTProto) is open source, but the server-side code is closed source, meaning the backend cannot be independently audited by external security experts.

### 4. User Base and Popularity
- Signal: Popular among users who prioritize privacy and security, such as journalists, activists, and privacy advocates.
- Telegram: More widely used with a broader range of features appealing to general users. It's popular for its large group chats, channels, and bots.

### 5. Features
- Signal: Focuses more on secure communication. It offers encrypted messages, voice and video calls, and some basic messaging features like disappearing messages and emoji reactions.
- Telegram: Has a much broader range of features like public channels, large group chats, customizable themes, file sharing up to 2GB, bots, animated stickers, and more, making it more feature-rich but less security-focused compared to Signal.

### 6. Privacy and Data Collection
- Signal: Collects minimal metadata. The only information Signal stores is the user’s phone number.
- Telegram: Collects more metadata than Signal, such as IP addresses, device details, and basic usage statistics. However, it claims not to share data with third parties or governments unless legally compelled.

### 7. Backup Options
- Signal: Does not offer automatic cloud backups to protect user privacy. Backups must be done manually by the user, and they are encrypted.
- Telegram: Stores messages and files in the cloud for regular chats, meaning users don't need to worry about losing data when switching devices.

### Summary:
- Signal is ideal for those who prioritize privacy and security above all else, offering robust end-to-end encryption for all forms of communication.
- Telegram provides a wider range of features and is more versatile for general users, though its security is not as rigorous as Signal's for regular chats.

⚡️Is Your VPN Leaking Your Info?
@takebackourtech

Most internet savvy people today use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Why? Because they protect your internet traffic from being spied on by outsiders.

Please share this post with your friends, help us reach our goal of 5,000 members!

https://t.me/takebackourtech

With the rise in privacy awareness, it seems like everyone and their mom has a VPN service to offer you.

There are free VPNs with millions upon millions of users, but do they do what they promise?

Simon Migliano, from Top10VPN recently carried out an analysis for the top 100 Free VPN Apps on Android. He tested things like VPN encryption failure, VPN leaks, encryption weakness, and risky permissions - as well as proprietary code and software libraries.

You might be surprised to find that 90% of free VPN apps had a VPN leak, and 70% required privacy-risking permissions.

More than 70% of the VPNs were sharing unique identifiers with third parties such as Facebook, Bytedance, and Yandex.

Solutions

1. Avoid free apps on popular apps stores like the plague, especially VPN apps. They need to make their money somehow, at the cost of your privacy.

2. You can check if you are using a VPN properly by checking for leaks. There are many online tools for detecting leaks, and we recommend the following site which you can use to test VPN leaks on your computer or your phone:

https://browserleaks.com/ip

3. Pay attention to the following:

IP Address Location: This is related to your IPv4 address. If this matches your actual location, you have a leak or you’re not using a VPN. If its pointing to the location of your VPN server - then its protected.

IPV6 Leak Test: This should either be ‘n/a’ to indicate your VPN server is blocking IPv6 traffic. If you’re seeing an IPv6 address here then your VPN is either leaking, or it supports IPv6 traffic. Although IPv6 geolocation is not widely available, it can be used to detect your location within a few kilometers.

DNS Leak Test: Press the button to activate a DNS leak test, which will display the DNS servers involved in lookup for the current site. If you are seeing DNS servers near your current location and not your VPN servers location, your device or VPN is misconfigured and leaking DNS requests. That means your computer is connecting directly to those DNS servers and your ISP will be able to track those, and the websites you visit can use it as a data point for your actual location.

Fully sourced & unedited article here.

Video coming later today!
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Firefox tracks you with “privacy preserving” feature
https://noyb.eu/en/firefox-tracks-you-privacy-preserving-feature

Several Samsung phones affected by bootloop issue, here is how to fix it
https://www.androidsage.com/2024/10/03/samsung-phones-widespread-bootloop-issue-here-is-how-to-fix-it/

RIP Ferrochrome launcher:

Google is killing its one-click app that would've let you easily run Chrome OS in a VM on your Android device.

Imagine having an app that automatically downloads, configures, and runs Chrome OS in a VM for you, on like a Pixel Tablet.

More details on what we're missing out on can be found in this article on Android Authority.

Android 16 may be adding an 'Advanced Protection Mode'

I spotted evidence that next year's update will let users enroll in 'advanced protection' via Settings. Here's how this new feature could help protect your data.

BREAKING: Xiaomi Plans To Stop Offering Bootloader Unlocking

Following a fake news Last year related to shutting down offering bootloader unlocking to smartphones launched after May, 2024, now, even famous leakers are claiming that internally, Xiaomi has indeed made plans to shutdown the bootloader unlocking service for global users by the end of 2025.

For China, since the Bootloader unlocking period was over last month, it will once again resume after Xiaomi 15 series global launch in 2025. Xiaomi already collects a lot of data to identify which user in China unlocked the bootloader but since that can't be done globally, Xiaomi might ultimately shut down the service for them.

If this happens, the following changes will take place on Earth:
• RIP Xiaomi federations
• People will think 1000 times before buying due to HypeOS
• Some users will finally understand that hardware-quality matters more that on-paper specs and cheap price
• NO Xiaomi buildbots

Follow @TechLeaksZone

This reporting on the Pegasus spyware is very interesting because the reality doesn't live up to the hype surrounding Pegasus. It's been hyped up to be some super mysterious spyware that no one knows how it gets installed, and has been claimed to install with no user interaction. But this video with the discoverer of Pegasus clearly says that the spyware was downloaded and installed after clicking on a link in an SMS text message just like all the rest of the run of the mill malware.

Google is working on a new "ADB trade-in mode" feature for Android.

This will hopefully make it faster for your phone to be evaluated so you can get your refund more quickly.

✅ ADB trade-in mode details.