Android phones will soon reboot themselves after sitting unused for three days

Post by IshKebab » Sun, Apr 20, 2025, 7:11 AM UTC

yalok wrote: post #194

lysace wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd claim that Microsoft pioneered this time limit security concept with Windows 95 almost 30 years ago. They went with 2^32-1 milliseconds or about 49.7 days. We don't talk enough about Microsoft's strong legacy of security innovations, IMHO.

I’m not sure it was because they cared about security - looks more like accounting for 32-bit timestamp rollover would be very disruptive to the huge (legacy) code base and it was a quick fix to work around the problem :)

Post by redbell » Sun, Apr 20, 2025, 7:42 AM UTC

greatgib wrote: post #34

It's good to have an option like that, even being a default, but there definitively need a switch to disable that if it is your own will. It's not even necessarily that good enough against cops, because in a lot of shitty countries, even some pretending to be democratics, not disclosing or at least inputting your password might be a crime severely punished. If I'm not wrong, there was a guy that had to stay years in…

Post by mjmas » Sun, Apr 20, 2025, 8:02 AM UTC

dheera wrote: post #240

rvnx wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly, it could also be seen the other way around; it's a potential way for Google to force deployments of system updates (potentially at the request of law enforcement). With an automatic reboot, then the update can automatically be applied without user action.

They should really implement a dual user / dual password system to combat those countries. If you enter password 1 it goes into your normal account, if you enter password 2 it goes into another user account with a burner environment where you can install a few token commonly used apps for plausible deniability. The existence of password 2 should be optional and you should not be able to tell if the system has one or…

Post by 7bit » Sun, Apr 20, 2025, 8:24 AM UTC

Spooky23 wrote: post #216

epolanski wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stories about airport security and officers demanding access your phone is one of the reasons I will never come to the US. An (Italian) friend of mine was stuck in Newark for 8 hours after he refused access to his phone, dragged in some room and questioned for hours along his wife while split from him own kids, even though he later gave them the password (he initially said no because he thought it was out of the line…

The Italians do the same thing. If your name matches some name or you’ve travelled to some naughty place, you’ll get picked for this sort of thing. That said, the last time I went to Italy the customs guy looked annoyed at being awake. He asked my son’s age (he is huge but too young to use the electronic gate), then shrugged and stamped my passport with all of his strength.

Post by londons_explore » Sun, Apr 20, 2025, 8:31 AM UTC

ffsm8 wrote: post #121

BurningFrog wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can always turn it off and on, AFAIK.

Long Press power while pressing volume down works on all Android devices I've used to date. And that's ignoring the fact that disconnecting power, waiting a few days and then reconnecting it will inevitably let you cold boot it, too (which this would be an equivalent to - as far as I understood it)