This bodes well for the up-coming GrapheneOS cooperation..
Nothing screams "secure" better than app hijacking and url injections.
Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
51–60 of 240 posts
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#52I've a Xiaomi phone on which twice appeared obviously debug/hello-world notifications (something like "testtest111") from apps I've never seen or installed. Then another time all Xiaomi phones of close relatives started getting these cheap, spammy ads for Android games in the notifications, this time from some obscure system app: had to look up on reddit that there are settings that disable this specific behavior. Th…
And it's about to change soon. https://keepandroidopen.org/
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#53> In further digging, we noticed that the URL the phone opens up is “kira-abboud.com,” a website that references fashion influencer “@kirasfashionfinds.” Notably, this exact URL isn’t listed anywhere on Abboud’s social media, and the affiliate codes don’t match up either. The redirect coming from Motorola phones is using Amazona affiliate code “sramz-kff-008-20” which is completely different from any of the codes we…
My guess is a rogue employee who hopes they can get away with this stuff for years till caught... That employees cousin probably does social media for Abboud...
No matter how you turn it, that doesn't build trust in the Motorola brand, if a single employee can push that (hypothetical) code.
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#54I've a Xiaomi phone on which twice appeared obviously debug/hello-world notifications (something like "testtest111") from apps I've never seen or installed. Then another time all Xiaomi phones of close relatives started getting these cheap, spammy ads for Android games in the notifications, this time from some obscure system app: had to look up on reddit that there are settings that disable this specific behavior. Th…
I gifted my mom a Xiaomi phone a few years ago. Even after removing all the unnecessary apps and permissions, disabling all the privacy invasive settings and replacing the launcher with the stock Android, I was shocked when I checked the PiHole dashboard. The phone was constantly trying to communicate with dozens of different domains and endpoints, even when idle. None of these attempts had any sort of backoff, so they kept retrying every 30 seconds, draining the battery. Ultimately it generated several times more blocked requests than every other device on my network combined.
This was the first and only Xiaomi device I ever bought, no matter how attractive they might seem.
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#55Note that the smart feed "feature" is Taboola-provided adware[0] so it's par for the course. It's beyond comprehension Lenovo would trash the brand by shipping it on flagships. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/motorola/comments/1s61usi/edge_60_p...
The point where they trashed the brand has long since passed, tried the phones when they bought the brand and it was OK for a while but went downhill quickly.
Until now I waited for their GrapheneOS-based phones.
If there isn't a plausible follow up to this injection I don't think I will buy I device from them.
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#56I used to choose Motorola devices for a long time but since 2 years when I bought Edge 30 Fusion I started to notice they automatically (without my knowledge) add 3 stupid apps or games about two times a month :/ There is no way to stop it. My kids phones are stuffed with this sh*t.
On some phones this is done by something like AppCloud, which you can usually uninstall from the user partition using ADB/Universal Android Debloater.
Or: buy another brand and not jump hoops.
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#57With the digital wellbeing app feature it is possible to set a timer of 0 minutes on all auto-installed and auto-reenabling apps to effectively disabling it for good.
Edit: the timer stays even after updates so the app is not enabled again
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
My guess is a rogue employee who hopes they can get away with this stuff for years till caught... That employees cousin probably does social media for Abboud...
No matter how you turn it, that doesn't build trust in the Motorola brand, if a single employee can push that (hypothetical) code.
I agree, but in fairness, I don't know of any brand, tech or otherwise, that can completely wall itself off against insider threats. No matter how vigilant you are, someone who knows exactly how you move will find a way around you.
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#59I used to choose Motorola devices for a long time but since 2 years when I bought Edge 30 Fusion I started to notice they automatically (without my knowledge) add 3 stupid apps or games about two times a month :/ There is no way to stop it. My kids phones are stuffed with this sh*t.
On some phones this is done by something like AppCloud, which you can usually uninstall from the user partition using ADB/Universal Android Debloater.
Motorola put the malware apps into the “nondisable” list. You can’t remove them even with ADB PM commands. I was fucking mad that my RAZR couldn't be fully debloated.
See also: various firmware builds for Moto phones like https://dumps.tadiphone.dev/dumps/motorola/aito/-/tree/user-...
Re: Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes
#60It is laborious to go through all the apps on a phone and dissable the default unessesary "open web link" feature on ALL the apps, but apparently it has some effect in reducing the "draft" from all the back doors