Earlier quoted context omitted.
You could try one of the Chinese android phones, like Xiaomi. Make sure to get an Asian import, because some models have an US/European export edition with the normal Google ecosystem. This is an interesting experience in what a fully functional phone not from Google/Apple can be like. It may not be able to run the usual apps though, unless you install the playstore manually.
Why would someone not trusting Google, place their trust in Xiaomi, a Chinese company?
System Hardening in Android 11
181–190 of 211 posts
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#182In addition on Android 11 API * apps can't simply access the "external" storage (enforces scoped storage) * apps can't get a list of all installed apps (package visibility, they can specify app names and intent signatures in the Manifest they want to query) These are welcome changes in my view, but unfortunately they also seem intend to fix SafetyNet and require hardware attestation that the bootloader is not unlocke…
I am running lineage microg rom and I was literally forced to reverse my banking app (for its usage I am paying to my bank) and remove safetynet and various root checks to be able to use it (luckly they are not updating it very often). The android ecosystem is toxic to the point where software developers are raging a war against their users. Luckly there are still projects like lineage and microg where the software i…
Then your banking app won't be available at all.
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
* youtube-dl single-handedly would justify installing termux * rsync (backups, pulling audio files, pushing pictures) * vim * git/hg (all my notes live in a repo) * random scripts (ex. When I was losing weight, I tracked calories with some shell scripts. I also have one that uses root and /system/bin/input to automate things.)
No one made youtube-dl GUI wrapper app, is it really?
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#184Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would someone not trusting Google, place their trust in Xiaomi, a Chinese company?
What if you live in the US? Which government you should fear more, US or Chinese?
As a citizen you have rights guaranteed by the law in your own country. That's the very definition of citizenship. As a citizen you have leverage over your government, even if small, because you can organize yourself with others, e.g. in class action lawsuits, you can vote, you can convince others to vote, etc. Foreign governments and companies couldn't give a shit about your rights, the only rights you have are those defined weakly by trade agreements.
Not only that but data can be traded or leaked. A foreign company thousands of miles away, collecting data about you, could always leak that data to your local organized crime organizations.
N.B. I know that big companies like Xiaomi also have a presence in the US. With a big enough presence, the US government could coerce them just as easily, so if you fear the US government, it's a double whammy.
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So this is a non sequitur. Even if you fear the US government, as a US citizen, you should either pick US solutions, or solutions from countries that have a culture and laws for preserving privacy, such as Switzerland or Germany.
Frankly as a US citizen picking products and services from a country with disregard for basic human rights, because you don't trust the US, is just stupid.
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#185I'm mostly worried about Termux. I can't imagine a phone without a decent terminal and I feel my options are going to be severely limited.
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#186I don’t pretty much like Apple ecosystem but I have to say that the best decision I made technically was to switch to an iPhone 7 Plus 3 years ago after years of Android (since T-Mobile G1, first android phone ever). I said goodbye to a lot of customizations but at the same time regain my sanity from battery life, slowness and absurd support timelines
It's a shame this is being downvoted. I was also an early adopter of Android with the HTC Hero (Android 1.5/1.6), then the HTC Desire (Android 2.0) then the Galaxy Nexus (Android 4.2/4.3/4.4), but I got fed up of the support timelines too. I don't think my Galaxy Nexus even got an official update to KitKat (4.4). I got it via custom ROMs which were of questionable quality. Battery life and performance were also among…
Can we please keep to the subject instead of starting an apple circlejerk??
This happens consistently on every post about improvements in Android or windows.
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bootloader unlock is under user control by definition - it won't happen unless you're physically interacting with the device. The legitimate case for safety net is platform lockdown for things like financial apps. Banks and other financial services like to provide some form of insurance to users wrt. losing money in a security breach, and they can't do this unless the app really is being run on a pristine, locked-dow…
My bank telling me what software I may use on my personal property is not legitimate.
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
It does not. Enforcing SafetyNet only makes it harder for users to use custom ROMs. It provides no benefit whatsoever to the end user. It does provide major benefits to app makers who hope to control the user's device.
I agree that DRM, and control is probably the main reason why they are doing this. However, most people do not unlock their bootloaders and install custom ROMs. For them having an unlockeded system is an indication of something "bad" happening (spying, fraud, theft) and given how central smartphones are becoming in users life, I prefer that my mothers banking app refuses to work if her smartphones chain of trust is c…
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
Netflix, Snapchat, Pokemon Go, Super Mario Run, etc. will intentionally never work on a FLOSS phone, so I doubt it'll ever catch on outside the tiny enthusiast community.
I'm running a FLOSS phone and Netflix works fine. Pixel 4 XL with my own build of AOSP with MicroG.
Re: System Hardening in Android 11
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
This doesn't really fix it. Rewriting everything in Java/Kotlin won't magically grant the terminal all of the permissions that it used to have.
True, but it will allow the use of official APIs instead and do the application the Android way. Whatever Linux calls Termux makes use of, they aren't allowed and work by chance. Here are the official NDK APIs, https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/stable_apis Anything else is considered unstable, not guaranteed to work across devices or OS updates, or even selected for SE/seccomp validation. Android is not Linux,…