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USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

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61–70 of 186 posts

Re: USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

#61
post #4

If I was really bored and feeling malicious, printing QR codes to point to this "exploit" and then pasting them over QR codes on random advertisements in the streets seems like a terrible idea.

I've yet to scan one of these codes, or see anyone scanning one. It seems like something from the 90s just came back for one last dying breath.

I would guess the opposite. QR codes are too early. They need to be scannable by a device that doesn't require reaching into your pocket, fumbling with your phone and then trying to get the right angle.

Combining a couple projections, I see them going from utterly useless to gimmicky cool for a particular crowd within 2 years.

Re: USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

#62
post #41

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Q2-0B04H... demo on the issue

A clearer video showing the lack of prompt: http://tweakers.net/video/6292/html-code-laat-galaxy-s-ii-re...

I have an S2, And I'm reading this from it. I was like "woow", then clicked the link that says "the code" instinctively and a sec later realized the stupid thing I just did (not smart reading that code from a vulnerable device). luckily, I pressed the back button before the page loaded.

That was close

Re: USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

#64
post #4

If I was really bored and feeling malicious, printing QR codes to point to this "exploit" and then pasting them over QR codes on random advertisements in the streets seems like a terrible idea.

It wouldn't affect anyone because no one has ever scanned a QR code in an ad

[deleted]

Re: USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

#65
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've yet to scan one of these codes, or see anyone scanning one. It seems like something from the 90s just came back for one last dying breath.

I was in a British train station the other day and saw a poster containing 20 QR codes, one for each of a set a possible journeys from the station. Since I'm techy and had time to kill I scanned it, waiting to see the timetable information. Sadly the company who installed the posters was having some downtime, so it just errored. The annoying thing was that they were really just a URL shortening company, forwarding yo…

My local bus company has failed to grasp QR codes in a mind-bogglingly thorough way.

Every stop has a poster with a QR code on it, advertising that you can now look up when the next bus will be here by scanning the QR code. The first thing you might notice is that the poster is actually a photo of a QR code on a poster, and is taken at an angle sufficient to render scanning the QR code impossible.

The second thing you might notice is that all the posters are identical - they are, in fact, an advert for the QR code you are meant to scan and not the QR code itself.

So where are these QR codes? Somewhere else on the bus stop? On the post for the sign? No. Reading the smaller print on the poster reveals all: You simply visit their website on your PC and go to a specific URL, which delivers you a page full of QR codes. You then scan the QR code corresponding to the bus stop whose schedule you wish to view.

Couldn't be easier!

Re: USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

#66
post #55
post #44

I deployed this code on this page : http://flasharabia.com however the code doesn't seem to work ..

How about you use proper HTML instead of just the frame code and nothing else? e.g.

yes it works now, however, you need to press the call button to initiate the format

Re: USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

#67
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've yet to scan one of these codes, or see anyone scanning one. It seems like something from the 90s just came back for one last dying breath.

I was in a British train station the other day and saw a poster containing 20 QR codes, one for each of a set a possible journeys from the station. Since I'm techy and had time to kill I scanned it, waiting to see the timetable information. Sadly the company who installed the posters was having some downtime, so it just errored. The annoying thing was that they were really just a URL shortening company, forwarding yo…

The only semi-useful QR code I've ever seen in real life was on one of those little reminder cards in a parking garage to help you locate which floor you parked on. I say semi-useful because the QR code took you to a webpage that told you the same exact information the card had on it, and none of my friends or I could get reception inside the garage, so we all had to wait until we were out of the garage before figuring out what was on them.

I can see the usefulness of QR codes, but I don't think I've ever seen one implemented in a non-trivial or non-gimmicky way. They're a solution to a problem no one outside of marketing had.

Re: USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

#68
post #4

If I was really bored and feeling malicious, printing QR codes to point to this "exploit" and then pasting them over QR codes on random advertisements in the streets seems like a terrible idea.

It wouldn't affect anyone because no one has ever scanned a QR code in an ad

Every Android phone in Japan would be wiped out in a matter of hours. I see people scanning them in Tokyo constantly.

Re: USSD code to factory data reset a Galaxy S3 can be trigged from a HTML page

#70
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've yet to scan one of these codes, or see anyone scanning one. It seems like something from the 90s just came back for one last dying breath.

I would guess the opposite. QR codes are too early. They need to be scannable by a device that doesn't require reaching into your pocket, fumbling with your phone and then trying to get the right angle. Combining a couple projections, I see them going from utterly useless to gimmicky cool for a particular crowd within 2 years.

Ridiculous.

Doesn't it seem idiotic to duplicate what we already have? (English characters) in some arcane non human readable, punch-card-esque idiocy?

In a few years, all cellphones will be able to read english characters and words. There will be no need for QR punch-cards.

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