topic Re: Hacking concern in Android

Hacking concern

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:02:23 GMT

Hi, I wonder if someone could advise me? My partner has been accessing various things on my phone, including my 02 account, WhatsApp, Gmail to name a few.
I've changed my passwords usernames etc. I've contacted 02 who have been great and helped me to be more secure, however, he still accesses my phone! He's abroad on holiday at the moment, but has still accessed my whatsapp account. 😕
I feel the only option is to change my number? But wondering if this will work?? I have a feeling he must have a tracker or something on my phone??
I'm at a loss of what to do, so any help / advice would be much appreciated.
Many thanks
x 😊

Re: Hacking concern

MI5 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:08:24 GMT

Check all your apps for anything you don't recognise and delete any that you don't know about.
If you press the menu key when in the app drawer set it to display any hidden apps too.
If all else fails, back up you pics and vids and do a factory reset to clear anything that might have been downloaded and hidden without your knowledge.

Re: Hacking concern

Cleoriff — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:08:43 GMT

Nice partner @Anonymous Not much trust there. I would get a new sim with a new number. You are allowed one number change free of charge........

Re: Hacking concern

jonsie — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:09:43 GMT

Any apps such as Whatsapp, facebook or messanger, viber, Line etc only need the original number to be registered. Changing number won't help but changing all your passwords will. Don't change it for something they will be able to guess, use something totally random and amix of numbers, small and capital letters and symbols where permitted.

Re: Hacking concern

MI5 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:14:06 GMT

whatsapp is a strange one to replicate elsewhere though as it won't work unless the sim is in the phone with the registered number. Facebook, twitter etc though can be installed on any device if the name and password is known..

Re: Hacking concern

Cleoriff — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:15:36 GMT

@jonsie wrote:
Any apps such as Whatsapp, facebook or messanger, viber, Line etc only need the original number to be registered. Changing number won't help but changing all your passwords will. Don't change it for something they will be able to guess, use something totally random and amix of numbers, small and capital letters and symbols where permitted.

Thanks for that @jonsie Every day is a school day as you see.....(I honestly didn't know that)

Re: Hacking concern

Cleoriff — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:17:10 GMT

@MI5 wrote:
whatsapp is a strange one to replicate elsewhere though as it won't work unless the sim is in the phone with the registered number. Facebook, twitter etc though can be installed on any device if the name and password is known..

Thanks for that as well @MI5 I honestly thought a simple change of sim/number would do the trick....

Re: Hacking concern

MI5 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:18:49 GMT

@Cleoriff wrote:
@MI5 wrote:
whatsapp is a strange one to replicate elsewhere though as it won't work unless the sim is in the phone with the registered number. Facebook, twitter etc though can be installed on any device if the name and password is known..
Thanks for that as well @MI5 I honestly thought a simple change of sim/number would do the trick....

Doubt it will make any difference for whatsapp - there must be an app on the phone that is intercepting messages and sending them on elsewhere.

Re: Hacking concern

Cleoriff — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:21:48 GMT

Blimey......didn't know you could get an app to do that either....

Re: Hacking concern

MI5 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:23:54 GMT

There are genuine apps to forward messages to other phones as texts - one could have been installed and hidden from view.

Re: Hacking concern

Curr946 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:11:02 GMT

@Cleoriff wrote:
Nice partner @Anonymous Not much trust there. I would get a new sim with a new number. You are allowed one number change free of charge........

and a new partner.

You could factory reset the phone to make sure. Use a different email to set up the phone, bit of a pain moving your contacts etc but you can export them from your old account. I dont use gmail so cant guide you on this one.

Re: Hacking concern

Cleoriff — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:16:04 GMT

@MI5 wrote:
There are genuine apps to forward messages to other phones as texts - one could have been installed and hidden from view.

Well I am gobsmacked at the lengths some people will go. Off to check my phone...

Re: Hacking concern

Curr946 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:21:06 GMT

@Cleoriff wrote:
@MI5 wrote:
There are genuine apps to forward messages to other phones as texts - one could have been installed and hidden from view.
Well I am gobsmacked at the lengths some people will go. Off to check my phone...

Tugo springs to mind

Re: Hacking concern

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:24:42 GMT

Thank you so much everyone. You've been extremely helpful. My partner is in America and has been for a week now. He sent me screen shots of a WhatsApp conversation I had this week, questioning who it was etc.... so I know he must have some kind of remote access. Scary stuff! He's also screen shot and sent pictures from my Dropbox 😕 I'll put an app lock on everything and see if that helps.
Thanks again 😊 x

Re: Hacking concern

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:26:37 GMT

P.s what's kudo? (Sorry, I'm new to this) lol x

Re: Hacking concern

MI5 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:43:11 GMT

It's of no use locking any apps already on your phone, sorry, but you need to remove the spyware he has installed or buy a different phone.
Kudos is a way of saying thanks if a post has helped you in any way.

Re: Hacking concern

Curr946 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:48:16 GMT

@MI5 wrote:
It's of no use locking any apps already on your phone, sorry, but you need to remove the spyware he has installed or buy a different phone.
Kudos is a way of saying thanks if a post has helped you in any way.

Extreme, factory reset would be a less drastic option

Re: Hacking concern

MI5 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:57:25 GMT

Yes, as I have already suggested.........

Re: Hacking concern

vandelay — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 10:21:02 GMT

It is possible that he is using the WhatsApp web feature to view your messages - see https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/web

To check, open WhatsApp on your mobile device and go to Settings > WhatApp Web and see if there are any logged in computers. If there are, scroll down and tap 'Log out from all computers' to revoke access.

Likewise, to check Dropbox go to https://www.dropbox.com/account#security and look for active sessions and linked devices and apps. Remove any linked devices and apps that you do not recognise as being your own. It would also be prudent to enable two-step verification.

Re: Hacking concern

Bambino — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 10:46:20 GMT

@Anonymous Please follow the advice given to you by @MI5 @jonsie and @vandelay. If you're unsure of how to do anything recommended, just ask. First things first, though. CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS! Make sure they are difficult, even if you have to write them down somewhere and hide them in a place only you could find. Please come back and let us know how you get on.