a smart phone's always just struck me as useless. it can do a fraction of what a laptop does, with a much higher price tag. awful.
some of the new phones, though, have better specs than my desktop...
...so, it's starting to make a bit more sense.
i don't like proprietary devices, though. are these android phones basically just iphones running linux? i like that they take linux, but what devices allow you to install a non-proprietary operating system and tweak the fuck out of it?
i'll be honest: i'm mostly concerned about the cia.
if i can't wipe the thing down and build from scratch (like i have with the desktops in the house), i don't want it.
EminemLovesGrapes
Everything comes from Linux eventually. Including iOS. And I'm sure you can root an nexus and get full access to all the settings and files from the os itself.
deathtokoalas
well, not everything. the apple operating system is actually a unix derivative rather than a linux derivative.
it's not a root issue. it's a question of if the thing can be formatted to get all the cia-written google rootkit spyware off of it.
see, this is why people reacted so badly to apple in the 90s. if you want an easy to use, proprietary device, have fun with it - i don't care what computer you use. but, there was this fear that it would take over the market and you wouldn't be able to get devices you could wipe and install clean on.
TheJimPire
If you're worried about cia and whatnot, they can still collect data off of FB, G+, and other outlets. Stripping rootware and basic stuff won't help in the long run
deathtokoalas
it's not quite the same thing. i mean, to begin with, i don't provide correct information for fb, google, etc - so they can collect what they want as much as they want, everything they'll compile is going to be wrong. but, it's not data collection that bothers me it's taking control of the phone's hardware.
they can actually remotely trip the recording devices in the phone through a backdoor that begins at your cell provider. formatting the device to the core - and staying off the corporate cell networks - will put an end to that kind of real time recording.
fwiw, the best thing you can do to stop them from collecting data is to spread around the idea of giving out false data. if everybody lies to them, they'll eventually realize it's useless. let's get a big cia database full of absolutely useless nonsense...
even trivial things. fill everything out wrong, just to make the collection process useless.
mrtux
have you considered flashing CyanogenMod on your device without Google apps? Also if your phone is supported, you could try Replicant.
deathtokoalas
i haven't tried anything, i don't even have a phone, these are the questions i'm asking. thanks; i'll look into that.
The Scrizz
You can build your own version of Android straight from code..... You just have to know how to program.....
deathtokoalas
building it is one thing, actually being able to format the device is another.
iLuZiioNz
What are you talking about? You can format an Android device. Also I hope you are wiping drives at home with DOD standards because if you just do the standard wipe on a computer nothing is actually erased.
deathtokoalas
well, this is what i'm trying to figure out: is it possible to actually format the thing (including hidden partitions) and upload your own image, or are you just stuck connecting as a bot to a remote server? i'm not sure i trust replicant, but it does seem like there's some movement in that direction.
dod standards clear the contents of the drive down to 0s. that's great if you're trying to erase data - or erase evidence, basically. i'm not interested in erasing evidence, i'm just trying to keep the snoops off the machine.
my xp machines are reverse engineered to remove backdoors and callbacks. i'll leave it at that.
iLuZiioNz
Oh alright, I just assumed you had stuff to hide lol
Adam
we pay the big companies to make it easier for them to track us... >_> brb google glasses are $1,500 now they can literally see everything you do. and now theyre $1,500 richer
Etienne
Yes, yes you can!! I am running a custom ROM. You format the phone, download the software/operating system you want, tweak it or modify it, and flash it on the system partition. Reboot, voilà!! Plus, with Xposed, if you feel something is missing in your operating system, you can modify the operating system in the RAM!! That means you can apply mods you want and take them away without any risk of breaking the OS and modify your phone to your harts desire on the fly! You can do really cool stuff with this, such as intercepting and hacking applications, remove adds from all applications, from youtube, greenify/hibernate system apps, you can basically do whatever you can dream of thet is possible with the hardware. Plus you asked if android is basically just linux. Yes and no, it is based upon the Linux Kernel, but so is iOS by the way, but it is an entirely different OS ;)
ChoLateEnt
IOS is based on Unix not Linux.
Tal Risin
You can flash a custom recovery on the phone, through it you can format any partition (including the system partition) and flash other images, you can get the source code of android and edit it to your liking, then build it and flash it on your device.
