Bitcoin Forum

I bought a refurbished HTC one from Ali Express. I can not use netbank on that mobile as netbank shows security warning and netbank app does not work on that phone. But I use that phone to send and withdraw coins from wallets. Is there any possibility to be hidden app or malware that can send my wallet key to someone(hacker)? Is it risky to use that phone for wallets.

I think this is a discussion that is more of technical discussion for those who are more technically inclined can contribute better for a better understanding. Phones sometimes are known to have some security issues depending on the model and the country where its coming from and for this to be a refurbished one, there is high probability that there could be some back end security issues that have been compromised in that regard. I had read a news of US military banning military personnel from using some particular phones because they believed its being used to monitor their movements which then exposes them to danger. If your app is not allowing you to install on it, I guess you should just not install it by force to avoid stories that touch about how you lost all of your coins because of that.

Any device can really be possibly be prone to any malware specially you do purchase it online without knowing on whose the real owner.If installing applications and causes some error then if you have doubts then why would you risk? Its better to avoid things rather than on regretting in the end. Even on my smart phone i do know its a brand new one but still i cant entrust the full information of my wallet belongings.

What is the exact message?

Lots of banking apps won't load on rooted phones. Is the phone rooted?

I wouldn't be inclined to trust a Chinese phone direct from the factory, let alone something supplied by a third party, let alone a refurbished one.

Yes, it is rooted. Banking apps shows it is rooted. What does exactly rooted phone means? Isn't it secured?

This is also a reason why some mobile app doesnt load where it might be a rooted one, When we do talk about rooted phones It gives you privileges to modify the software code on the device or simply means you unlock it beyond manufacturer default settings. You can actually unroot your phone but if you are not expert on that thing then better not to do it because you would really just brick your phone.

It gives you much more control over the software. Normal Android won't let you, or will strongly advise you not to install apps from outside the Google Play store. Rooting lets you install anything from anywhere, and often that's the point but it also means the app you install from elsewhere could be malicious and Google won't be able to warn you.

Because of that most banking apps won't install on a rooted phone for security reasons. I'm not sure if any will install.

What might be worth doing is looking for a factory ROM and reinstalling non rooted software. It should be a possibility for most phones. If you wipe everything and start again you should be good to go.

thank you

thank you Fatunad