I call it digital colonialism

[Gozie51]

Do you know why your data keep going down surprisingly? Surprisingly because it overwhelmes you when you rely on the data you have left but opening your phone to see a huge margin in difference to the data you think you have left. Have you witnessed it? This is the reason below,

It is simply because there are secret installation (malfare).

"You have all these wonderful features for cheap, but there is a hidden cost,” he told BuzzFeed News. “There are a lot of Chinese phones that have malware installed on it.”

Mxolosi’s Tecno W2 was infected with xHelper and Triada, malware that secretly downloaded apps and attempted to subscribe him to paid services without his knowledge.

They are installed on your phones especially phones from China that comes cheap in your eyes lol , but you pay from the other side   through unsolicited data consumption.

Typically, malware like Triada and xHelper requires someone to be tricked into installing it on their phones, rather than it coming straight from the factory. It’s often used to deliver invasive ads that send money back to whoever controls the malware. But it can also be used to install apps that subscribe the victim to paid services via monthly billing or prepaid data — siphoning cash directly from the phone’s owner.  

And this happens to any user of the phone despite your country because the word colonization wrongly gets people to focus on third world countries, no. This is digital colonialism.

I find this helpful and you can read
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/craigsilverman/cheap-chinese-smartphones-malware

[alani123]

Some Chinese manufacturers are more subtle in their malware installations than others. But for instance, Xiaomi, aside of installing adware on every device, also was found outright installing rootkit-like malware... This has been widely reported, and yet people only focus on Huawei for some reason.

Xiaomi has been pushing out top-notch devices below cost, and claim they've been able to do it because of their adware. But it goes much beyond that. Now these devices have the top market share in developing countries and many of the smaller economies in Europe also. Hopefully sooner or later people will start becoming more conscious about security and privacy against China.

[Gozie51]

Hopefully sooner or later people will start becoming more conscious about security and privacy against China.

That is the real point. You are informed already but many here are not, the reason for the consciousness to increase. There are high charges lately in every human society, high tax rate plus vat, transport, food and shelter etc. We just know that only God gives breath and life freely.

[Mpamaegbu]

Wow! This is a real eye opener, OP. That means I have erroneously been thinking that theft was coming from the telecommunications companies. This is sad, and we are in deep mess for sure. But what can be done to prevent this, since mobile phones are now an integral part of our existence? I guess this is also applicable with laptops.

[Gozie51]

But what can be done to prevent this, since mobile phones are now an integral part of our existence? I guess this is also applicable with laptops.

I looked for the solution too. But from the link, I saw this which I can logically assume to be a part of the solution

  When Mxolosi saw a Tecno W2 smartphone in a store in Johannesburg, South Africa, he was attracted to its looks and functionality. But what really drew him in was the price, roughly $30 — far less than comparable models from Samsung, Nokia, or Huawei, Africa’s other top brands.

“They’re very attractive and appealing to your eyes,” Mxolosi, who asked for his last name not to be used to protect his personal safety, told BuzzFeed News. “Honestly, I was a Samsung fan but I said, ‘Let me try this new product.’”

I think we can all see the obvious fall in price of technological products especially phones and computer accessories. I'm not saying fall in price isn't good but so we can also see maybe the other side of it.

[jademaxsuy]

So, did it mention what brands of smartphones has been into this activities with china? I hope so my phone did not have any malware in it because I notice too that I have huge data consumption. Since I am using prepaid load then I could not enjoy using it and I think my phone has it.

What happen to the products of china? Is this the kind of business they wanted? Majority of our products here are made of China because itis very cheap. The problem with cheap is that it is likely very low life span. Sometimes it is not repairable or shall we say it is more disposable products.

I have nothing against china or the people but only to those who are doing dirtt works. Hope so it will be change the way the do business.

[Gozie51]

So, did it mention what brands of smartphones has been into this activities with china?

You may need to visit the websites via the link provided above to understand more.

[stompix]

But it can also be used to install apps that subscribe the victim to paid services via monthly billing or prepaid data — siphoning cash directly from the phone’s owner.

That's why I don't have my billing details saved in my phone or in any application on it.

But what can be done to prevent this, since mobile phones are now an integral part of our existence?

Don't buy a phone made by a company that is not in the first scandal of this type, remember that when buying something that is way cheaper than the rest it must be a catch somewhere.
Besides, there is an expression, "too poor to buy cheap stuff", in the end, you will end paying up more preparing and replacing that thing than you would have to buy a better and more expensive one from the start.

So, did it mention what brands of smartphones has been into this activities with china? I hope so my phone did not have any malware in it because I notice too that I have huge data consumption.

Exactly on the 3rd paragraph in the article, I doubt you;re that worried since otherwise you would have tried to find that out yourself  

It was another sale for Transsion, the Chinese company that makes Tecno and other low-priced smartphones, as well as basic handsets, for the developing world.

[Smartvirus]

When I first saw the topic of this op on the board, I had a thought of it being natural that all form of colonial relationship is a parasitic one and always ends in revolt from it's host which I initially thought to be cryptocurrency as the word digital connotes more often with respect to the forum Lol... I guess I thought wrong but, yeah.
The idea of revolt still stands. It's definitely colonialism in a way. I experience this data loses a lot and even discover some rapid app installation on my device and I'm like,
How did this get here...?
The worst part of it is that, even after deleting it, it keeps coming back after a few days of me being connected to a network. It's a serious problem.
How safe can someone get, if your not in total control of your device..?!

[Gozie51]

I experience this data loses a lot and even discover some rapid app installation on my device and I'm like,
How did this get here...?
The worst part of it is that, even after deleting it, it keeps coming back after a few days of me being connected to a network. It's a serious problem.
How safe can someone get, if your not in total control of your device..?!

I noticed this in techno Y2. It keeps downloading without your knowledge and you can't trace what was downloaded.

Could that be a factory fault? Lol

[Mpamaegbu]

I think we can all see the obvious fall in price of technological products especially phones and computer accessories. I'm not saying fall in price isn't good but so we can also see maybe the other side of it.

Sadly, the low price is the first catch for poor folks. Though the buyers don't know they're being exploited through a back door.

It was another sale for Transsion, the Chinese company that makes Tecno and other low-priced smartphones, as well as basic handsets, for the developing world.

I must be in a real mess then as I am hooked on the Tecno brand. I like the durability and stoic nature of Tecno phones. I just wish I could begin to wean myself off that now.

[stompix]

I must be in a real mess then as I am hooked on the Tecno brand. I like the durability and stoic nature of Tecno phones. I just wish I could begin to wean myself off that now.

In my family, we use Nokia and Samsung phones, and I also have an apple device for work but I only use it for that and nothing more.
Never, never have I experienced any kind of problem with them besides small one time glitches, problems such as being nonresponsive having to change the battery, crashing, a 6.1 and 7.1 for my parents and almost all the galaxy models for myself and my wife and I really don't understand why people are criticizing them, not sure what poeple expect from a smartphone in terms of durability but unless you're planning on nailing pictures to the wall with it most brands will pretty much do.

But many smartphone these days actively collect your data and serve invasive ads, unless you bought one from expensive and reputable brand or bother use custom ROM that you can trust.

I use adguard on my phones, I never saw invasive ads, not even in Chrome mobile.
As for collecting data, what other data would they be able to collect about me witouht my express consent?
Don't get me wrong I'm all about privacy but I'm not going to grab a pitchfork and burn Alphabet's headquarter down for tracking my cat/dog/bear fail videos searches.

[Lordhermes]

I noticed this in techno Y2. It keeps downloading without your knowledge and you can't trace what was downloaded.
Could that be a factory fault? Lol

I have also noticed some unknown downloads too in my device each time I put on my data for network, it gives me an odd feelings I don't understand maybe could be the malware installed from China phone factory.
But how could we avoid this unauthorized downloads and keep our devices free from this digital colonialism.?

[Gozie51]

But how could we avoid this unauthorized downloads and keep our devices free from this digital colonialism.?

I have been searching for what looks like solution ever since I saw the eye opener and that has exhausted my time.

Anyway, I found something that we can read on more to understand what is happening.

So does that mean that everything is fine? Not exactly. If Chinese firms do include backdoors - deliberate secret access points designed for use by phone makers or governments - in their smartphone software, as alleged by Bloomberg and others, then there’s always the potential that the vulnerability will be exploited by a malware author, or that the backdoor will be used for its intended purpose of disrupting communications, silently collecting personal information and so on. Of course, this kind of activity could be perpetrated by dodgy app developers, your non-Chinese smartphone maker or even your local government, so it might be worth following some simple procedures to ensure your data is managed as well as possible.

Firstly, VPN and proxy software like Torcan be used to encrypt your web activity, making it harder (but not impossible) for anyone to find out what sites you’re visiting, what internet searches you’re making and so on. There are also privacy-oriented search engines like DuckDuckGo that pledge not to collect personal data. You can also install apps like MalwareBytes to scan your apps for malware and make sure that nothing untoward is happening under your nose.

Recent versions of Android also alert you when an app tries to access your microphone, camera, phone or storage, so don’t blindly accept these prompts - think about the requests critically and deny the ones that don’t make sense, like a flashlight app needing access to your dialer. Along similar lines, try to exercise good judgment by not installing software by unknown developers, especially those distributed outside of the Google Play marketplace as .APK files.

Reading the news is also good practice. Sites like El Reg and /r/netsec on Redditwill often be the first to report potentially malicious apps or operating system vulnerabilities, so by keeping abreast of the headlines, you’ll be quicker to react to potential problems - and you’ll get a better idea of what you should be looking out for.

And finally, yes - choosing an American or Korean-made phone over a Chinese alternative may make you and your data a little safer. Samsung, Apple and BlackBerry all include relatively advanced security features in their phones and the first two aren’t Chinese companies. There are even distributions of Android that include more privacy features, like CopperheadOS and LineageOS, which can be worth looking into.

https://www.giffgaff.com/blog/should-we-be-afraid-of-chinese-phones/

[aesma]

I'm grateful for these Chinese brands to have lowered the price point of good phones, but in the end I never bought one (except for a 30€ Huawei I only use when I do something very risky for the phone, like going to a night club). They have given rise to the A series of phone from Samsung, and I have bought tons of these, for me and my family. In fact my job gives me one also.

Latest one is a A51, it's good looking, fast, makes great photos, gorgeous screen, has SD slot so I put a 512GB in, not too big, light enough...

I will definitely advise the people I know with Chinese phones to run a malware scan on them.

[hatshepsut93]

Don't buy a phone made by a company that is not in the first scandal of this type, remember that when buying something that is way cheaper than the rest it must be a catch somewhere.
Besides, there is an expression, "too poor to buy cheap stuff", in the end, you will end paying up more preparing and replacing that thing than you would have to buy a better and more expensive one from the start.

Better to just not buy anything that isn't from big, recognizable brands. These small cheap brands can be too fresh to have a negative reputation, so if there's no much negative reviews it's still not a guarantee that the device is safe.

And good brands aren't that expensive, with the exception of apple, even Samsung phones can be bought for $100 or a bit less. And you don't have to buy this year's models, the phones from 2-3 years ago are nearly as good as the new ones, the progress has slowed down already.

[Wexnident]

I'm currently using a Huawei phone right now, should I be alarmed? Been using it for around half a year, ownership has been with me for a year but I stopped using it for the other half since my lcd screen broke and I couldn't really be bothered to change it, so I temporarily used my older phone. Still, haven't really found any of the said issues that the Tech phone had, and Huawei is made in China. Also never had any issues with any malicious ads or anything, plus, I regularly check my storage mostly to see if the space is enough and if it fits the stuff I have installed, and if not, then I'd eagerly look for the issue.

Better to just not buy anything that isn't from big, recognizable brands. These small cheap brands can be too fresh to have a negative reputation, so if there's no much negative reviews it's still not a guarantee that the device is safe.

And good brands aren't that expensive, with the exception of apple, even Samsung phones can be bought for $100 or a bit less. And you don't have to buy this year's models, the phones from 2-3 years ago are nearly as good as the new ones, the progress has slowed down already.

I'd suppose they are targeting those in the third world countries. Yes, $100 is cheap, but why would you adopt to that when there's a better looking one with good features that are at the same price right?

[dondonk]

I thought it was just a trick of profit from the cellphone company vendor. First, they use low prices as a trigger to increase sales, then use advertisements that appear on their phones to profit and install apps without approval, all for the company's benefit. But not all cell phone companies do the same. there are still clean ones without planting malware in their products like Samsung and Huawei.

[Assface16678]

Some of the people are just starting to ignore this kind of risk to their information and still using those applications and devices came from those countries who have a risk of their information.

As a consumer sometimes even its already stated on the rights and information still at the end of the day on the terms and condition we are just clicked the "I accept" or "Agree" button because we can't use those platform if we didn't accept those terms.

I thought it was just a trick of profit from the cellphone company vendor. First, they use low prices as a trigger to increase sales, then use advertisements that appear on their phones to profit and install apps without approval, all for the company's benefit. But not all cell phone companies do the same. there are still clean ones without planting malware in their products like Samsung and Huawei.

This is the reason why most of the time there are a lot of people choosing the iPhones or the Apple products because any kind of malware and another kind of third party platform will automatically be detected by their system and prevent to accept on your device.

[erikoy]

Some of the people are just starting to ignore this kind of risk to their information and still using those applications and devices came from those countries who have a risk of their information.

Yes indeed and all the things will just be recognized when they got attack to it already and facing great delimma with this kind of activity. People do not learn though we know that there are things happening like this and we can't make something to prove it.

As a consumer sometimes even its already stated on the rights and information still at the end of the day on the terms and condition we are just clicked the "I accept" or "Agree" button because we can't use those platform if we didn't accept those terms.

Hmmm,.well probably because it so hard to get evidence with the claim? If someone has the knowledge and concretw evidencw for this then we can make a complain agaisnt this smartphones company and put to a stop with it.