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Consumer Products => Avast Mobile Apps => Avast Anti-Theft for Android => Topic started by: tarkboffin on February 04, 2012, 01:40:49 PM

Title: SMS commmands - password readable in clear text
Post by: tarkboffin on February 04, 2012, 01:40:49 PM
This might have been answered before, but I haven't found an answer...

I changed the SIM in my phone for testing and then send a command to the 'new' number the phone receives the command as an SMS in clear text, as in 2222 LOCATE (2222 replacing my password). The command is issued and works, but in real circumstances the current owner of my phone would see the password and be able to disable antiTheft?

I could lock it, but then the thief/dishonest finder would be aware of antiTheft and switch off the phone or flash it. If they are unaware I could track them.

I would have thought the command SMS were 'silent'?

Cheers
t.
Title: Re: SMS commmands - password readable in clear text
Post by: tcntad on February 04, 2012, 01:49:44 PM
Of course they are hidden. Same issues with other commands?
Title: Re: SMS commmands - password readable in clear text
Post by: Heartblood on February 07, 2012, 07:26:45 AM
This might have been answered before, but I haven't found an answer...

I changed the SIM in my phone for testing and then send a command to the 'new' number the phone receives the command as an SMS in clear text, as in 2222 LOCATE (2222 replacing my password). The command is issued and works, but in real circumstances the current owner of my phone would see the password and be able to disable antiTheft?

I could lock it, but then the thief/dishonest finder would be aware of antiTheft and switch off the phone or flash it. If they are unaware I could track them.

I would have thought the command SMS were 'silent'?

Cheers
t.


Same problem here. Whatever code I sent to my mobile is received as a normal SMS, playing the SMS sound and popping up on the screen with plain text in it. None of the commands where actually "silent".

Is there already a fix for that?

I'm on a modifed MIUI with a 2.6.3 Kernel
Title: Re: SMS commmands - password readable in clear text
Post by: iONEx on February 08, 2012, 09:29:40 PM
This might have been answered before, but I haven't found an answer...

I changed the SIM in my phone for testing and then send a command to the 'new' number the phone receives the command as an SMS in clear text, as in 2222 LOCATE (2222 replacing my password). The command is issued and works, but in real circumstances the current owner of my phone would see the password and be able to disable antiTheft?

I could lock it, but then the thief/dishonest finder would be aware of antiTheft and switch off the phone or flash it. If they are unaware I could track them.

I would have thought the command SMS were 'silent'?

Cheers
t.


I see a lot of people have that issue. Myself included B-)
I was using GOsms app. It seems it doesn't work well with avast anti-theft.
anyway, I uninstalled GOsms, and installed handcent (also a sms app which is basically the same thing). After that everything worked flawlessly!
Hope I could help....
Title: Re: SMS commmands - password readable in clear text
Post by: reinhardholzner on February 09, 2012, 10:19:49 AM
yes its a problem with gosms - they use SMS in a way it is not supposed to, causing that troubles.