Database Develop

Strange data issues. How to track down malicious apps?

Alright, I really need some help from the big boys here.
I have had my N1 since release. I have T-Mobile and no data plan. Everything I do is over wifi.
On Friday, I saw the 3g icon on my phone for the first time. It appeared out of nowhere and just flips between 3G and E since T-Mobile just blocks data for non-plan users. This was killing the battery life of the phone.
I called Google and they ran me through *#*#4636#*#* to disable the data connection. This fixed the problem for a while; However after a while the phone will give a message that there is no service provider and will reconnect to T-Mobile (it has never done this before outside of phone boots). When it is back up the 3G/E cycling starts again. Even worse the data connection still lists as disabled and will not re-enable. I have to pop the battery out while it is running to get back in to disable it.
Google thinks its an app but I have removed everything but Touchdown and K9 which I don't think are the problem. I have used Android OS Monitor and I do see connections to 64.15.75.218 and 209.44.107.13 which are hot beds for malware and when I uninstall any app these connections vanish temporarily. But they come back after a few hours.
Anyone seen this before or know a way to track IP connections to a particular app?

I have no solution for tracing 'malicious' software but it is possible to just disable all mobile data usage.
Settings/Wireless and network settings/ Mobile networks > "Data enabled"
If you unselect this there should be no more data transfer while on the mobile network.

I do not have that option. Google Rep said it was only in froyo.
Problem is I did the same thing for 2.1 but it keeps coming back on. Even with wifi the phone connects to these ips so who knows what it is doing.

3G isn't used only for data, you can do voice on 3G.
Could be T-Mobile expanding 3g into your are where you didn't have coverage before.
Call T-Mobile and make sure you're not actually using data.
As for tracking applications, you can use System Panel Pro of the market to monitor how much data applications are using.

I know I am not using data. The T-Mobile account page is pretty detailed and I am unable to do anything online when wifi is off. 3G has also been available for a while here as I know others that use it.
I will check out system panel.
Thanks.

UmbraeSoulsbane said:
I do not have that option. Google Rep said it was only in froyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is indeed only on Froyo, however, Froyo is out now, so install it and you'll instantly benefit.

A few more things:
Were you receiving or sending MMS (picture/video messages) when the 3G icon popped up? This is normal and doesn't usually come out of your data balance.
If you'd like to be triple-sure you're not using data, go into the APN settings. Edit the APN name - e.g. change tmobile.com to nomobile.com. Now it *really* shouldn't be able to access data.

Smarphones would be well to do to have a Zonealarm/little snitch type app for this purpose.
Id imagine ad based apps wouldnt be too happy about it. At the least an app that reports IPs times , and IN/OUT info.

I never use SMS or mms and have not gotten any during this time.
My concern is not related to getting charges but with unwanted use of my phone or data. When the data connection auto enables it will go through my battery in a matter or hours and who knows what the phone may be doing.
I know I can turn this off and make sure data is not used - in fact I have already done this. However when smoke enters room you don't just put a towel under the door and forget about it. I want to find the source of this and stop it because the behavior is not normal.
I agree something like zone alarm would be good. You should be able prevent or track an app activities for situations like this. If I knew what was connecting to these IPs and enabling the data connection I could stop it and report the app or submit a bug request. Right now I am just all alone.
I did try system panel which seems like a nice app but it does not give me good information on network usage by app. OSMonitor is better at connection monitoring but doesn't list by app. Why has no one thought to monitor network threads by app?

Try alogcat maybe? Any time you notice the icon suddenly appearing, save a copy of the logcat and comb through it.

alogcat may work. Figured out OSMonitor had something similar and filtered by app.
Now I just gotta wait I guess. Still not enough info to relate to IP though.

You should know that the data connection setting isn't an enforcement for the entire phone. It only acts as a notice to applications on whether or not to use data in the background.
Developers are supposed to respect those settings, but they are not enforced.

There is a free program called Network Statistics which is no longer in the market. I will backup the apk for you and upload it so you can use it. It shows the amount of data used by each app.
I too had a data hungry app issue and this helped me solve it immediately.
I'm just at work ATM, so I'll do it this evening. (Almost midday now here in Australia )
Cheers,
Ross

@JCopernicus
I am aware of this which is why I want to track this problem down.
@Ross
That sounds great. I appreciate the help. Not sure if tracking data usage is enough since I don't think the app is sending a lot of data. But I am willing to try anything.
I should be getting froyo soon so maybe that will help as well.

This is what I do when I want to ensure I don't use Data. Go I. To wireless connections. Mobile Networks, and then access points. Create a new one. I usually call it No Data. The for the apn, I just make something dumb, like no.data.com, and then save. After I'll select that as my apn.

The issue is not about the use of the data connection. I have done this and can guarantee the phone cannot use any cell data network. The problem is an app is trying to use it anyway even when it is disabled. Even if you ignore that as a concerning activity the constant 3G searching reduces the battery life to a mere hours.
I appreciate the help, but my issue is not with how to disable the data connection. Its about identifying malware on my device, and tracking an app calls to a specific IP.

Again,k 3g doesn't mean data. 3g is also used for voice.
If you only want to use "2g" switch your phone over to gsm only through 4636 or through the menu where it says "use 2g only".
You will never see the 3g icon again.
If you wan't to be 100% sure no app is calling an IP, then do a factory reset. Install apps one by one, monitor them through the various options given in this thread already.
You will not be able to prevent an application from "calling home" unless you modify the app itself. Apps use the data connection provided to them by the OS however they see fit.
Every app you install has a permissions prompt that will tell you it want's internet access.

JCopernicus said:
Again,k 3g doesn't mean data. 3g is also used for voice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Android "3G", "H", "E" or "G" icon denotes data. It may also appear temporarily when making the connection necessary to transmit MMS. It does not appear when the phone is using voice over 3G without a data connection.

Actually, this may be a T-Mobile issue - they just enabled the ability to do "pay as you go" data on ALL plans without a data plan, so they may be the ones turning on the ability to do data. You'd still need to authorize it in your browser, and I think it costs about $1/1MB so it is totally not worth it.
May be worth looking into because it wouldn't surprise me if their new "service" is screwing things up.

I am aware of 3G voice but the 3G status icon is related to data flow. I have had the phone since launch and posted this because this behavior is not normal. Even Google was perplexed by what it is doing. And as I said it is not constrained by the 4636 settings.
And I disagree that an app can use the network connection as they see fit. Rights are given to perform its intended purpose; anything else is malicious.

[Q] WiFi Always on

I have the Galaxy S I9000
If I turn on the Wifi and its got a signal, will that take over from my Network usage on the broadband.
I only download emails to my phone (7 Accounts) but this month my Usage has been very high.
Normally each month reads 830Mb/1GB (Mb's left/Allowance) Give or take 50Mb
This month it was 131.33Mb/1Gb
I don't know where the usage has gone as I'm doing nothing different then before.
Most of my usage is 5-30 Kb with the odd 600 Kb
I checked my data usage over 4 days and its averaging about 2.8Mb a day. I can't see how I have used almost 1Gb for a month.
The only things added to the phone in the last month was Amazon Kindle/Xbox Live and PowerAMP
When I download a book from Amazon I always turn on my WiFi and have 3-4 bars.
Is my phone using my Network Data usage even though I have the WiFi on.
PS my wife has 1 email address on her phone and see never uses her data for anything other then checking her Gmail. She only had 17 simple text emails last month and here usage was also reading 133.78Mb/1Gb. I can't see how she has used up her quota for the month.
Both phone are on separate accounts and connected to the METEOR IRELAND network.

If I turn on the Wifi and its got a signal, will that take over from my Network usage on the broadband.
Not unless you turn the mobile data OFF >. suggest quick settings from the market .
I only download emails to my phone (7 Accounts) but this month my Usage has been very high.
Smartphone is data always on and background sync and apps use data 24 hours .
Unless turned off >. Quick settings mobile data off unless needed .
jje

I installed Quick Settings and turned off mobile data but left on MMS data.
Thanks for the help with this. It means that I can now disable mobile data quickly when I'm in a wifi hot spot.
Because everything loads quickly when my WiFi is on (A lot quicker then when its off) I assumed it was not using mobile data at all. Silly me

Just carried out a little test on the phone using Quick Settings.
I turned off WiFi and enabled mobile data, I then turned on WiFi and the Mobile Data automatically disconnected when the WiFi was enabled.
I'm not sure if it always did this or if its only since in installed quick settings.

If Mobile Data does not switch off then in quick settings you can use Mobile Data APN as the preferred setting for on /off .
I am using Auto Wifi toggle with quick settings to aid battery life .
http://www.appbrain.com/app/auto-wifi-toggle/com
jje

I cant explain your problem, but I use a program called Tasker that might solve your issue.
http://tasker.dinglisch.net/
I have it set to turn on 3G when I unlock the screen and turn it off again when the screen turns off. I also turn on 3G for two minutes every 30 minutes and auto-sync my email.
With this program you can also set you WiFi to turn on based on your location and a host of other things. There is a 7 day trial in the Market.

I installed 3G watchdog about a month ago and I have been keeping an eye on my data usage.
Since the month started I have only used about 10mb. This its consistent with every other month since I got the phone.
I think the high usage last month was a network issue. Its something I'm going to have to keep an eye on as I don't want the buggers charging me for something I haven't used.

[Q] Huge overages? [AT&T]

I just received a huuuge overage charge (running Serendipity 6.2 if that makes a difference); 550mb in one sitting over 3g! As I had the data connection disabled (via holding the power button & deactivating data network), The only thing which I could've possibly done was watch a 20 minute video on the browser, but again I had my 3g disabled and no 3g coverage in the house anyways. A list of my apps:
3g Watchdog (Which only reported 99mb usage!)
AndChat
Andy-83
Andy-86
Asphalt
Astrid Tasks
Astro
Barcode Scanner
Beautiful Widgets
Chrome to Phone
Contacts
Calculator
Calendar
Camera
Clock
Colordict
Dolphin Browser HD
Droid48
Earth
Flikie Wallpapers HD
FPse
Fruit Ninja
Galcon
Gallery
Gmail
Google Search
Gstrings Free
Goggles
Google Sky
Translate
Handycalc
Internet
Latitude
Linpack for Android
LCDDensity
LbsTestModeLaunch
Listen (not set to download over 3g, haven't refreshed in a few days)
Mangler
Maps
Market
Memo
Messaging
Music
My Files
N64oid
Navigation
Nenamark1
Neocore
News and Weather
Opera Mini
Opera Mobile
Phone
Places
Poweramp
Prey
psx4droid
quake3droid
QUick Settings
Rom Gripper
Rom Gripper ++
Rom Finder (Premium)
Root Explorer
SBMX
Settings
SGS Kernel Flasher
SGS Tools
Stabilitytest v1.4
Stopwatch and Timer
Superuser
Task Manager
Terminal Emulator
TiBu
Voice
Voice Recorder
Voice Search
Voltage Control
Voodoo Control
Youtube
Are there **any** red flag apps there? Does disabling data in the power button menu disable all data in & out of the phone via the data network? Are there any apps that would tell me specifically which app is doing what to my data network?

complain! and be glad you are not on a limited plan on verizon! though i miss the iphone plan which apparently i can get back i never exceed 2gig but the $15 a month plan is not for me.
if that happened in 20 minutes then you had the hsdpa connection bassically saturated the entire time. that is not right! complain and if they argue show knowledge, and if they still argue go higher and show knowledge. there must have been some kind of network error. plain and simple.
EDIT: without 3g coverage that is not even posible!
550mb x 1000 = 550,000kb/20min/60sec=458kB/sec x 8bits per bite is 3670kbps that's about 50% theoretical max transfer on att hsdpa. which is greater than typical speeds in many hsdpa areas. with normal 3g you couldnt do it and with edge you couldnt dream about doing it.

Dani897 said:
complain! and be glad you are not on a limited plan on verizon! though i miss the iphone plan which apparently i can get back i never exceed 2gig but the $15 a month plan is not for me.
if that happened in 20 minutes then you had the hsdpa connection bassically saturated the entire time. that is not right! complain and if they argue show knowledge, and if they still argue go higher and show knowledge. there must have been some kind of network error. plain and simple.
EDIT: without 3g coverage that is not even posible!
550mb x 1000 = 550,000kb/20min/60sec=458kB/sec x 8bits per bite is 3670kbps that's about 50% theoretical max transfer on att hsdpa. which is greater than typical speeds in many hsdpa areas. with normal 3g you couldnt do it and with edge you couldnt dream about doing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is there any possibility of wifi usage statistics being misreported as 3g usage statistics? thank you for the information by the way; will def. call them and complain tomorrow. Also, do you have any specifics on the workings of the powerbutton data disabling feature?

snapplefish said:
is there any possibility of wifi usage statistics being misreported as 3g usage statistics? thank you for the information by the way; will def. call them and complain tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not likely. there is a problem but without knowledge of how the network reports these things i cant know if a problem with the rom is even possible and that's where such a problem would have to be if it were reproting wifi usage by mistake. the network is completely independant of wifi but i dont knw where the stats are recorded.
is the 550 mb for the month? did you have data disabled the whole month? can you be sure it was all at once?
edit: anyhow you have 3g watchdog so there is backup and you have the math which is backup. and i can tell you my typical monthly usage is 500-600mb and i dont take any measures to keep it down my data is always on and my sync is on most of the time. unless im using a rom that drains the battery a bit too fast. my iphone 3g was only using 100mb but i used that phone a lot less but i know 99mb in a month is entirely reasonable if you disabled data.

Dani897 said:
not likely. there is a problem but without knowledge of how the network reports these things i cant know if a problem with the rom is even possible and that's where such a problem would have to be. the network is completely independant of wifi but i dont knw where the stats are recorded.
is the 550 mb for the month? did you have data disabled the whole month? can you be sure it was all at once?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 550mb was recorded as one data entry at 1 specific time under my specifics on the AT&T page; data has been disabled every time unless I specifically enabled it to use it (ie checking gmail, various school sites 4-5 times a week at most; I have good wifi connectivity where I go to school & wherever else I might be). The only thing that I had been doing was watching that 20m video over wifi w/ 3g disabled, and no 3g signal (i just went and double checked; i get 0 bars where I sat to watch).

if you are that carefull then the 99mb sounds right. 550 isn't hard to do but if data is disabled then you would know if you used that much.

Dani897 said:
if you are that carefull then the 99mb sounds right. 550 isn't hard to do but if data is disabled then you would know if you used that much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for all of your support. Do you know if there are any good apps for tracking data usage on an app to app basis?

snapplefish said:
Thank you for all of your support. Do you know if there are any good apps for tracking data usage on an app to app basis?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry i dont track my data usage other than my bill. like i said 2gig plan is plenty for me so im not that into keeping tabs.

mms uses data as well. it is just a stupid billing practice that most cell providers subscribe to. it isnt that likly that you used that much texting unless you send images/videos constantly or texts are in the thousands, but it is possible in thoery. and i think texts will be charged as data even if data is off on the phone.

Dani897 said:
mms uses data as well. it is just a stupid billing practice that most cell providers subscribe to. it isnt that likly that you used that much texting unless you send images/videos constantly or texts are in the thousands, but it is possible in thoery. and i think texts will be charged as data even if data is off on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a texting plan & haven't texted for a while now as email has been sufficient, so I can rule that out.

sounds like you have a legitimate complaint then

Dani897 said:
mms uses data as well. it is just a stupid billing practice that most cell providers subscribe to. it isnt that likly that you used that much texting unless you send images/videos constantly or texts are in the thousands, but it is possible in thoery. and i think texts will be charged as data even if data is off on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mms travels over the data network but is separated through the billing system to not be charged as data. Text messages don't use data, they are transmitted to a SMSC using SMS transmission that is housed the same way that voicemail is.
********
Sent from my Samsung Captivate using the XDA app
ROM: Paragon RC5.1 1200 mhz/100hz kernel

[Q] Strange data issue

Hi
A few days ago I started experiencing a strange issue that I just can't resolve.
Certain apps and accounts, i.e. Facebook, email, playstore, Google, Flip board etc. simply will not load/refresh/sync over mobile network. However, I can still browse the Internet using various apps (chrome, stock browser). With Spotify, I can stream music but am unable to download. There is no issue with the data connection as I am getting 'H' or '3g' and showing decent stats on Speed test. I have no issues at all over Wifi - everything works perfectly.
It's as if something is preventing apps from syncing/refreshing over the network but not affecting Internet access.
I have an unbranded device with a sim only Talk Talk deal.
Kitkat 4.2.2
4.12.401.11
I'm going to do a hard reset next but wondered if there was another solution.
Any ideas?

garethjknight said:
Hi
A few days ago I started experiencing a strange issue that I just can't resolve.
Certain apps and accounts, i.e. Facebook, email, playstore, Google, Flip board etc. simply will not load/refresh/sync over mobile network. However, I can still browse the Internet using various apps (chrome, stock browser). With Spotify, I can stream music but am unable to download. There is no issue with the data connection as I am getting 'H' or '3g' and showing decent stats on Speed test. I have no issues at all over Wifi - everything works perfectly.
It's as if something is preventing apps from syncing/refreshing over the network but not affecting Internet access.
I have an unbranded device with a sim only Talk Talk deal.
Kitkat 4.2.2
4.12.401.11
I'm going to do a hard reset next but wondered if there was another solution.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At work we had a phone that did not want to sync email on 3G. (Perhals other apps, we did not check.)
It turned out his phone was roaming on 3G, and the email client was set not to push mail when roaming.
I think the guy had bad signal on its own network on this location and so the phone was roaming.
He could still use his browser and many other apps without any problems.
Maybe it has nothing to do with your problem but I thought I should post it.
Because it sure has many things in common, also in this example on WIFI everything would work fine.
Kind regards, Stefan.

Thanks for that, unfortunately it doesn't seem to be a roaming issue.
I've just factory reset the device, completely wiped everything. Tries to log into Facebook and the same thing happened. Switches to WiFi and it worked straight away.
I tried forcing the mobile data to only use WCDMA. This actually seemed to resolve the problem temporarily and I was able to update Facebook however it soon reverted to how it was and I was unable to sync email, update Facebook or download on Spotify unless over WiFi.
I'm wondering if it's the Sim card or possibly a problem with the phone but I'm struggling to understand (albeit with limited knowledge) how this strange behaviour could be hardware related...

"Google Contacts Sync" is using a RIDICULOUS amount of data

Ever since the most recent update (5.1.1), "Google Contacts Sync" is hogging ALL of my home WiFi's bandwidth.
I have disabled syncing on all of my Google accounts connected with the phone, but still the app is chugging along through my data. If I connect my phone to any WiFi network, the network instantly gets choked by the ridiculous amount of data that Google Contacts Sync is eating.
For now I have installed Mobiwol and cut off Google Contacts Sync's access to mobile and WiFi networks, and this is working so far. But it's a bandaid on the bigger problem.
What the hell is Google Contacts Sync doing, and how do I get it to stop?

first off, a very simple question.. exactly how muxh ridiculous data is google contacrs sync using

Bearmaul said:
Ever since the most recent update (5.1.1), "Google Contacts Sync" is hogging ALL of my home WiFi's bandwidth.
I have disabled syncing on all of my Google accounts connected with the phone, but still the app is chugging along through my data. If I connect my phone to any WiFi network, the network instantly gets choked by the ridiculous amount of data that Google Contacts Sync is eating.
For now I have installed Mobiwol and cut off Google Contacts Sync's access to mobile and WiFi networks, and this is working so far. But it's a bandaid on the bigger problem.
What the hell is Google Contacts Sync doing, and how do I get it to stop?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't experienced this problem with version shamu-lmy48m (5.1.1). What are you seeing that makes you think that "Google Contacts Sync" is using all of your data?

In response to both of your comments, I installed a data monitoring app after I noticed the slow-down of my home internet. In the 5-6 minutes I observed it, Google Contacts Sync used 85mb of data and showed no signs of stopping or slowing down. Even after I DISABLED sync for all of my accounts, it continued using data at this rate.
I have a pretty basic internet plan and 85mb in 5-6 minutes is pretty much maxing out the bandwidth I have available.

I found this post when googling about this problem. I have the same on my Samsung Galaxy A8. It's using also 5.1.1. In 3days my mobile used 3.4 GB of data in wifi connection.
Still figuring out a way to solve it. I'm gonna post it in the Google help Forum I guess.