Is there any real way to tell if there's something harmful/something able to have control on your phone?
I ask, because recently I bought a galaxy s7 edge on ebay that the seller said was 'slightly-used', because they changed their mind. I've been super paranoid lately because I found it weird that the description said it was hardly used at all. (Then why have the phone?).
When I turned on the phone, it was just the normal setup (Logging into Google, Setting up the wifi and the language,) So I kinda assumed that it was cleaned out before they gave it to me.
Although it looks fine, I really wanna be safe about using it. It doesn't get hot when I use it, but It does get a little warm sometimes by not doing much, (Viewing messages or just looking at stuff on Instagram.), and if I leave it alone and not unlock the phone or use it, it uses a tiny bit of battery. (Id say 1 or 2% an hour or so).
If I do use the phone for like 30 mins, it uses around 5%. I dont know if thats normal, but it does get just slightly hot. (But not a burning hot like I'm frying an egg on it.)
Another weird thing was on my first day of using the phone, and it was all set up, the Microsoft apps that came with the phone, (Word and Excel,,) The folder name was in another language, but I just kinda assumed it was because it was originally being used in another language by the other person. I disabled a few of those apps just to be sure. It also had Skype, which wasent on my old phone. (I had a s7 edge before this, but I cracked the screen and dont know how to fix it.). I disabled that too.
Another weird instance was when using Instagram, which also came with the phone. (I checked the info on the app in the settings, and its definitely from the Play Store and its the official app.) I saw a downloading icon quickly on the top of the screen when I was using it, but never got told what it was. Later on, after looking everywhere to see where it could possibly have gone, it was on the recently updated list in Google Play, but I never got a notification for it like what normally happens. And It was also really quick, which was odd. I also noticed in the direct message section on Instagram, the 'Message requests' section is missing. It shows up for a moment, and shows the number of them I didnt view, but then vanishes. I think thats more of a bug, but I think its a little unusual, because I dont think that happened on my old phone.
My last odd instance was today, when I got a text from a friend, but then I got a notification for a text from another friend that was like from a week ago, which I already viewed when it was that day. It basically gave me a new text notification for a text I saw days ago.
I looked at the system apps for anything out-of-place, or something duplicated or something that didnt look right in data usage, but I dont see anything odd.
Would looking for weird occurrences like this be symptoms of something bad, like the seller maybe putting something in the phone to view things they shouldnt, or mess things up? I get paranoid when it comes to the idea of being hacked, because it sounds super scary to me. (Whenever something unusual happens, I flip out a but too much.). I know errors are a common thing on any device, but I never know whats an innocent technical problem, or what is really suspicious.
The phone was at a decent price, and not from China. It also wasent advertised as like 'rooted', or coming with free random apps by the seller, so it seemed legit. I also have hardly any apps installed by me on it. Most are just the apps that come pre-installed, like Facebook, and Microsoft apps, and theyre on my family member's phone too, so I know thats normal to have. All I'm wondering is if there's a red flag of something harmful, or if there a way to really tell. I'm just paranoid because it was used by the person before me, and I know them putting a spy-software is definitely possible, although a little unlikely.
I ask, because recently I bought a galaxy s7 edge on ebay that the seller said was 'slightly-used', because they changed their mind. I've been super paranoid lately because I found it weird that the description said it was hardly used at all. (Then why have the phone?).
When I turned on the phone, it was just the normal setup (Logging into Google, Setting up the wifi and the language,) So I kinda assumed that it was cleaned out before they gave it to me.
Although it looks fine, I really wanna be safe about using it. It doesn't get hot when I use it, but It does get a little warm sometimes by not doing much, (Viewing messages or just looking at stuff on Instagram.), and if I leave it alone and not unlock the phone or use it, it uses a tiny bit of battery. (Id say 1 or 2% an hour or so).
If I do use the phone for like 30 mins, it uses around 5%. I dont know if thats normal, but it does get just slightly hot. (But not a burning hot like I'm frying an egg on it.)
Another weird thing was on my first day of using the phone, and it was all set up, the Microsoft apps that came with the phone, (Word and Excel,,) The folder name was in another language, but I just kinda assumed it was because it was originally being used in another language by the other person. I disabled a few of those apps just to be sure. It also had Skype, which wasent on my old phone. (I had a s7 edge before this, but I cracked the screen and dont know how to fix it.). I disabled that too.
Another weird instance was when using Instagram, which also came with the phone. (I checked the info on the app in the settings, and its definitely from the Play Store and its the official app.) I saw a downloading icon quickly on the top of the screen when I was using it, but never got told what it was. Later on, after looking everywhere to see where it could possibly have gone, it was on the recently updated list in Google Play, but I never got a notification for it like what normally happens. And It was also really quick, which was odd. I also noticed in the direct message section on Instagram, the 'Message requests' section is missing. It shows up for a moment, and shows the number of them I didnt view, but then vanishes. I think thats more of a bug, but I think its a little unusual, because I dont think that happened on my old phone.
My last odd instance was today, when I got a text from a friend, but then I got a notification for a text from another friend that was like from a week ago, which I already viewed when it was that day. It basically gave me a new text notification for a text I saw days ago.
I looked at the system apps for anything out-of-place, or something duplicated or something that didnt look right in data usage, but I dont see anything odd.
Would looking for weird occurrences like this be symptoms of something bad, like the seller maybe putting something in the phone to view things they shouldnt, or mess things up? I get paranoid when it comes to the idea of being hacked, because it sounds super scary to me. (Whenever something unusual happens, I flip out a but too much.). I know errors are a common thing on any device, but I never know whats an innocent technical problem, or what is really suspicious.
The phone was at a decent price, and not from China. It also wasent advertised as like 'rooted', or coming with free random apps by the seller, so it seemed legit. I also have hardly any apps installed by me on it. Most are just the apps that come pre-installed, like Facebook, and Microsoft apps, and theyre on my family member's phone too, so I know thats normal to have. All I'm wondering is if there's a red flag of something harmful, or if there a way to really tell. I'm just paranoid because it was used by the person before me, and I know them putting a spy-software is definitely possible, although a little unlikely.
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