How to find and get rid of system app spyware ?

[Scorpeon36]

My phone Lg Espape plus running android 10 started acting all kinds of weird when an apparent update downloaded without my consent witch afterwards did not show in settings After downloading wiretap removal app witch alerts when gps hidden calls etc are used on your phone has been alerting me that com.lge.wfcservice and quickmemo+ are gps tracking me several times everyday and when I am mobile it increases in frequency.
Neither one of these apps have ever been opened or ticked on. And now the mobile network and the wifi calling are not an option to open in settings There has been numerous other odd things such as picture messages not being sent when attempted over and over. Lots of background noise on calls. Some calls I am not able to be hard at all and visa versa.when adding unlock pin when turning phone there was also a unlock pin required to turn off that was in a different color completely that then changed to normal look when promoted in enter pin. And several other things as well. I need to know if indeed these system apps can indeed be hijacked and are being used to spy on me. If so what can I do about this. I haven't been able to disable or uninstall due to system apps. I need some piece of mind thank you

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! I moved this from the Software Development forum to the General Help forum (the "Hacking" part of the Software Development forum title has more to do with app development tinkering rather than "hacking" in the cybercrime sense).

What kind of update was it? Was it a system update pushed over the air, or was it a Google Play Security Update? https://www.howtogeek.com/686927/wh...At the top of the,a “Security Status” section.

The things you're mentioning do not sound sinister to me -- they sound more like glitchiness. Do they still occur in Safe Mode? https://www.hardreset.info/devices/lg/lg-escape-plus/safe-mode/

 

[Scorpeon36]

I havnt tried safe mode. Ill check it out. No it doesn't seem sinister but there has been enough that I took notice. One thing I neglected to mention is. Getting sms with incomplete links. The first was after I had reset the phone hoping it would erase anything if there was someone on it. As soon as it had booted up from reset an sms with broken google link. IDK it all could be nothing but it seems like it's a perponderance of small things.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

How old is your phone? I am not familiar with it. I would do as B. Diddy says and try it in safe mode. You said you reset the phone. Was that a factory reset? Phones usually ask you to install updates unless you set it to automatic install.

I really do not believe you have been hacked or spied on. It is incredibly rare for phones to be hacked in that way. Usually odd behaviour can be attributed to dodgy 3rd party apps or just glitchiness in a phone. They are mini computers and computers often run into issues.

Let us know how it goes with safe mode.

The process for turning on Safe mode is as follows:

Press and hold the Power button.

Tap and hold Power off.

When the Reboot to safe modeprompt appears, tap again or tap OK.

Your device will then restart and it will say “Safe mode” in the bottom-left corner.

 

[B. Diddy]

I havnt tried safe mode. Ill check it out. No it doesn't seem sinister but there has been enough that I took notice. One thing I neglected to mention is. Getting sms with incomplete links. The first was after I had reset the phone hoping it would erase anything if there was someone on it. As soon as it had booted up from reset an sms with broken google link. IDK it all could be nothing but it seems like it's a perponderance of small things.

What do you mean by incomplete links? Are you getting texts that say "Tap to Download," but when you tap it nothing happens? That usually means they're MMS messages (picture texts or group texts), which require mobile data to be on. If your mobile data is off (or if the reception is poor), you can get that. It can also happen if the APN settings are incorrect. https://www.androidcentral.com/what-apn-and-how-do-i-change-it

 

[Scorpeon36]

If it so rare for phones to be hacked why are their so many socall companies selling all the spyware software. It's been a long while now butvyouvused to be able to get spyware directly off google android I don't remember it's been several years now that was free and would download thru text, hide and you could get complete access to a phone. I know because I used it myself it worked seem less. So I know phones are more secure now but the hackers don't sleep on learning. In my opinion if you want to spy on someone and will to pay a fee it's not a problem. The probation offices even use sms and gps tracking myself I bought a new phone and it all subsided a lot people nothing better to do. Thank you both for you input.

 

[Mooncatt]

If it so rare for phones to be hacked why are their so many socall companies selling all the spyware software.

This is nothing new. There are many developers out there trying to get everyone to install memory boosters to keep RAM usage low, despite the fact Android is designed and works best work memory full. Their apps make your phone run worse, but prey on the fact that so many people don't understand much about how the OS is designed to work. Just because something is for sale doesn't mean it's effective.

This article does a good job explaining why security and malware issues aren't as bad as you think.
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3411440/android-security-scares.html

As that article points out, today's smartphones are exceptionally hard to hack into, requiring the hacker to gain unfettered physical access to your phone, or for the user to ignore the most basic of security practices and almost have to be trying to get infected. Once infected, malware and hackers don't make it so easy to be discovered. They work in the background without you ever knowing.

To have all the glitches you've mentioned is indicative of a bad OS update, which is far from unheard of. In fact, I often use the phrase, "every update is better than the next," when talking about updates due to various problems I've had with them over the years. Sometimes a simple system cache clearing fixed it, sometimes it required a factory reset, and sometimes it's bugs baked into the update that can't be fixed.