Is towelroot dangerous?

[xperia2995]

I would like to root my phone to get back my SDcard privileges.
But I read it uses a recently discovered flaw in the linux kernel to root.

Should I be concerned about very serious risks.
What will happen when the linux guys patch up with an update. Will it later ruin my phone?

 

[AndroidHabit]

You created two threads with the same question.
I answered the other one but here is a link to better inform you on who is behind towelroot.
Towelroot.com Whois Lookup - Who.is - Who.is
This person only purchased the domain for one year so that says they don't really care about the domain.
They have their personal info privacy protected so they don't want to be known.
The limited information given says they are in panama.

Always remove your sim card and sd card before rooting.
This limits the amount of information you are giving the hacker.

Lots of people have used towel root and I don't see anyone claiming their money or anything else being stolen.
You can always recover your phone.

 

[ol chap]

You created two threads with the same question.
I answered the other one but here is a link to better inform you on who is behind towelroot.
Towelroot.com Whois Lookup - Who.is - Who.is
This person only purchased the domain for one year so that says they don't really care about the domain.
They have their personal info privacy protected so they don't want to be known.
The limited information given says they are in panama.

Always remove your sim card and sd card before rooting.
This limits the amount of information you are giving the hacker.

Lots of people have used towel root and I don't see anyone claiming their money or anything else being stolen.
You can always recover your phone.

Are you saying towelroot is a virus?
"this limits the amount of data you give the hacker"

"haven't seen people say their money is gone."

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JJ Jones]

The person behind towelroot has been well known in the iPhone jailbreak community for many years. IMHO, he's just as trustworthy, if not more so, than some of the others who have created root methods.
As far as the domain ownership for a year, perhaps that was all he could afford at the time, or he wasn't sure how popular the root would be so why pay to have it for many years?
In addition, once you've used towelroot to root, you remove it from your device.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[AndroidHabit]

I'm NOT saying it is or it isn't. It can be though if the developer wanted to use it for malicious reasons.

 

[AndroidHabit]

You would think someone who got paid $18,000 to root the Samsung G5 would have more than enough money to pay for the domain for 10 years. Not to mention the Sammy got patched right away and he got paid.

As always root with caution and remember to remove your sim and sd cards.
Yes you can delete the towel root apk once you are rooted but that doesn't mean the information on your phone hasn't been uploaded to a server he is using.

 

[JJ Jones]

You would think someone who got paid $18,000 to root the Samsung G5 would have more than enough money to pay for the domain for 10 years. Not to mention the Sammy got patched right away and he got paid.

As always root with caution and remember to remove your sim and sd cards.
Yes you can delete the towel root apk once you are rooted but that doesn't mean the information on your phone hasn't been uploaded to a server he is using.

And I can see the sense in what you're saying completely.
However, think of this as well.... Why make a long term investment in a domain name most people will visit once? It doesn't generate ad revenue. I have no stats, but I'd make an educated guess that visits to the site decrease exponentially as months go by.
He could have simply put it in a shared Drive file, posted the link, then called it a day.
Also, he created the root and site well before the S5 came out and he got paid for rooting it.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[AndroidHabit]

Just so you know the Samsung Galaxy 5 was released on April 11, 2014
He created the site for towel root on June 11, 2014
If he got his hands on the SG5 before it was released then that's fine but the site was after.

I am NOT trying to scare anyone from using towel root as I used it to get root.
I just want to give out information on the app people are using so they know who they are dealing with.

Also it does generate money for him by way of pay pal.
He could always add other ways to make money.
If the app can root ANY android that's not patched then there would be a reason to keep the site up and running for multiple years.
Not just one year like most "fly by night" sites.

 

[ol chap]

Yeah, Geohot (the maker of it) is a pretty famous guy (unlocked the iPhone rooted many Androids and jailbroke the ps3)

although he isn't the finder of the exploit used for root (a random hacker known as pinkie pie apparently is) and I'm not sure how I feel about that

Well next root I'll give the good old fashioned way a go just for a bit of peace of mind and gotta learn it at some time I hear.

Thanks for the info very interesting stuff.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[tracyt]

I rooted with towel root, super easy method. Shortly after the ota update showed up, so I downloaded it and it told me my phone was suspected of rooting and Updates were not available for rooted phones. I unrooted through superuser and downloaded it again with the same message. Just rooted again with towel root and after I installed superuser it needed to update the binary. After reboot message in status bar saying invalid SIM card. Rebooted and message went away. Unrooted again, what is my next step in getting root again?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[AndroidHabit]

If the message about your sim card went away after reboot why did you unroot?

 

[bsettz]

I rooted using towel root then I unrooted. Now cannot get updates on my galaxys5 at&t plz help

Posted from galaxyS5

 

[randommotion]

I just went onto towelroot.org and the app there (Towelroot.apk) is Trojan.Gen.2 as identified by my Symantec antivirus. Same thing with towelroot.com (tr.apk)
Any thoughts? Obviously, I am very concerned about anyone or anything touching my phone or data but me. And I will be checking everything 10 or 100 times if needed before I decide to root it. Is there another app to root your phone?
Also, I am using Samsung Galaxy Note 4 SM-N910C. Thanks for help.

 

[Suk Smile]

I think ,it's save

 

[Rhonda Beaver]

Hi,

I am not tech savvy and have no idea what I'm doing. I have an LG Tribute which is a new phone and I tried towelroot and another one with it but I couldn't get it to work. I didn't know I was supposed to remove my sd and sim card before downloading the towel root. I deleted the file from my phone since I couldn't figure out how to work it, do you think my phone is safe? Should I be worried? What kind of information could have been given away?

Thanks.

 

[Shanna Kim]

I just went onto towelroot.org and the app there (Towelroot.apk) is Trojan.Gen.2 as identified by my Symantec antivirus. Same thing with towelroot.com (tr.apk)
Any thoughts? Obviously, I am very concerned about anyone or anything touching my phone or data but me. And I will be checking everything 10 or 100 times if needed before I decide to root it. Is there another app to root your phone?
Also, I am using Samsung Galaxy Note 4 SM-N910C. Thanks for help.

Thats because the actaul site is .com not .org ..... .org is a fake clone by some other person....

 

[AndroidHabit]

TowelRoot.com is the correct site.
Also any antivirus will give a warning since the apk is sort of a Trojan.
Remember it is using a backdoor to gain root in your phone.

 

[AndroidHabit]

Hi,

I am not tech savvy and have no idea what I'm doing. I have an LG Tribute which is a new phone and I tried towelroot and another one with it but I couldn't get it to work. I didn't know I was supposed to remove my sd and sim card before downloading the towel root. I deleted the file from my phone since I couldn't figure out how to work it, do you think my phone is safe? Should I be worried? What kind of information could have been given away?

Thanks.

You don't have to remove the sim or sd card but I would do it just to be safe.

 

[Aj Palasky]

I just went onto towelroot.org and the app there (Towelroot.apk) is Trojan.Gen.2 as identified by my Symantec antivirus. Same thing with towelroot.com (tr.apk)
Any thoughts? Obviously, I am very concerned about anyone or anything touching my phone or data but me. And I will be checking everything 10 or 100 times if needed before I decide to root it. Is there another app to root your phone?
Also, I am using Samsung Galaxy Note 4 SM-N910C. Thanks for help.

The reason your anti virus says it is malware because towelroot well any rooting method, they moddify your software so your anti virus thinks it is bad

 

[Savade Chetan]

Hi,

I am Chetan Savade form Symantec Technical Support Team.

Trojan.Gen.2 is a generic detection for many individual but varied Trojans for which specific definitions have not been created. A generic detection is used because it protects against many Trojans that share similar characteristics.

Trojan horse programs pose as legitimate programs or files that users may recognize and want to use. They rely on this trick to lure a user into inadvertently running the Trojan. Often a Trojan will mimic a well known legitimate file name or pose as a particular type of file, like a .jpg or .doc file to trick a user.

Best Regards,
Chetan