Note 3 Hacked or Is it Just A Glitch? Please Help!

[Buttrflygrl617]

My Samsung Note 3 has been doing crazy stuff since Friday and I have called Verizon tech support and completed what they had me try to resolve the problem. They have now escalated my issue to another department that can take a week to get a return call. On Friday I got a message when trying to log into Instagram telling me someone from Russia was trying to access my account and asked me to change my password. I was afraid to change the password then and exited out. My son uses my phone to get onto his Instagram account with gamers. About 4 hours later my brother used his roommates cell to send me a photo and I had to click a link to access the photo. Half hour later a pop-up started coming up and continues to do so every 10 seconds. The pop-up says "Unfortunately, the process android.process.media has stopped." with an OK button that takes many attempts to close it. About 12 hours after the pop-up started, I became unable to get into my Gallery and photos are gone or I just can't access. Now I can't use my alarm and when I tried I saw a ringtone 2181, which I have never seen before under each of my pre-set alarms. Now I can't access Play to download any apps to try and unhack etc. I went back and changed Instagram password and also deleted the text with the link of the photo my brother sent from his roommates cell. I can make calls but the pop-up comes up and won't let me hang up until it finally lets me hit the ok button successfully. I also removed my microsd card but have no way of checking for my photos etc that was on it. I have AVG antivirus and scans have not detected anything. I have no luck with Samsung phones as this is #5 in 2 years. The first 4 just died without any warning and I lost everything. Does this sound like I am getting hacked or is my cell going out? Please help me by offering suggestions on what to do next! Desperate and have to have a cell with no home phone due to a family member with illness.
Thanks

 

[pkcable]

I'm trying to get some of our advanced people to come help you get your phone reset. YES it sure does sound like your instagram passport at the very least got compromised. It's possible that photo link was a bad link. Sometimes our friends inadvertently pass on bad link when THEY themselves get their accounts compromised. It's possible your brother's roommate's account was also hacked.

In any event I have folks coming, please standby!

 

[Buttrflygrl617]

THANKS
I desperately need the help. There's not a decent used cell in my area under $400 right now! I'll keep checking in

 

[Rukbat]

1. Assuming the very worst, reflashing the ROM on a Note 3 has only 1 problem - you could die of boredom waiting for it to finish. It might sound scary, but after you've done it a few times, you're going to make sure that you have something to do so that you don't spend 10 minutes staring at what looks like a dead phone, before it reboots and is ready to use.

And that's the very worst thing that can happen - that you have to reflash the whole thing.

2. Changing your password, assuming that you're actually on the site, not on a phishing site, is something you should probably do monthly. (So how do you keep track of all those passwords - safely? I've been using https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...eepass2android.keepass2android&token=3gxnEXCV for years. [I just had to change my password on a site this morning, because the one I had didn't seem to work, but I could get to a reset page.] Just remember one password - to get into KeePass - and you can have a different 20-character password on every site. And change them as you like.)

3. When you see a message like "Unfortunately, the process android.process.media has stopped.", restart the phone. Restarting has fixed a lot of problems. (Just hold the power button down until it restarts - 10-30 seconds, depending on the phone and what's running.) If that doesn't fix things, you may need to reflash the phone. See http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...w-flash-stock-rom-via-odin-new-interface.html if you do. It's easy with a Samsung. (I have a Note 3, and I can't remember how many times I've reflashed it for on reason or another.)

If you have any further problems, don't hesitate to post again - or message me. (And if you really have a problem, I've been known to take someone's phone and reflash it - as long as they remember to include return postage if they're not near Fort Bragg.)

 

[Buttrflygrl617]

thanks,
I have restarted it 15 times since friday and not helped. I am near Raleigh but I am pretty good with handling computers with instructions so I can do the cell if the site tells me everything to do. I will check out the Password site but I don't venture past my online business and social media much but I do have a 10 year old son who is into gaming. I try to watch him but you know how that goes. They come out of the womb knowing how to maneuver the net and computers. You didn't say if I needed to do anything special to get back up and going via Verizon so I am assuming the site instructions will have all that info. I really appreciate your help. I have no funds for another cell right now.
Wish me luck,
Jamie!