{"id":758,"date":"2018-10-17T07:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=758"},"modified":"2018-10-23T16:20:27","modified_gmt":"2018-10-23T20:20:27","slug":"a-reader-asks-should-i-factory-reset-a-phone-that-previously-belonged-to-someone-else","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/17\/a-reader-asks-should-i-factory-reset-a-phone-that-previously-belonged-to-someone-else\/","title":{"rendered":"A reader asks: Should I factory reset a phone that previously belonged to someone else?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q: Should I factory reset a phone that previously belonged to someone else?<\/strong> (via Quora)<\/small><\/p>\n

A: Yes, absolutely!<\/strong><\/p>\n

You have no way of knowing what might still be on the phone… spyware, malware, traces of illicit images or activity, whatever. I suggest you reset the phone before<\/strong> you plug in your SIM, and before<\/strong> you do anything else!<\/p>\n

Once you’re phone’s minimally alive and connected again, I suggest immediately installing a reputable anti-malware\/security app. I use Lookout<\/a>, but there are many other options: examples<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Let your anti-malware app scan and verify the phone’s base setup; and keep the app running thereafter as you use your phone normally.<\/p>\n

This way, your phone should start clean, and stay that way!<\/p>\n

\n

Permalink: https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-ce<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Reply? Questions? Use the Comment box at the bottom of the page, or click CONTACT<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: Should I factory reset a phone that previously belonged to someone else? (via Quora) A: Yes, absolutely! You have no way of knowing what might still be on the phone… spyware, malware, traces of illicit images or activity, whatever. I suggest you reset the phone before you plug in your SIM, and before you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-reader-asks","category-smartphones"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-ce","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5091,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/27\/how-does-some-malware-manage-to-survive-a-smartphone-factory-restore\/","url_meta":{"origin":758,"position":0},"title":"“How does some malware manage to survive a smartphone factory restore?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-27","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Lilly Vugheen) Android smartphones keep a spare copy of the operating system on hand, stored in protected files. These files are what's used to rebuild the system after a factory reset, or a root. Rare but virulent Android \"xHelper\" malware can break into and alter the protected\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/malware-virus-e1590520693354.jpg?fit=350%2C262&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1485,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/26\/a-reader-asks-how-can-i-recover-android-data-after-a-factory-reset-if-it-wasnt-backed-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":758,"position":1},"title":"A reader asks: “How can I recover Android data after a factory reset if it wasn’t backed up?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-12-26","format":false,"excerpt":"That's a terrible feeling, isn't it, when your data's gone --- maybe forever! Ugh. But it may not be gone, or at least, not all of it. Google, or your phone maker, may have provided at least some automatic backup services for you. Some third-party apps may have likewise saved\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smartphone-backups.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1025,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/14\/a-reader-asks-why-did-a-phone-reset-not-free-up-memory\/","url_meta":{"origin":758,"position":2},"title":"A reader asks: Why didn’t resetting my phone free up memory?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-11-14","format":false,"excerpt":"A reader asks: \"Why is my Android phone crying for memory just after a factory reset?\" That's not much to go on, but here are some ideas: 1. Resetting a phone will remove temporary files and random junk files that may have accumulated, but doesn\u2019t otherwise free space or shrink\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4880,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/01\/why-was-the-obb-folder-missing-on-my-phone-after-i-factory-reset-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":758,"position":3},"title":"“Why was the OBB folder missing on my phone after I factory reset it?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-01","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Emm Riosa) OBB files --- Opaque Binary Blobs --- are files used to store extra data generated by some Android games and apps. This data is private and encrypted (hence \"opaque\") so that only the app that generated an OBB can read it. The key thing is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/search-or-seek-icon-folder-rf-e1587836533534.jpg?fit=200%2C200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":212,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/29\/a-reader-asks-how-do-i-recover-save-my-phones-internal-storage-before-doing-reset\/","url_meta":{"origin":758,"position":4},"title":"A reader asks: How do I recover\/save my phone’s internal storage before doing Reset?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-08-29","format":false,"excerpt":"Q:\u00a0How do I recover\/save my phone's internal storage before doing Reset?\u00a0 (via Quora) A: It depends on where\u2019s the data stored --- but should always be relatively easy to do. 1) If the data is on a plug-in\/add-on memory card, recovery is trivially simple: Turn off the phone, remove the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":911,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/02\/a-reader-asks-how-can-i-reset-my-smartphone-without-losing-data-it-keeps-restarting\/","url_meta":{"origin":758,"position":5},"title":"A reader asks: How can I reset my smartphone without losing data? It keeps restarting.","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-11-02","format":false,"excerpt":"Reader Aaron used the Contact link to ask: \"How can I reset my smartphone without losing data? It keeps restarting.\" You\u2019ll have to temporarily move the data to another device (eg your PC; or a cloud-based file storage service like Drive, OneDrive, DropBox; etc.) How you do this depends on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":761,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758\/revisions\/761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}