I was using a flip Tracfone but I needed to upgrade to 4G. So I purchased a
Tracfone Samsung A12 and this is my very first smart phone which I mainly
carry for emergencies. I have some questions.

What activities use Data? Also would connecting through an ethernet port
save on the Data useage?

This phone is normally powered off. I am noticing in my router log all
kinds of new ip addresses trying to make contact and I am assuming this is
really people trying to contact the phone. Is this normal?

It is kind interesting disabling google play services has lead to issues and
a beeping notification running across the top of the screen to turn it on.
Can I stop this?

I am going to install AuroraStore on the phone from an APK file using a
Samsung program called cool-android-assistant which is installed on my
Laptop. Can most of the android programs be found as an APK file?

I am trying to figure out how many people want to access my phone when it is
turned on. I bought this phone but I really wonder if I own it.
--
<Bill>

Brought to you from Anchorage, Alaska

On 26/11/2021 20.35, Bill Bradshaw wrote:
> I was using a flip Tracfone but I needed to upgrade to 4G. So I purchased a
> Tracfone Samsung A12 and this is my very first smart phone which I mainly
> carry for emergencies. I have some questions.
>
> What activities use Data? Also would connecting through an ethernet port
> save on the Data useage?

You can't, there is no ethernet port on phones. Instead, you can connect
to WiFi on your router, assuming it has WiFi (basically all home routers
coming from Internet providers have WiFI).

Basically everything in the phone uses data. Some things very little,
some a lot.

> This phone is normally powered off. I am noticing in my router log all
> kinds of new ip addresses trying to make contact and I am assuming this is
> really people trying to contact the phone. Is this normal?

I have never seen external IPs trying to contact the phone. The reverse,
the phone contacting external IPs, is normal.

And considering that if the phone is using your router WiFi, to connect
to it from outside there is a NAT barrier, so that is not possibly
straight away.

However, if you are not using the WiFi connection of your phone, but
your phone service provider data connection, then perhaps other people
could connect to it, but they would rarely get in. Except that many
tools in your phone are cloud services, and they reach out to servers on
internet. And you would see nothing of this in your router log anyway,
unless you use WiFi.

>
> It is kind interesting disabling google play services has lead to issues and
> a beeping notification running across the top of the screen to turn it on.
> Can I stop this?

If you are going to disable google play services, a smart phone is
probably not the right phone for you. That's not an easy road. Android
smart phones are really designed to be connected nearly full time to the
cloud.

>
> I am going to install AuroraStore on the phone from an APK file using a
> Samsung program called cool-android-assistant which is installed on my
> Laptop. Can most of the android programs be found as an APK file?
>
> I am trying to figure out how many people want to access my phone when it is
> turned on. I bought this phone but I really wonder if I own it.

No, nobody is trying to access your phone, that is not possible, unless
you are doing something weird.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 26/11/2021 19:35, Bill Bradshaw wrote:
> I was using a flip Tracfone but I needed to upgrade to 4G. So I purchased a
> Tracfone Samsung A12 and this is my very first smart phone which I mainly
> carry for emergencies. I have some questions.
>
> What activities use Data? Also would connecting through an ethernet port
> save on the Data useage?

You can't because there's no hardwired connection port available, but
you can connect via WiFi through your router, and that will use the
usually cheaper and maybe unlimited broadband data rather than the
usually more expensive and limited mobile data. There should be a
setting somewhere where you can tell it to use only WiFi for data.

> This phone is normally powered off. I am noticing in my router log all
> kinds of new ip addresses trying to make contact and I am assuming this is
> really people trying to contact the phone. Is this normal?

You don't say whether the IPs are internal to your LAN or external to
it, so we can't really comment.

--

Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

In article <e8u77i-4av.ln1@Telcontar.valinor>, Carlos E.R.
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

> > What activities use Data? Also would connecting through an ethernet port
> > save on the Data useage?
>
> You can't, there is no ethernet port on phones. Instead, you can connect
> to WiFi on your router, assuming it has WiFi (basically all home routers
> coming from Internet providers have WiFI).

ethernet works with an adapter, but there is no benefit in doing so.

> Basically everything in the phone uses data. Some things very little,
> some a lot.

true, but with wifi, it won't go towards the cellular bandwidth limit.

if he has an unlimited plan, then it doesn't matter which one is used.

Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 26/11/2021 20.35, Bill Bradshaw wrote:
>> I was using a flip Tracfone but I needed to upgrade to 4G. So I
>> purchased a Tracfone Samsung A12 and this is my very first smart
>> phone which I mainly carry for emergencies. I have some questions.
>>
>> What activities use Data? Also would connecting through an ethernet
>> port save on the Data useage?
>
> You can't, there is no ethernet port on phones. Instead, you can
> connect to WiFi on your router, assuming it has WiFi (basically all
> home routers coming from Internet providers have WiFI).
>
> Basically everything in the phone uses data. Some things very little,
> some a lot.
>

You can purchase an ethernet adaptor that fits into the charging port.
https://www.amazon.com/Phone-Ethernet-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy/dp/B07CMVNC9M#customerReviews

>
>> This phone is normally powered off. I am noticing in my router log
>> all kinds of new ip addresses trying to make contact and I am
>> assuming this is really people trying to contact the phone. Is this
>> normal?
>
> I have never seen external IPs trying to contact the phone. The
> reverse, the phone contacting external IPs, is normal.
>

Port 443 is being used. Will look at this somemore. This is happening when
the phone not powered on. Some days I do not even turn the phone on. Maybe
something else is going on. This place is hardwired and the only time WiFi
is on is when I am learning the phone.

> And considering that if the phone is using your router WiFi, to
> connect to it from outside there is a NAT barrier, so that is not
> possibly straight away.
>
> However, if you are not using the WiFi connection of your phone, but
> your phone service provider data connection, then perhaps other people
> could connect to it, but they would rarely get in. Except that many
> tools in your phone are cloud services, and they reach out to servers
> on internet. And you would see nothing of this in your router log
> anyway, unless you use WiFi.
>
>>
>> It is kind interesting disabling google play services has lead to
>> issues and a beeping notification running across the top of the
>> screen to turn it on. Can I stop this?
>
> If you are going to disable google play services, a smart phone is
> probably not the right phone for you. That's not an easy road. Android
> smart phones are really designed to be connected nearly full time to
> the cloud.
>>
>> I am going to install AuroraStore on the phone from an APK file
>> using a Samsung program called cool-android-assistant which is
>> installed on my Laptop. Can most of the android programs be found
>> as an APK file? I am trying to figure out how many people want to access
>> my phone
>> when it is turned on. I bought this phone but I really wonder if I
>> own it.
>
> No, nobody is trying to access your phone, that is not possible,
> unless you are doing something weird.

I will check the log in the morning and if the ips are not there then I will
turn on the WiFi and then the phone and see if anything shows up. Maybe
somebody is trying to break in to the WiFi.

Thanks for responding.

<BIll>

In article <j0d2ivF9tv8U1@mid.individual.net>, Bill Bradshaw
<bradshaw@gci.net> wrote:

> > I have never seen external IPs trying to contact the phone. The
> > reverse, the phone contacting external IPs, is normal.
> >
>
> Port 443 is being used.

not by the phone, unless it's outgoing to a web site.

> Will look at this somemore.

good idea.

> This is happening when
> the phone not powered on.

then it's definitely not the phone.

On 11/26/2021 11:35 AM, Bill Bradshaw wrote:
> I was using a flip Tracfone but I needed to upgrade to 4G. So I purchased a
> Tracfone Samsung A12 and this is my very first smart phone which I mainly
> carry for emergencies. I have some questions.
>
> What activities use Data? Also would connecting through an ethernet port
> save on the Data useage?

You can try using a USB-C Ethernet adapter with the phone, see
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CMVNC9M>.

> I am going to install AuroraStore on the phone from an APK file using a
> Samsung program called cool-android-assistant which is installed on my
> Laptop. Can most of the android programs be found as an APK file?

All the programs on Google Play can have an APK file generated so you
can side-load them, but there's usually no upside in doing that unless
there's a Google Play App that will work on your phone but that doesn't
show up in the Google Play store from the phone. A lot of APK files are
unsafe, so be careful.

On Fri, 26 Nov 2021 10:35:14 -0900, Bill Bradshaw wrote:

> I was using a flip Tracfone but I needed to upgrade to 4G. So I purchased a
> Tracfone Samsung A12 and this is my very first smart phone which I mainly
> carry for emergencies. I have some questions.

That 8-core A12 looks decent, at ~$100, Android 10/11, & 4/6 GB RAM, etc.
https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a12-10604.php

> What activities use Data?

To be purposefully helpful, and to opine advice which is directly contrary
to what Carlos suggested, I'd say almost nothing "uses data" if you're smart
about it. For example, what I do is turn off data for _all_ apps first, and
then, when any one app "needs" data, I turn it on.

You can easily do that with the FOSS software firewall named "NetGuard".
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.faircode.netguard>

It's interesting almost zero apps need to "use data" in my experience.
Certainly each app can easily be restricted to use zero cellular data.

> Also would connecting through an ethernet port save on the Data useage?

There are two kinds of "data", one of which is Wi-Fi and the other cellular.
With NetGuard, you can restrict any or all apps to use only Wi-Fi data.
> This phone is normally powered off. I am noticing in my router log all
> kinds of new ip addresses trying to make contact and I am assuming this is
> really people trying to contact the phone. Is this normal?

I don't think I understand that question.
If the phone is powered off, I can't imagine _anything_ in the router logs.
You may need to clarify by snapshotting your router logs for us, especially
as most routers have a history which can span hours, days, or even months.

> It is kind interesting disabling google play services has lead to issues and
> a beeping notification running across the top of the screen to turn it on.
> Can I stop this?

In my humble experience, I can easily disable _some_ google packages, but
not others. For example, I can disable these without much ramification
"com.google.android.gms.location.history"
"com.google.android.apps.photos"
"com.google.android.videos"
"com.google.android.gm"
"com.google.android.youtube"
"com.google.vending"
etc.

But when I disable this, I get too many warnings to make it feasible
"com.google.android.gms"

> I am going to install AuroraStore on the phone from an APK file using a
> Samsung program called cool-android-assistant which is installed on my
> Laptop. Can most of the android programs be found as an APK file?

I would use the official Aurora Store APK from AuroraOSS itself.
<https://auroraoss.com/>

Bear in mind the Aurora Store is the FOSS google play client replacement.
The Aurora Droid app is the FOSS F-Droid client replacement.

With the Aurora Store alone, you can get any and every APK on Google Play.
The only (minor) caveat being that APKs are deprecated by Google Play for
apps which are new as of August 2021 (but for now, that doesn't matter).
> I am trying to figure out how many people want to access my phone when it is
> turned on. I bought this phone but I really wonder if I own it.

I don't know how exactly to determine for sure who is accessing your phone.
I would suggest you start with the FOSS NetGuard firewall which keeps a log.

We should likely have an entire thread on how to determine, for sure, who is
accessing our phones over time (as the data learned would be interesting).

On Fri, 26 Nov 2021 14:34:44 -0800, sms wrote:

> All the programs on Google Play can have an APK file generated so you
> can side-load them, but there's usually no upside in doing that unless
> there's a Google Play App that will work on your phone but that doesn't
> show up in the Google Play store from the phone. A lot of APK files are
> unsafe, so be careful.

I'm not sure what Steve means by having an "APK file generated", where it
has been my experience that _every_ app I've downloaded from the Google repo
first is downloaded as an APK (which is easily ascertained because I turned
the switch on to _not_ delete the APK after installing it off of Google
Play). <https://i.postimg.cc/zf8ybgYB/apk01.jpg>

Normally it's downloaded as an APK; then it's installed; then the APK is
deleted (unless you flip the switch in your chosen Google Play client to
_not_ delete the APK after installation).

This has always been the case, albeit there's the (minor) issue that Google
has deprecated the APK format (in favor of AAB) as of August 2021.
<https://duckduckgo.com/?t=palemoon&q=google+apk+versus+aab>

On Fri, 26 Nov 2021 21:33:45 +0000, Java Jive wrote:

> There should be a
> setting somewhere where you can tell it to use only WiFi for data.

As a related datapoint, I turn off all data for all apps (both Wi-Fi and
Cellular) by default using the FOSS NetGuard Android system level firewall.

While a _lot_ of apps ask for data, very few, in my experience, actually
_need_ that data access in order to work. For example, I have 10-minute
timers which ask for data, but I have that data request denied inside of
NetGuard, and they work just fine without having any access to data.

Similarly, when I run AdobeAcrobat, it seems to ask for access to data,
which I have permanently denied inside of NetGuard, and it still works fine.

Even some of my many camera apps ask for access to data, which, again, is
denied out of hand using the NetGuard FOSS Android system firewall buttons.

Yet I also have apps such as GasBuddy, which want to hand me suggestions all
the time, but I have the data turned off where I only turn the data on for
those kinds of apps when I'm actually traveling & when I _need_ the app to
have access to data (which, in that case would normally be cellular data).

Of course, some apps always _need_ data access, such as web browsers and
online navigation apps, but in general, I find it interesting in practice,
it seems extremely few apps actually need access to data in order to work.

On 26/11/2021 22.40, Bill Bradshaw wrote:
> Carlos E.R. wrote:
>> On 26/11/2021 20.35, Bill Bradshaw wrote:
>>> I was using a flip Tracfone but I needed to upgrade to 4G. So I
>>> purchased a Tracfone Samsung A12 and this is my very first smart
>>> phone which I mainly carry for emergencies. I have some questions.
>>>
>>> What activities use Data? Also would connecting through an ethernet
>>> port save on the Data useage?
>>
>> You can't, there is no ethernet port on phones. Instead, you can
>> connect to WiFi on your router, assuming it has WiFi (basically all
>> home routers coming from Internet providers have WiFI).
>>
>> Basically everything in the phone uses data. Some things very little,
>> some a lot.
>>
>
> You can purchase an ethernet adaptor that fits into the charging port.
> https://www.amazon.com/Phone-Ethernet-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy/dp/B07CMVNC9M#customerReviews

I have seen nobody do that before :-o

>>> This phone is normally powered off. I am noticing in my router log
>>> all kinds of new ip addresses trying to make contact and I am
>>> assuming this is really people trying to contact the phone. Is this
>>> normal?
>>
>> I have never seen external IPs trying to contact the phone. The
>> reverse, the phone contacting external IPs, is normal.
>>
>
> Port 443 is being used.

That's https.

....

>>
>> No, nobody is trying to access your phone, that is not possible,
>> unless you are doing something weird.
>
> I will check the log in the morning and if the ips are not there then I will
> turn on the WiFi and then the phone and see if anything shows up. Maybe
> somebody is trying to break in to the WiFi.

If you see an incoming connection from the outside to your phone on port
443, that's basically impossible on a normal place. There is a NAT
barrier at the router, plus possibly a firewall, and then no phone opens
443 to the outside.

The reverse, from the phone to the outside on 443 is pretty normal.

My guess is that you are confusing incoming with outgoing.

Now, incoming to the router itself, not the phone, on 443 is possible,
and then it would be someone trying to hack your router, because the
router configuration page from the outside should be on 443 - but it
would be strange, normal home routers do not use https, although they
should.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 11/26/2021 6:16 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

>> You can purchase an ethernet adaptor that fits into the charging port.
>> https://www.amazon.com/Phone-Ethernet-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy/dp/B07CMVNC9M#customerReviews
>>
>
> I have seen nobody do that before :-o

It could be useful for someone using their hotspot as their whole home's
network. Plug the phone into a router via Ethernet.

You're not supposed to stick a SIM from your carrier directly into a
MiFi, and if they read the IMEI and see you doing that they will be
upset. People have been using hundreds of GB of data like that.

But wired tethering is just fine, though some carriers throttle data
rates for tethering.

To use wired Ethernet on the phone, instead of Wi-Fi would be very rare.
Perhaps if a hotel had only wired Ethernet, I have occasionally been to
hotels like that, though not recently.

In article <sns5q2$eni$1@dont-email.me>, sms
<scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

> >> You can purchase an ethernet adaptor that fits into the charging port.
> >>
> >> https://www.amazon.com/Phone-Ethernet-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy/dp/B07CMVNC9M#
> >> customerReviews
> >>
> >
> > I have seen nobody do that before :-o
>
> It could be useful for someone using their hotspot as their whole home's
> network. Plug the phone into a router via Ethernet.

much better to use a router in client mode.

Bill Bradshaw wrote:
>
> This phone is normally powered off. I am noticing in my router log
> all kinds of new ip addresses trying to make contact and I am
> assuming this is really people trying to contact the phone. Is this
> normal?
>

Everyone was right the info showing up in my router log has nothing to do
with my Samsung A12 phone. The following is an example from the router log:

[DoS Attack: TCP/UDP Chargen] from source: 103.121.91.112, port 40992,
Saturday, November 27,2021 08:06:51

103.121.91.112 | Cau Giay Branch of Bach Kim Network ...

IP Abuse Reports for 103.121.91.112: . This IP address has been reported a
total of 8 times from 8 distinct sources. 103.121.91.112 was first reported
on November 26th 2021, and the most recent report was 18 minutes ago..
Recent Reports: We have received reports of abusive activity from this IP
address within the last week. It is potentially still actively engaged in
abusive activities.
--
<Bill>

Brought to you from Anchorage, Alaska

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> it has been my experience that_every_ app I've downloaded from the Google
> repo first is downloaded as an APK (which is easily ascertained because I
> turned the switch on to_not_ delete the APK after installing it off of
> Google Play).
> <https://i.postimg.cc/zf8ybgYB/apk01.jpg>

What version of GP app is that? Under settings, the current version doesn't
have any options that even resemble those ...

On 27/11/2021 03.40, sms wrote:
> On 11/26/2021 6:16 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>
>>> You can purchase an ethernet adaptor that fits into the charging port.
>>> https://www.amazon.com/Phone-Ethernet-Adapter-Samsung-Galaxy/dp/B07CMVNC9M#customerReviews
>>>
>>
>> I have seen nobody do that before :-o
>
> It could be useful for someone using their hotspot as their whole home's
> network. Plug the phone into a router via Ethernet.

Maybe, but perhaps there are routers that can be connected to a phone
via the existing USB connector to do just that. I have not seen that,
but instead they have USB connections to connect a hard disk or a
printer, to make them available to the LAN.

Also, there are routers where you can connect directly a SIM card, and
the router takes the role of the phone to supply a connection to the
LAN. Some ISPs here provide just that thing (they provide the router and
the SIM)

> You're not supposed to stick a SIM from your carrier directly into a
> MiFi, and if they read the IMEI and see you doing that they will be
> upset. People have been using hundreds of GB of data like that.
>
> But wired tethering is just fine, though some carriers throttle data
> rates for tethering.
>
> To use wired Ethernet on the phone, instead of Wi-Fi would be very rare.
> Perhaps if a hotel had only wired Ethernet, I have occasionally been to
> hotels like that, though not recently.

I have used wired tethering, but via USB. Connecting directly the phone
to the computer.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 27/11/2021 20.15, Bill Bradshaw wrote:
> Bill Bradshaw wrote:
>>
>> This phone is normally powered off. I am noticing in my router log
>> all kinds of new ip addresses trying to make contact and I am
>> assuming this is really people trying to contact the phone. Is this
>> normal?
>>
>
> Everyone was right the info showing up in my router log has nothing to do
> with my Samsung A12 phone. The following is an example from the router log:
>
> [DoS Attack: TCP/UDP Chargen] from source: 103.121.91.112, port 40992,
> Saturday, November 27,2021 08:06:51

AFAIK, that's the source port, not the target. AFAICS, it goes against
the router, no further.

There are probably millions like that. And many of them are simple
customers with windows computers that have been hacked and perverted, in
countries like the USA, under control of other people. And the exact IP
may rotate to another client another day, who is not related at all to
the previous client.

>
> 103.121.91.112 | Cau Giay Branch of Bach Kim Network ...
>
> IP Abuse Reports for 103.121.91.112: . This IP address has been reported a
> total of 8 times from 8 distinct sources. 103.121.91.112 was first reported
> on November 26th 2021, and the most recent report was 18 minutes ago..
> Recent Reports: We have received reports of abusive activity from this IP
> address within the last week. It is potentially still actively engaged in
> abusive activities.
>

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On Sat, 27 Nov 2021 20:28:50 +0000, Andy Burns wrote:

> What version of GP app is that? Under settings, the current version doesn't
> have any options that even resemble those ...

I was working off the proof that the APK is what you get when you use a
typical FOSS Google Play client to get apps off the Google repository.

The FOSS Google Play clients have basically every setting you'd ever want.
For example... <https://i.postimg.cc/NjkLvYdy/aurora01.jpg>

With or without any Google Account ever set up for your Android device:
<https://i.postimg.cc/yWq5g17M/settings07.jpg>

Setting to _not_ delete the downloaded APK (automatic saving of all APKs!):
<https://i.postimg.cc/zf8ybgYB/apk01.jpg>

Intelligent filters to eliminate undesired features in apps found by search:
<https://i.postimg.cc/vTdMwgnW/apk02.jpg>

Persistent spoofing of location, language, device, and SDK, with additional
persistent settings for automatic updating of entire categories of apps:
<https://i.postimg.cc/ZR25xq5Q/aurora03.jpg>

Persistent filters (saved to filter out entire unwanted categories):
<https://i.postimg.cc/VvF024NZ/apk03.jpg>

Persistent settings to filter out Google Apps:
<https://i.postimg.cc/W3h4ZZTr/aurora02.jpg>

Well respected well tested fantastic FOSS Google Play Store client:
<https://i.postimg.cc/ydsJVX3R/aurora01.jpg>

Resulting in saving _every_ APK ever installed off the Google repository!
<https://i.postimg.cc/bN875p8b/apk01.jpg>

All of which update _without_ even having a Google account on the phone!
<https://i.postimg.cc/j2g26zws/apk03.jpg>

Where you keep track of how and when every app is installed & updated:
<https://i.postimg.cc/MZPpFmHw/apk07.jpg>

Each app can be updated using the proprietary Google Play app if desired:
<https://i.postimg.cc/fy8TpHFW/updateallapps06.jpg>