Quote:
Originally Posted by techguyone
Wonder if Osem jnr has been installing games & stuff? that would be a clear way into your problems.
Considering Google Play will have been pre installed on your phone, why would you want or need to get another 'PlayStore' app thinking it's Googles. Additionally when I do a search for 'PlayStore' in Google Play, nothings there (hardly surprising, I wouldn't think Google would want competition for their app store IN their app store...) Neither could I find 'GSearch' or 'GFirewall' on Google Play. As these aren't on the official store, that leads me to this:
Do you have 'Install apps from Unknown Sources' checked in settings? if you don't know what you are doing, that's potentially a really bad idea as any old rubbish can then be installed.
Something else ringing huge alarm bells for me is the fact that you stated that you can't uninstall them, that's a bit WTF. I don't think in 3yrs of Android ownership I've ever not been able to uninstall anything that wasn't already pre installed.
I would be having a chat with anyone else in your family who can and does perhaps use your phone, and secondly I'd be doing a factory reset of your phone, unless you like having your data harvested, phone potentially compromised, anything you do visible, virus infected etc etc etc.
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I found a GSearch on the alternative app store 'SlideMe' - do you have that installed too incidentally? because that app store isn't terribly well regarded for it's quality control, and some apps that Google refused on their store end up there)
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Hi and thanks for the reply.
Just to clarify nobody ever uses my phone except me. Osem Jnr has his own as does the wife. The GSearch and GFirewall apps can be uninstalled but reappear a few days later. It looks like the dubious PlayStore app came with the phone and all I can do is disable it (there's no uninstall option) which I have done and it still shows as disabled at the bottom of the apps list.
I'm not into phones in a big way and have hardly installed any apps since I got it months ago. I use it mainly for calls/texts/whatsapp, occasionally maps/ navigation and very occasionally looking at BBC news while I'm sat in the park or whatever. I installed Lookout AV as soon as I got it and have never had any alerts from that. I never access email on it or do any shopping, banking etc. All the apps I have installed came via the pukker GoogleStore.
The 'dodgy' app in question has a file size of only 680kb and only appears in the list of installed apps as 'Play Store' with the usual associated google image. There's no icon for it showing up on any of the app screens. The genuine one is 11.68 mb and appears in the apps list as 'Google Play Store' with the same small image. It also appears on one of the app screens as you'd expect but its name is reduced in size to just 'Play Store'.
I'm only assuming this app is what is responsible for GSearch and GFirewall appearing because someone on another forum had the same problem and it seems very odd that there are 2 stores on my phone, one of which clearly isn't functioning as the real thing.