ubuntu-phone team mailing list archive

[Daniel Holm <d.holmen@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi again guys,

>Hello Daniel, thats the idea i was thinking of. I will be happy to help.
>
>Also i support the idea of pre installed app or merge into the main code
of OS to be available by default and unable to uninstall or disable it.
What its your approach to sync location and account data?

Lovely! I'd give you a ping when the project is up.
I want to use U1DB for this since I found it to be absolutely perfect. As
long as the app is running, the devices will sync. And due to the
convergence, the app will be able to handle all of your Ubuntu devices on
any platform.

Right now the app will show every added device using your Ubuntu One
account. Device is added on start up and identifiers such as IMEI, serial,
model and IP will be stored (IP). Also location data if turned on. This is
the idea. Let's say that I've lost my phone. I just start up the app on my
laptop, click on the phone in device list and set it as lost. May the
search begin! See phone on the map using the Location module with the help
of the systems built in map support.

Also, later (hopefully, otherwise if) when hooks are supported for incoming
SMS and calls, the app could hook into the message service and use codes to
set the device as lost if no internet is available. Just like Prey.


>The system has support for click packages which cannot be removed by the
>user. However, if the phone is plugged in to USB and the Android
>development tools are used, then the device can be wiped completely
>clean, from underneath the OS. There's nothing we can do about that in
>the OS itself right now, and any anti-theft support at that low level
>would have to be implemented by the hardware vendors, not necessarily as
>part of the Ubuntu OS that runs on the device.
>
>But as far as click packages go, it is perfectly reasonable to have a
>pre-installed package that cannot be removed by the user, in normal
>operation of the phone. The click package system already supports this.

That's wonderful news! Of course ADB could be an issue with lost Android
devices as well, right? Hardcore theivs that knows how to wipe phones and
stuff will always be a problem. But for the petty thief, which are a
majority of the stealer of found devices using Prey are, it's still better
than nothing. And as stated, we don't want this to be too low of a level.
If there already is support for not that easily removed click packages
already, that’s great, and if the app could ship as a part of the system
that would be even better - which leads us to the next question: liberty.

>Ubuntu-Phone and any other GNU/Linux phone should be all about
>digital-freedoms, NOT digital-constraints.  The Ubuntu Phone will be
>about YOU, about do-it-yourself(DIY).  Purist DIGITAL-FREEDOM hardware
>buyers WILL BUY a phone where you can install/change whatever you want
>whenever you want.

This is a fine line. Of course the app somehow needs to be removed somehow
if it can be installed. But not that easilty that the thief can remove it,
than it looses all of it's point and meaning. But HOW easilty removed is
the question. Or deactivated from settings. The device has to be added to
the device list in the app, if you don't want it, don't add your device.

>I support the idea of DIGITAL-FREEDOM and the final user have the real
control over the device (software/hardware), but what its the point of
having an anti-theft software that any user can disable or uninstall at any
moment?

Bullseye.

And, just as Popey states, there is already a lot of stuff that could be
considered as "digital constraints". In this case the app will be fully
open source and the user will have all of the authority to handle the
devices.

/Daniel Holm
http://www.danielholm.se


2014-04-23 20:27 GMT+02:00 Rodney Dawes <rodney.dawes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

> The system has support for click packages which cannot be removed by the
> user. However, if the phone is plugged in to USB and the Android
> development tools are used, then the device can be wiped completely
> clean, from underneath the OS. There's nothing we can do about that in
> the OS itself right now, and any anti-theft support at that low level
> would have to be implemented by the hardware vendors, not necessarily as
> part of the Ubuntu OS that runs on the device.
>
> But as far as click packages go, it is perfectly reasonable to have a
> pre-installed package that cannot be removed by the user, in normal
> operation of the phone. The click package system already supports this.
>
>
> On Sat, 2014-04-12 at 18:53 -0430, Yasmany Cubela Medina wrote:
> > I study the idea of prey but it would be an installed app so if you
> > could remove it from your phone there is no protection enymore, i mean
> > if the theif could uninstall de app then this solution its no so
> > definitive.
> >
> >
> > The main idea its to protect the phone(device) from the core main
> > code, some service that will be configured at start and can be
> > uninstalled form the system, and only let the phone start if there is
> > an authorized account in the phone(device)
> >
> > S.U.C.C.E.S.S
> > Success is a journey, not a destination.
> > Ing. Yasmany Cubela Medina:
> > Linux user 446757
> > Ubuntu user 13464
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Apr 12, 2014 at 2:11 PM, Daniel Holm <d.holmen@xxxxxxxxx>
> > wrote:
> >         Hi,
> >
> >         I've been thinking about this kind of app as well and would
> >         very much like one. Since I already use Prey I started there
> >         and asked them about an app, but they were not yet interested
> >         in making one for Ubuntu Touch.
> >
> >         However, as they pointed out, and which already has been
> >         discusses, Prey is open source and we could perhaps try to do
> >         a port. Start a project and let people that want, participate.
> >
> >         An app like this is our course a very much wanted one. I don't
> >         want to loose my lovely Ubuntu phone ;)
> >
> >         Vänlig hälsning / Yours sincerely,
> >            Daniel Holm
> >            IT Consultant
> >            Web Developer
> >            Student, Political Science
> >            d.holmen@xxxxxxxxx
> >            http://www.danielholm.se
> >
> >         Den 11 apr 2014 14:59 skrev "Yasmany Cubela Medina"
> >         <yasmanycm@xxxxxxxxx>:
> >
> >                 Yes i know about prey and of course we dont need to
> >                 reinvent the wheel. deliver prey pre instaled and
> >                 configured on ubuntu phone will be a very good
> >                 starting point, the main idea its that the phone will
> >                 be unsusable if its not unther the first owner
> >                 account.
> >
> >                 S.U.C.C.E.S.S
> >                 Success is a journey, not a destination.
> >                 Ing. Yasmany Cubela Medina:
> >                 Linux user 446757
> >                 Ubuntu user 13464
> >
> >
> >
> >                 On Fri, Apr 11, 2014 at 7:27 AM, Facundo Batista
> >                 <facundo.batista@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >                         Simos Xenitellis escribió (el 11/04/14 08:52):
> >
> >                         >     Did you hear about Pray?
> >                         >
> >                         >       https://preyproject.com/
> >                         >
> >                         >
> >                         > And to take it a bit further, you are
> >                         suggesting to port the client code for Prey to
> >                         Ubuntu Phone,
> >                         > https://github.com/prey
> >                         >
> >                         > (other clients are available at
> >                         https://preyproject.com/download )
> >
> >
> >                         It may be an excellent idea if we deliver Prey
> >                         pre-installed.
> >
> >                         My experience: I just bought a Moto-G phone,
> >                         and tried to setup the "location service in
> >                         case of theft" of Motorola...
> >                         it was too complicated, needed to go between
> >                         phone and web several times, couldn't make it
> >                         work.
> >
> >                         Setting up Prey is a breeze. It's a very well
> >                         thought product.
> >
> >                         My point is: let's not reinvent the wheel :)
> >
> >                         Regards,
> >
> >                         --
> >                         .   Facundo
> >                         .
> >                         Canonical - Ubuntu Engineering
> >
> >
> >
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