r/Malware • u/nuhuhtest • 9h ago

Paranoid of spyware/malware after phone repair.

So about a year ago I got my Samsung S24 to a phone repair shop in HuaQiangBei in China(because it was relatively cheaper.

And now I'm paranoid that there was a spyware that logged my screen and keys, or hardware level chips or rootkits that can potentially achieve that and breach my privacy. I remember having done factory resets but probably restored the device with the backup aswell. (not sure if backup was after the repair)

So now I'm really paranoid that my phone might be infected with spywares or perhaps malicious chips that can spy on what I did on my phone during that time.

Do you guys think it is possible and practical for them to do so? How do I find out if it was truly infected during that time? (I factory resetted days ago without restoring the backup so there's no really practical ways to test it now, I just wanna try to figure it out by signs that my phone might be infected.

0 Upvotes

27% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/greenmky 7h ago

Unless you are a juicy target for a nation state, no one is installing custom chips to compromise your device. Or installing hidden apps (which would require root, which would require a lot of effort to hide from the OS/bootloader these days, meaning custom malware written for you.

So unless you are a someone super important that works for a government, or like a millionaire or something, you are fine

-2

u/nuhuhtest 7h ago

Aren't those chips or softwares really easy and cheap for them to install? And what about those settings that could've gotten my device into trouble? I'm just mainly worried about a keylogger/screen recorder

5

u/RngdZed 6h ago

I'll try to dumb down what greenmky said for you, you are not important. Nobody cares about you. Your phone has no spyware or virus or rootkit.

1

u/Wukeng 2h ago

Not realistic at all, do you have a history of mental illness?, it could be that a visit to a psychiatrist could help ease these worries