Is the s25 ultra secure from most advanced spyware like pegasus and so on?
I rely on Knox chip what’s your thought?
It depends. Many zero-day vulnerabilities used by Pegasus still haven’t been disclosed. Going further, if new vulnerabilities will be discovered, they will probably be exploitable on any android device.
From my experience Knox is indeed some kind of security. If I’m not mistaken it operates on kernel level, so it should work better as an OS agent. But I’m against Samsung in all of this. The amount of data they collect and trade with Google is terrifying and one of the many reasons why I decided against it, after so many years of using it.
Edit: Sorry for my rant there at the end, I know it doesn’t concern security, really.
As for the kernel again, I would say it prevents malware from modifying OS and allowing apps to escape sandboxes, but it won’t save you from android vulnerabilities if they have not been patched through system update.
Edit 2: I’ve been searching around, because it’s an interesting topic, and I found this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30509822
I didn’t want to say that, because it’s just my opinion, but for me it looks like Knox is just a gimmick. They say it’s super secure, that you will never get hacked. Again, in my eyes it’s an advertisement campaign mostly. It may have some security features, but history shows that they have nothing that cannot be cracked. It’s using CVE database to mitigate known vulnerabilities.
Google Pixels running GrapheneOS have been the most resistant to Cellebrite exploitation
I agree with TheDoc, if you’re really looking for a exploit-resistant phone you might want to switch to Pixel with GrapheneOS. In any case you should look for OS that has additional protection features in place. GrapheneOS has fantastic options regarding memory tampering and exploit excecution.
You should be the owner of your phone and apps, not the other way around.
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You shouldn’t expect to be invulnerable to advanced malware like Pegasus simply by choosing the right phone, however more secure phones (such as a new Google Pixel running GrapheneOS or a new iPhone in Lockdown Mode) can be more difficult/expensive to attack.
The Google Pixel is the only recommended phone (and is currently the only device supported by GrapheneOS) because it is currently the most secure Android device around. Apparently Google Pixels running GrapheneOS have been the most resistant to Cellebrite exploitation.
If for whatever reason a Pixel or iPhone is not an option for you, Samsung is probably the next best thing. They aren’t privacy friendly but they offer the longest security update support periods and it seems to be the opinion of many that they’re essentially in third place when it comes to security features.
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i wanted to buy the Pixel phone as my main but I avoided it due to issues of performance and battery, and I chose the most solid option since Samsung has been on the mobile industry for so long
The guy before you literally provided link for that:
Samsung is terrible for privacy and the stock apps require far more invasive permissions than Google’s counterparts. A lot of the stuff they add in has to be disabled to approach anything close to private and secure. App Cloud for instance which tries to install “recommended” apps.
Google also implements better overall security and Samsung lags with security updates by up to a month or a quarter depending on the model (budget or flagship) and age of the phone.
If you expect to be targeted Apple Lockdown and GrapheneOS ar the only options I’d recommend.
With that said.
Samsung offers 6-7 years of updates on even budget models these days (quarterly updates though).
They’ve also added in Auto Blocker which attempts to introduce some Apple Lockdown and Google advanced protection features.
I don’t think they offer much protection against government level threats like Pegasus or Cellebrite. But if you manage the phone well you can in my view get something out of it that’s “reasonably” private and secure for the average person. (noting that participants on a privacy forum aren’t average)
Pixel with GrapheneOS, and if that’s supposedly not an option, then an iPhone. And if the threat level is actually a state actor, then only the first option.
If the threat level was truly that high, you wouldn’t be bothering with a Samsung, so I’m pretty sure you’re blowing things out of proportion, to say the least.
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I haven’t kept up to date with the latest Pixel issues so I could be wrong, but I haven’t heard of any problems with the 8 or 9 series?
In any case, if you’re more concerned about performance than security I’d assume you’re someone who doesn’t need to worry about Pegasus.
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It certainly won’t be ultra secure against Samsung spyware…
In my opinion, it’s better to be subject to tracking and telemetry (which you can limit) from a company constrained by and accountable to the law rather than use a device that is more vulnerable to actual malware developed by anonymous cyber criminals which cause much more real-world harm by stealing and abusing more sensitive data.
Not to mention it’s also a better experience as a user since you’ll be running an up-to-date and industry-supported device, whereas EOL/Lineage devices may (in addition to security issues) have usability issues.
What will the law do? Fines are just a part of normal business expenses for tech giant companies. Facebook and Google have been fined a lot, did it help?
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The law will typically prevent them from breaking the law. Current laws aren’t nearly strong enough to adequately protect people from abusive companies, but if you don’t see the difference between tracking users to increase ad revenue versus defrauding people and stealing their money, I don’t think there’s anything I could say that’ll convince you.