Android device manager vs wheres my droid
PSA: Watch Out for Android Device Manager
Google’s answer to Apple’s “find my phone” feature is Android Device Manager. I love being able to remotely ring my phone to find it snuggled in the couch cushions. ADM is great, a godsend to Android users struggling to locate their devices. There’s the ADM website and Google recently released an Android app .
I dutifully installed the app on all my Android devices, and loved being able to manage my devices from the closest device. Except my experience this morning when I woke up and found my Nexus 7 had been wiped. That changed everything. Now, any incarnation of ADM on a device is gone.
Here’s how it happened.
During the Cyber Monday madness I purchased a Moto X phone. Moto X arrived Wednesday, so I ditched my Droid DNA. Droid Tot 2 happened to pick up my Droid DNA and began opening random apps. Even worse, he pressed buttons.
Unfortunately, one of the apps he opened was the Android Device Manager app. And one of the buttons he happened to press was wipe.
When I picked up my Nexus 7 off the charger I discovered the reset.
Thankfully, I’d backed up my device to my Google account, so I quickly restored my apps and settings. However, this mishap showed me a flaw in the ADM app (and similar apps like Google Apps Admin ).
In particular, these security apps allow an unauthorized user to reset passwords or devices. Of course, this is also true for other apps like Dropbox or Drive, but especially concerning when discussing apps with system level access.
I’m not sure how to fix the problem other than to require a second password before opening the app.
Three security needs
This experience highlighted three key security needs where everyone should be mindful.
First, I uninstalled ADM app and Google Apps Admin just as a safety precaution. I’d hate for another one of the Tots to cause a similar problem. If you’re the only one using your Android phone or tablet, then this probably isn’t such a great concern.
Second, never leave your device unprotected. That means setting a pattern, password . or pin on your lockscreen. Also, you should make sure your display shuts off in a relatively short amount of time. Use Menu > Settings > Display > Sleep to set the display timeout.
When your display shuts off it will lock your device.
Finally, set up restricted user accounts if your device runs Android 4.2+. The restricted profile will help ensure a user can’t access system level settings.
With some subtle protections you can help prevent an unauthorized device wipe, so you won’t end up reinstalling apps like me.
Update: I should mention that the ADM wipe does feature a warning screen after you press the wipe button. The warning asks the usual “are you sure” question, but a simple click of accept gets the job done.
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