8 ms·

Sony Xperia phones come with Baidu spyware?

70 points by sleepyhead 12y ago

throwawayaway 12y ago
Their music arm is much much more morally elastic: https://www.scribd.com/doc/22131876/Underground-Resistance-vs-Sony-BMG-tobias-c-van-Veen https://www.scribd.com/doc/22131876/Underground-Resistance-v...
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
eklavya 12y ago
OMG I saw that folder a while back on my phone and ignored it thinking some sony app uses it and it's included in case I set the phone language to Chinese. But I never thought a Japanese company would be sending anything back to a Chinese IP address!
kalleboo 12y ago
I imagine the baidu folder is set up due to baidu search or social network integration. The connections to IP addresses have been seen on other phones so it's probably some software people have installed http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2509815 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2509815
- sleepyhead 12y ago
  I am not so concerned about the folder itself but my phone now has a constant connection to an IP address in Beijing which I am not too happy about.
  - SovietPriest 12y ago
    What about constant connections to Google servers aka NSA? That doesn't concern you too?
    - sleepyhead 12y ago
      It does. What is your point here? Because Google is doing this then I must accept others doing it as well?
- polack 12y ago
  Just unpacked my Sony Z3 compact, haven't installed a single app and its connecting to China... Needless to say, I will never use this phone or any other Sony product ever again.
  - dingaling 12y ago
    > Needless to say, I will never use this phone No Cyanogenmod ROMs for the Z3 series yet unfortunately so it looks like a return is your only real option. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Devices#vendor=%22Sony%22;type=%22phone%22; http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Devices#vendor=%22Sony%22;type...
  - hkmurakami 12y ago
    I'm willing to give SCEI (the Playstation unit) the benefit of the doubt still (despite their hacking scandal), but I'm surely done with Sony Mobile devices for sure.
    - throwawayaway 12y ago
      the playstation unit that progressively dropped features from the ps3 you paid top dollar for? you are too kind.
      - hkmurakami 12y ago
        Ah I actually skipped the PS3 and just went for PSP/PSVita. :( Thanks for making me aware of this history.
      - spacemanmatt 12y ago
        I was just glad that DRM got the name-and-shame it deserved every time Sony revoked a feature via online software-downgrade. Now I hate my PS3 and only use it for Amazon and YouTube. The games I paid full price for all have their hand out for DLC. Bleah.
    - pjmlp 12y ago
      I was done with Sony after my investment into Playstation Linux (PS2), as they screwed their PS3 follow up. It was more closed down than Yaroze and PS2 Linux, and eventually kicked out the door. The PS4 makes use of clang and BSD and where are the contributions back to the communities, besides a few talks at LLVM summit?
valevk 12y ago
If you are on your phone, open the site in Desktop mode.
- samdroid 12y ago
  ...Otherwise you will be made sign up through a LONG and HORRIBLE sign up process :O
tdsamardzhiev 12y ago
To sketch the magnitude of the problem: potentially, the Chinese governmnet can: ... Prevent your device from entering sleep mode ... Oh well I'm screwed.
- zyx321 12y ago
  Well, that means the screen will not time out, and thus will not ask for a password. Baidu has location access too, so there's an obvious attack vector in disabling the screen time-out before sweeping in and confiscating the device. It's the least menacing item on that list, but that doesn't mean it's completely harmless.
hkmurakami 12y ago
I came in thinking that this was going to be about the Baidu IME Japanese language input (which caused quite a stir earlier this year iirc, for the same kind of logging and tracking -- though I think the information wasn't as extensive as this). Lo and behold, it's much worse than that. Wasn't it Sony that installed some kind of spyware in its VAIO machines or its anti-piracy SW or something along those lines? When will they ever learn? And there will likely never be an explanation for what they were trying to do here. They are already in a precarious position in the smartphone market with most of their sales coming from Japan (and Sony Ericsson becoming just Sony Mobile back in 2012). What were they going to do if shit really hit the fan and this went to mass media in Japan as the "Chinese spyware phone" given the tension between the two countries, especially given Japanese QE over the last 1.5+ years? Consumer sentiment is pretty irrational. I can easily see a situation where they get labeled as a "traitorous company" and a boycott starts, at least vs their mobile division. Shortsightedness at its finest. I want to root for this company so badly yet every few years they do boneheaded things like this and make me utterly despise their stupidity. edit: On further thought I bet this is created by some pre-installed default Baidu app that Sony QA didn't vet properly or didn't give a damn about. Or maybe QA found the folder + the connection to China, but it was quashed by management for "strategic reasons". The latter seems more likely, since the engineers I know at Sony (at least in SCEI) are pretty damn good.
- johnchristopher 12y ago
  I believe you are referring to the Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal [0] [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootki...
  - hkmurakami 12y ago
    That's the one. Thx! Rootkit, Playstation Network hack, Baidu spyware, ... I want to believe in Sony, and yet, this. :(
    - nitrogen 12y ago
mappu 12y ago
I don't think it has anything to do with Sony, the folder is created by lots of apps - wechat, MIUI themes. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55033304&postcount=26 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55033304&post... suggests it's also created by ES File Explorer.
- eklavya 12y ago
  It's happening for stock out of the box configs too. It has everything to do with sony.
silviorelli 12y ago
This is the folder I found in my Xperia Z, latest stock firmware (Android 4.4.4) installed after a full wipe about a month ago. Files are mostly empty. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ds1iyk5vffexrlx/baidu.zip.zip?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ds1iyk5vffexrlx/baidu.zip.zip?dl=0
jdalgetty 12y ago
This makes me sad, I just bought the Z3c.
keletappi 12y ago
Reading the thread from the startt, it seems that Baidu is used for pushing content to MyXperia. MyXperia is their service similar to let you can remotely track or lock your device. My guess is they are using Baidu's push service to send the commands to device. So I'd say this is a poor choice of service provider from Sony - especially for non-Chinese versions - but _probably_ harmless.
- fulafel 12y ago
  At best, as harmless as Google's command & control channel to Android devices (=not very).
voltagex_ 12y ago
Has anyone reversed com.sonymobile.mx.android.apk yet?
- philtar 12y ago
  I will if anyone can put the link up somewhere.
  - voltagex_ 12y ago
    https://mega.co.nz/#!bcxjxKgA!_vRRYgQbzmGxTXkAnLRG2DNuR9HhNSJjB5kW84sl3q8 https://mega.co.nz/#!bcxjxKgA!_vRRYgQbzmGxTXkAnLRG2DNuR9HhNS... is a UK Z3 firmware, I'm working on extracting it with 7zip and unyaffs. Unless someone wants to adb pull from their own Z series device.
Zeebrommer 12y ago
If I were to buy a new Sony phone, is there a way to stop this from happening?
- hkmurakami 12y ago
  If it's the phone (Z3?) in question, it seems that an update that purges this is incoming (though I wouldn't trust it until we have reports proving that this is the case).
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
pacific 12y ago
My girlfriend recently bought an Xperia and a couple weeks later she received a notice from google that someone was blocked when trying to log into her gmail account from China. I wonder if there could be a connection.
- theintern 12y ago
  It's extremely unlikely that the two are related. Account access attempts from Chinese IP addresses are common for almost everyone on Gmail.
accurrent 12y ago
libbd_push.so is Baidu's push notification service. Admittedly the fact they have to use native libs is a bit shady however if you have a large chinese userbase then GCM isnt really an option.
izacus 12y ago
Can anyone explain why Chinese software like this is branded "spyware", while Google Play and iCloud services aren't? Since it seems the difference is just in the country that spys on me?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- accurrent 12y ago
  Just american idiots round here, Ive prototyped apps using baidu push service (the so called "spyware"). Its just another type of gcm except based in china. GCM servers are at best unreliable in china thanks to censorship.
  - eklavya 12y ago
    Or maybe as an Indian I am concerned why my phone has to use Baidu at all, when I am not using any service it provides and the fact that my data is being sent to China without my knowledge?
    - romanovcode 12y ago
      I gotta ask, what difference does it makes where your data is collected - U.S., EU or China?
      - eklavya 12y ago
        I hold EU in very high regards, so far they have not betrayed humanitarian values. China is a concealed demon, however bad you might think US is, China is a hell of a lot more and the reason is simple China is NOT a democracy. So far the actions of both the countries align with this statement. Also I know and agree that my data be collected by US/EU, I wasn't asked when sharing my info to China.
  - funkyy 12y ago
    Or maybe people dont want to be spied on by services from basically web un-regulated countries?
SovietPriest 12y ago
Funny so many people call this "spyware" while using smartphones with Google apps/services that feed your data to the NSA. Priorities, people?
- sleepyhead 12y ago
  The priority is to end companies spying. I agree that Google and NSA is a huge issue too, and that debate has been going on for a long time.
0942v8653 12y ago
Samsung Android phones come with Google spyware? Apple iPhone phones come with Apple iCloud spyware? Google search spyware? Yahoo search spyware? Bing search spyware? Microsoft Windows Phone phones come with Microsoft spyware? It's the same stuff. At least China tells people what they do, instead of leaving people with uncertainty and doubt.
- sleepyhead 12y ago
  If you buy a phone from Apple it is implied that it will make connections to Apple. To a certain degree off course. However I have not bought a Baidu phone and have not given my consent to be tracked. What is wrong with you people who nitpick in this thread. It is an invasion of privacy and is being done without my consent. That is the important issue here.
Bossman 12y ago
The worst part is that it starts the service and connects to China without your consent or making you aware of it. At least I can turn off Google sync without any issues.
abhishekmdb 12y ago
Indepth analysis : Is Sony’s Xperia smartphone sending back data to China through ‘Baidu’ folder backdoor? http://www.techworm.net/2014/10/sonys-xperia-baidu-folder-autostarting-myxperia.html http://www.techworm.net/2014/10/sonys-xperia-baidu-folder-au...
nyboylx 12y ago
I'm the owner of the new Sony Z3 and even before this new Model , I had the same Baidu folder in my older Sony Xperia S. I don't understand so many talk-talk now and not before ?
nyboylx 12y ago
I'm the owner of the new Sony Z3 and even before this new Model , I had the same Baidu folder in my older Sony Xperia S. I don't understand so many talk-talk now and not before ?
nyboylx 12y ago
I'm the owner of the new Sony Z3 and even before this new Model , I had the same Baidu folder in my older Sony Xperia S. I don't understand so many talk-talk now and not before ?

70 points by sleepyhead 12y ago

Their music arm is much much more morally elastic: https://www.scribd.com/doc/22131876/Underground-Resistance-vs-Sony-BMG-tobias-c-van-Veen https://www.scribd.com/doc/22131876/Underground-Resistance-v...

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

eklavya 12y ago

OMG I saw that folder a while back on my phone and ignored it thinking some sony app uses it and it's included in case I set the phone language to Chinese. But I never thought a Japanese company would be sending anything back to a Chinese IP address!

kalleboo 12y ago

I imagine the baidu folder is set up due to baidu search or social network integration. The connections to IP addresses have been seen on other phones so it's probably some software people have installed http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2509815 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2509815

sleepyhead 12y ago
I am not so concerned about the folder itself but my phone now has a constant connection to an IP address in Beijing which I am not too happy about.
- SovietPriest 12y ago
  What about constant connections to Google servers aka NSA? That doesn't concern you too?
  - sleepyhead 12y ago
    It does. What is your point here? Because Google is doing this then I must accept others doing it as well?
polack 12y ago
Just unpacked my Sony Z3 compact, haven't installed a single app and its connecting to China... Needless to say, I will never use this phone or any other Sony product ever again.
- dingaling 12y ago
  > Needless to say, I will never use this phone No Cyanogenmod ROMs for the Z3 series yet unfortunately so it looks like a return is your only real option. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Devices#vendor=%22Sony%22;type=%22phone%22; http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Devices#vendor=%22Sony%22;type...
- hkmurakami 12y ago
  I'm willing to give SCEI (the Playstation unit) the benefit of the doubt still (despite their hacking scandal), but I'm surely done with Sony Mobile devices for sure.
  - throwawayaway 12y ago
    the playstation unit that progressively dropped features from the ps3 you paid top dollar for? you are too kind.
    - hkmurakami 12y ago
      Ah I actually skipped the PS3 and just went for PSP/PSVita. :( Thanks for making me aware of this history.
    - spacemanmatt 12y ago
      I was just glad that DRM got the name-and-shame it deserved every time Sony revoked a feature via online software-downgrade. Now I hate my PS3 and only use it for Amazon and YouTube. The games I paid full price for all have their hand out for DLC. Bleah.
  - pjmlp 12y ago
    I was done with Sony after my investment into Playstation Linux (PS2), as they screwed their PS3 follow up. It was more closed down than Yaroze and PS2 Linux, and eventually kicked out the door. The PS4 makes use of clang and BSD and where are the contributions back to the communities, besides a few talks at LLVM summit?

valevk 12y ago

If you are on your phone, open the site in Desktop mode.

samdroid 12y ago
...Otherwise you will be made sign up through a LONG and HORRIBLE sign up process :O

tdsamardzhiev 12y ago

To sketch the magnitude of the problem: potentially, the Chinese governmnet can: ... Prevent your device from entering sleep mode ... Oh well I'm screwed.

zyx321 12y ago
Well, that means the screen will not time out, and thus will not ask for a password. Baidu has location access too, so there's an obvious attack vector in disabling the screen time-out before sweeping in and confiscating the device. It's the least menacing item on that list, but that doesn't mean it's completely harmless.

hkmurakami 12y ago

I came in thinking that this was going to be about the Baidu IME Japanese language input (which caused quite a stir earlier this year iirc, for the same kind of logging and tracking -- though I think the information wasn't as extensive as this). Lo and behold, it's much worse than that. Wasn't it Sony that installed some kind of spyware in its VAIO machines or its anti-piracy SW or something along those lines? When will they ever learn? And there will likely never be an explanation for what they were trying to do here. They are already in a precarious position in the smartphone market with most of their sales coming from Japan (and Sony Ericsson becoming just Sony Mobile back in 2012). What were they going to do if shit really hit the fan and this went to mass media in Japan as the "Chinese spyware phone" given the tension between the two countries, especially given Japanese QE over the last 1.5+ years? Consumer sentiment is pretty irrational. I can easily see a situation where they get labeled as a "traitorous company" and a boycott starts, at least vs their mobile division. Shortsightedness at its finest. I want to root for this company so badly yet every few years they do boneheaded things like this and make me utterly despise their stupidity. edit: On further thought I bet this is created by some pre-installed default Baidu app that Sony QA didn't vet properly or didn't give a damn about. Or maybe QA found the folder + the connection to China, but it was quashed by management for "strategic reasons". The latter seems more likely, since the engineers I know at Sony (at least in SCEI) are pretty damn good.

johnchristopher 12y ago
I believe you are referring to the Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal [0] [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootki...
- hkmurakami 12y ago
  That's the one. Thx! Rootkit, Playstation Network hack, Baidu spyware, ... I want to believe in Sony, and yet, this. :(
  - nitrogen 12y ago

mappu 12y ago

I don't think it has anything to do with Sony, the folder is created by lots of apps - wechat, MIUI themes. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55033304&postcount=26 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55033304&post... suggests it's also created by ES File Explorer.

eklavya 12y ago
It's happening for stock out of the box configs too. It has everything to do with sony.

silviorelli 12y ago

This is the folder I found in my Xperia Z, latest stock firmware (Android 4.4.4) installed after a full wipe about a month ago. Files are mostly empty. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ds1iyk5vffexrlx/baidu.zip.zip?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ds1iyk5vffexrlx/baidu.zip.zip?dl=0

jdalgetty 12y ago

This makes me sad, I just bought the Z3c.

keletappi 12y ago

Reading the thread from the startt, it seems that Baidu is used for pushing content to MyXperia. MyXperia is their service similar to let you can remotely track or lock your device. My guess is they are using Baidu's push service to send the commands to device. So I'd say this is a poor choice of service provider from Sony - especially for non-Chinese versions - but _probably_ harmless.

fulafel 12y ago
At best, as harmless as Google's command & control channel to Android devices (=not very).

voltagex_ 12y ago

Has anyone reversed com.sonymobile.mx.android.apk yet?

philtar 12y ago
I will if anyone can put the link up somewhere.
- voltagex_ 12y ago
  https://mega.co.nz/#!bcxjxKgA!_vRRYgQbzmGxTXkAnLRG2DNuR9HhNSJjB5kW84sl3q8 https://mega.co.nz/#!bcxjxKgA!_vRRYgQbzmGxTXkAnLRG2DNuR9HhNS... is a UK Z3 firmware, I'm working on extracting it with 7zip and unyaffs. Unless someone wants to adb pull from their own Z series device.

Zeebrommer 12y ago

If I were to buy a new Sony phone, is there a way to stop this from happening?

hkmurakami 12y ago
If it's the phone (Z3?) in question, it seems that an update that purges this is incoming (though I wouldn't trust it until we have reports proving that this is the case).

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

pacific 12y ago

My girlfriend recently bought an Xperia and a couple weeks later she received a notice from google that someone was blocked when trying to log into her gmail account from China. I wonder if there could be a connection.

theintern 12y ago
It's extremely unlikely that the two are related. Account access attempts from Chinese IP addresses are common for almost everyone on Gmail.

accurrent 12y ago

libbd_push.so is Baidu's push notification service. Admittedly the fact they have to use native libs is a bit shady however if you have a large chinese userbase then GCM isnt really an option.

izacus 12y ago

Can anyone explain why Chinese software like this is branded "spyware", while Google Play and iCloud services aren't? Since it seems the difference is just in the country that spys on me?

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
accurrent 12y ago
Just american idiots round here, Ive prototyped apps using baidu push service (the so called "spyware"). Its just another type of gcm except based in china. GCM servers are at best unreliable in china thanks to censorship.
- eklavya 12y ago
  Or maybe as an Indian I am concerned why my phone has to use Baidu at all, when I am not using any service it provides and the fact that my data is being sent to China without my knowledge?
  - romanovcode 12y ago
    I gotta ask, what difference does it makes where your data is collected - U.S., EU or China?
    - eklavya 12y ago
      I hold EU in very high regards, so far they have not betrayed humanitarian values. China is a concealed demon, however bad you might think US is, China is a hell of a lot more and the reason is simple China is NOT a democracy. So far the actions of both the countries align with this statement. Also I know and agree that my data be collected by US/EU, I wasn't asked when sharing my info to China.
- funkyy 12y ago
  Or maybe people dont want to be spied on by services from basically web un-regulated countries?

SovietPriest 12y ago

Funny so many people call this "spyware" while using smartphones with Google apps/services that feed your data to the NSA. Priorities, people?

sleepyhead 12y ago
The priority is to end companies spying. I agree that Google and NSA is a huge issue too, and that debate has been going on for a long time.

0942v8653 12y ago

Samsung Android phones come with Google spyware? Apple iPhone phones come with Apple iCloud spyware? Google search spyware? Yahoo search spyware? Bing search spyware? Microsoft Windows Phone phones come with Microsoft spyware? It's the same stuff. At least China tells people what they do, instead of leaving people with uncertainty and doubt.

sleepyhead 12y ago
If you buy a phone from Apple it is implied that it will make connections to Apple. To a certain degree off course. However I have not bought a Baidu phone and have not given my consent to be tracked. What is wrong with you people who nitpick in this thread. It is an invasion of privacy and is being done without my consent. That is the important issue here.

Bossman 12y ago

The worst part is that it starts the service and connects to China without your consent or making you aware of it. At least I can turn off Google sync without any issues.

abhishekmdb 12y ago

Indepth analysis : Is Sony’s Xperia smartphone sending back data to China through ‘Baidu’ folder backdoor? http://www.techworm.net/2014/10/sonys-xperia-baidu-folder-autostarting-myxperia.html http://www.techworm.net/2014/10/sonys-xperia-baidu-folder-au...

nyboylx 12y ago

I'm the owner of the new Sony Z3 and even before this new Model , I had the same Baidu folder in my older Sony Xperia S. I don't understand so many talk-talk now and not before ?

nyboylx 12y ago

I'm the owner of the new Sony Z3 and even before this new Model , I had the same Baidu folder in my older Sony Xperia S. I don't understand so many talk-talk now and not before ?

nyboylx 12y ago

I'm the owner of the new Sony Z3 and even before this new Model , I had the same Baidu folder in my older Sony Xperia S. I don't understand so many talk-talk now and not before ?