Can GrapheneOS Save Me?

p0well34

[deleted]
Can Tails be downladed using a GOS Pixel?

blackpill

p0well34 I don't see why not. As a general practice, I'd want to use a second (clean) system for verifying the checksum and PGP sig.

@stalked-for-the-last-18-months that's a pretty crazy story. I would consider getting rid of all the smart / IoT stuff and adopt a more minimalistic technical lifestyle. The persistence aspect is interesting. Especially with regards to the other devices becoming compromised. Was there a mobile profile installed to the iPhone?

[deleted]

p0well34 Yes but im not sure how to flash it onto an USB stick from that point onward. Im certain its possible somehow though.. Maybe with termux? Can we even modify partitions of OTG drives from android?

stalked-for-the-last-18-months

blackpill Yes. But initially the reason they were able to get into all my devices was my own ignorance of security at the time. (Still am, it's a process.) I was using the same Password on all devices with just a different # after it. I just never had any problems, so I thought, "Who cares?"
However, after I was able to secure or replace all the devices I still, every 2-3 months, get my phones compromised. I lived without a phone for almost 4 months, but after 18 months this crap is getting old. I don't know how but they always get in. There are 2 devices that always show up when i scan BT. I think they have a receiver hidden somewhere near/outside of my house, and they just spoof my car/BT Speaker after they see my signal and then get access that way. I'm not sure though.

p0well34

Thank you both for replying. I was actually thinking about using the transfer adapter that came with the device to connect the USB Drive and then downloading directly to that path. I guess downloading it first and transferring on to the USB might work as well as long as it's possible.

[deleted]

p0well34 That is not the case unfortunately. You get an IMG file which's contents have to be mirrored to the flash drive. You need to extract it to the disk properly.

p0well34

[deleted]
Thanks again. I'll give it a shot as you described. I'm pretty sure my PC is clean so either way. I'll try with the cell first and report back.

raccoondad

stalked-for-the-last-18-months "I badly need GrapheneOS to literally save me!/iphones can't be hacked" an operating system cannot save you and this is a bad way of looking at security.

I agree with yodec. Install a live system like Tails until you figure out what's wrong.

We can't really help you without more info, but if you really want to 'power wash'/'wipe' everything that could be infected in an extreme way:

I would suggest backing up important documents (non-executables) onto a storage device. Reinstall your OS on your laptop (can make a bootable windows installer USB fairly easily.) If you really think there is a firmware based rootkit in your computer then I would buy a new laptop (rare for firmware based attacks but I guess they do happen in the wild its not impossible)

Note your important/infected online accounts, change their password and use a password manager. KeepassXC is a good one. If you use the same password for each account then thats how they probably got in to your bank/roku/etc.

Contact your bank if you haven't yet, tell them you were breached and need help. The money that's stolen is usually insured. (FDIC protects up to $250,000 so i'm pretty sure you can get that $50K back)

If you are really, REALLY, R E A L L Y sure they got into your router. Buy a new one, or contact your ISP if you have one of theirs and ask for a new one.

Security is not a case of things being 'unhackable' and that word is a misunderstanding of the concepts behind it. I would read up on common security practices for individuals. The best two I can give are:

Don't download (and execute) software you can't 100% trust. Assume the software could do anything to your computer and you are trusting the people who wrote it to not mess something up (intentionally or unintentionally)

Use different passwords/security identifiers for each account. Try to use 2FA/U2F/FIDO wherever you can.

Another thing, 'you include an ID when its installed", are you referring to the boot key ID? You don't have to give any 'ID' when installing GOS so im a bit confused.

Last thing I would say. There's some red flags in your post of strong paranoia. Constantly feeling watched, thinking people in your life (girlfriend, neighbors, etc.) are out to get you, etc. are sort of warning signs. Then again, I would tweak out a bit if I lost $50K TBF. I would just contact your bank and try to get FDIC insurance on that lost money.

But I would talk with a health care provider once you do, if for anything, because paranoia/fear is 100% a possible wedge in a social engineering situation. Think those calls you get from time to time that say 'Hello, we are [your power company] IF YOU DON'T PAY $1000 DOLLARS IN THE NEXT HOUR WE WILL CUT OFF ALL ELECTRICITY FOREVER', fear is very exploitable.

stalked-for-the-last-18-months

raccoondad Thank you for reply. FYI, most of the device hacking and compromises were at the beginning, 18 months ago, because I new NOTHING of security. It cost me a lot and I have not ever fully recovered.
I have abandoned my career because it requires constant computer work.
I have worked a total of 5 out of the last 18 months.
Every time things start to go well, I think, "I'm going to try and get another phone again. Maybe they gave up?" And within 30-60 days ... the device is compromised. I think they have a receiver hidden somewhere near/outside of my house, and they just spoof my car/BT Speaker after they see my signal and then get access that way. I'm not sure though.
I am also very much aware of how this sounds. One of the secondary effects of this has been the lack of support/skepticism by others. Most know nothing of what is possible on their smart devices.
Sometimes, I would tell myself that maybe others are right, and I'm just traumatized by this and very paranoid.
So, I try and "act" as if it isn't happening but when my settings change or my Apple ID changes, or phone installs strange apps and I notice that I'm on a "Work" account when I never set one up ... It tells me something else.
Additionally, ... I also know that ALL these have possible answers outside of a targeted attack. If that's true ... if I'm so screwed up from that initial hack that I see hacks everywhere ... then I need some serious help. Because it seems awfully real to me!

dln949

stalked-for-the-last-18-months To answer the question, Can GrapheneOS save you? The answer is "No", it is only a piece of software.

I don't know your skillset, the work you need to do. My advice is, if possible for you, to consider no longer having so much of your life online or embedded in devices. My belief is that on net electronic devices have harmed our societies and sickened individuals' minds, and caused a lot of havoc. The more you have things interconnected, not only are you more vulnerable, but the risk is high that you become less of a healthy individual. Social media is especially poisonous to individuals, families, and society - I advise you to flee from it. Life can be lived very happily and more carefree - and even more fully - without a cashapp on your phone, or simply walking to a light switch to turn on a light, etc.

Perhaps you'd be happier with a dumbphone, I do believe they have a place, I know many who have testified that one of the best things they ever did was to eschew smartphones in exchange for a dumbphone. I do not recommend this particular one, I simply include a link to it here to give you an idea of what I'm talking about: https://www.thelightphone.com/ But there are many other worthy candidates.

I've been in your position of having been hacked, it is not fun. People obtained information and were so brazen/idiotic they attempted to impersonate me in my own bank (fortunately the teller remembered me and knew it wasn't me). But unless we're high value corporate targets (I'm not), or national security assets (I'm not), or organized crime associates (I'm not), no one is going to waste his time following us around, parking outside our homes, etc. (Good grief!!! What an awful, boring way to waste a day!) My advice is to keep very careful watch and super strict control over your feelings of anxiety so you are the master of them instead of the other way around, because then those anxieties will really do a number on your mind.

stalked-for-the-last-18-months

[deleted] Thank you. I actually ran across Tails about a week ago on YouTube and was going to do that. Thank you for reminding me and for the advice!

blackpill

stalked-for-the-last-18-months well if you're not doing anything illegal, you might want to considered engaging with law enforcement to see if they can help. It kind of sounds to me like the criminals might live in close proximity to you.
Do your any of your neighbor's kids happen to have blue hair?

raccoondad

blackpill "Do your any of your neighbor's kids happen to have blue hair?", how would that relate to anything?

The probability of the attacker being physically present isn't 0, and while physical access is going to create a wider range of attack potentials, it's really uncommon and I would bet it's not the case. It still would not answer what/how/why they are doing what they are doing.

Physical access is very helpful in exploitation a network/device, but even if I have root in a router the information I could skim from that would be limited. A router may be able to spoof IPs, but it can't fake certificates.

These attacks may also be disconnected. OP could you verify if you use strong, random, and unique per site passwords for your accounts? Specifically, the ones that have been targeted in your attacks.

If some amount of personal information and your passwords were leaked, then these attacks may just be that. While most online services (like your bank) can catch fraud even if an attacker has your password i'm sure there are ways around it. If your social security, address, etc. were leaked they may of been able to get through fraud checking anyways.

I'm not sure if BT is the answer in how you are being attacked but it can't hurt to keep it disabled. I would recommend disabling it for the time being just to cut out a potential issue.

Also OP, did you contact your bank about yout $50K? I imagine having that can help your stress a bit.

Contact the police as well, if you lost $50K then they can 100% help you with outright fraud. Its a felony to commit fraud thats over $500. We can't really help you, we don't know what's going on really. Police can

Blastoidea

stalked-for-the-last-18-months

Wow!

RedHenry

Did all this start on an Apple device? My devices were hacked during the Apple Zero Day Breach, August 2022. My life has been hell trying to figure things out.

stalked-for-the-last-18-months

RedHenry YES. It did. Ieven called Apple and at that time they said they could not be hacked! Lol. 4 months later, i'm watching the news and i find out that they knew the whole time that they had a security flaw. That was first time i heard the term "0-Day".

stalked-for-the-last-18-months

Quick update.
I still have GOS on phone. I don't use it much.
I don't use BT or download anything. I only have the stock Apps that come with GOS.
Started seeing Therapist once a week.
Taking it day-by-day.
We'll see how it goes.

raccoondad

stalked-for-the-last-18-months Good to hear!

Have you contacted the police? Your bank? Etc.

You can get that money back since you have state backed insurance

someone1223

Holy hell!

Ngl that's almost unbelievable. If I were you, this is what I'd do.

Upon realising the hack, immediately contact the bank to lock down my account to keep my money safe. That's priority zero.

Then disconnect the internet and turn off ALL electronic devices. Go out and buy a new flash drive if you suspect your flash drives might be infected. Then, get to a trusted friend/relative and get a fresh linux OS boot drive. Go to your apartment, boot from the OS and wipe the partition table itself of the hard disk. Install the linux OS and test drive it for a few days. Use your friend's internet if you think your router is hacked.

If your device looks fine, now let's turn to the router. If it's provided by ISP, call them and inform that you qre locked out of your router. If you can, buy a new one. THEN ONLY CONNECT YOUR LAPTOP TO YOUR NETWORK. DO NOT CONNECT ANY OTHER DEVICE BACK FOR NOW.

Now your phone. Buy a new pixel, use your now cleaned laptop and network to install GOS. Then configure that phone to use your network. Throw away your old phone, preferably destroy it to get rid of sensitive info.

Now that you are connected back, you can lockdown your PC and mobile to a high degree with firewall and such so that other devices in your network can hack back in. Still, if you worry replace ALL smart devices in your home once network is clean.

BS: DO NOT EVER CONNECT INFECTED DEVICES WITH CLEANED/NEW DEVICES. TREAT INFECTED DEVICES LIKE A BIOHAZARD.

N1b

This is very sad to read and I hope you'll find peace and can have a somewhat regular life again in the future! There's only one thing I wanted to add to the discussion since I didn't read about it here: If you are in the USA, you probably want to do a credit freeze if you haven't done it already. Someone with that level of access to your life could easily impersonate you and borrow a lot of money in your name. It's generally recommended for privacy to do that as US citizen, no matter whether you are targeted or not.