Brian's Samsung Galaxy S9

Phone brand
Samsung
Phone model
Galaxy S9
Phone unlock
Security & Privacy Apps
ESET Mobile Security and Zemana Mobile Antivirus (Pro)
Browser
Google Chrome, Firefox Focus

Lightning_Brian

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Sep 1, 2017
742
Just upgraded my phone to a new Samsung Galaxy S9 - 64 GB onboard storage.

Currently using the following as my case: Pelican Shield. Link: Shield Galaxy S9 | Pelican

The case is rock solid and I would recommend it to everyone! I didn't pay the full sticker price for the case, but this is a military grade case that surpasses all specifications that the military requires. I'm also using the following for my screen protector: Galaxy S9 Screen Protector Glass, amFilm 3D Curved Dot Matrix Full-Screen Samsung Galaxy S9 Tempered Glass Screen Protector (5.8") 2018 with Easy Application Tray (NOT S9 PLUS) (Case Friendly).

Both my case and the screen protector are covered under "lifetime" replacement warranties. I know without a doubt Pelican honors their warranty requests as I have heard about their great warranty agreements with consumers and those within our military. amFilm also has lifetime replacement warranty that must be registered.

I'm liking the fact that this phone is secured with Knox military-grade security. Read more about Knox here: Military-Grade Phone: How DoD Standards Honed Samsung Knox

Additional security that I have installed on the phone: ESET Mobile Security, Zemana Mobile Antivirus (Pro), AdGuard Pro, and Windscribe Pro (VPN).

Anyone hear or know when Android version 8.1 will be released?!

Overall I believe the Samsung Galaxy S9 is one of the best phones on the market!

~Brian
 

Lightning_Brian

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Sep 1, 2017
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@JM Security @harlan4096 What are your thoughts about keeping ESET and Zemana? I have been using both for many years without any issues.

@gery79 Thanks for the recommendation.

@lowdetection thanks for the advice about Authy as a 2FA. Anyone else here use it?! Seems really nice. I may go for this as the backup capabilities is a good thing. Less of a pain that way. Would have made the phone upgrade faster! lol

~Brian
 

JM Safe

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Apr 12, 2015
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Hey Brian, good config :), I agree with harlan, it is better to disable Zemana. Use Zemana on-demand frequently (and always check updates, both Zemana version and signatures engine, because even if an app is considered safe on a first scan, on a further scan it can be considered malicious because of signatures updates).
 
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Lightning_Brian

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Sep 1, 2017
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Not the latest news, but might find interesting.


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samsung.android.lool
At least it's Ad-Free.


Very intersting @Spawn ! Whats your thoughts about CCleaner for phone? I know their rep. got hit a bit when they got "hacked" (per say). However, I don't know if their phone app got hit too or not. Seems like millions of folks use it.

@JM Security @harlan4096 I have noticed a little bit of batter improvement after disabeling the "Premium" features of ZAM on my phone. Thanks again for the tip.

@lowdetection I have tried looking at the app, but it is currently saying its not available in the USA..... Bummer!! NOTE: "This item isn't available in your country." Looks like its getting some good rep. though. 100,000+ downloads so that is a good sign. Seems like a great app.

~Brian
 

lowdetection

Level 7
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Jul 1, 2017
317
You can find it on fdroid, "usually behind of some versions", or on apkmirror "usually updated", both sources are secure.
 
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RoboMan

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My mate @Lightning_Brian amazing purchase, nicely done! I bought myself the S8+. My sister owns the new S9+.

Let me first tell you Samsung usually does no small version updates, like 8.0 to 8.1, just on specific phones (like Note). Unless it's strictly necessary you will probably jump to 9.0.

What I have installed right now is the following:

  • ESET Mobile Security
  • NordVPN
  • ARP Guard (WiFi Security)
  • Files Go
  • LastPass
  • AdGuard (lifetime license)
  • SDelete (for permanently deleting files)
  • Google Authenticator
  • bxActions (to disable the useless Bixby button)
 

lowdetection

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Jul 1, 2017
317
Used ARP Guard too until sometime ago, then I replaced with dd-wrt one:

chrome_2018-06-03_14-10-42.png
 
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Ink

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Jan 8, 2011
22,361
Whats your thoughts about CCleaner for phone? I know their rep. got hit a bit when they got "hacked" (per say). However, I don't know if their phone app got hit too or not. Seems like millions of folks use it.
As far as I know, it was only CCleaner for desktop that made Windows 32-bit a target.

I recommend using the default Device Maintenance app provided by Samsung, or none at all. Android 7 and up have improved Storage and Memory management than out-dated versions of Android. However, there are some good apps out there if you want to try out. SD Maid and Norton Clean.

Don't use CCleaner for Android, it used to OK before Avast got their hands on them. The similarities between Android-versions of CCleaner and Avast Cleanup are almost identical.
 

Lightning_Brian

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Sep 1, 2017
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@RoboMan Thanks! We have quite similar configurations there. How do you like ARP Guard? Personally, I haven't used that application before. However, it looks quite interesting!

@upnorth Indeed Knox is enabled by default. (If I'm wrong about this someone please correct me!!) To the best of my knowledge the Knox security is integrated within the OS of the phone even. Add everything else that I have taken for security and my phone is nicely locked down.

@lowdetection What are you using now? You mentioned your using a DD-WRT application on your phone or is this on your router?

@Spawn Good deal! Norton Clean seems quite nice. I may consider adding that to my phone for cleanup of stuff. I may put Norton Security (paid version) on my phone, because I have a open license for it based on my current subscription.

Anyone here have any positives or negatives about Noron Security (paid version) for Android? I'm currently rolling with ESET Mobile Seucrity (free) and that application is quite light. I'm thinking Norton's paid version may take a bit more juice (battery) from my phone.

Thanks!

Brian
 

Ink

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Jan 8, 2011
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Good deal! Norton Clean seems quite nice. I may consider adding that to my phone for cleanup of stuff. I may put Norton Security (paid version) on my phone, because I have a open license for it based on my current subscription.

Anyone here have any positives or negatives about Noron Security (paid version) for Android? I'm currently rolling with ESET Mobile Seucrity (free) and that application is quite light. I'm thinking Norton's paid version may take a bit more juice (battery) from my phone.
I only use Bitdefender Free Antivirus for Android, because it suits my needs and not overly featured. Since I'm now on Android Oreo (previously Marshmallow), I no longer use Cleaners.

If you want to check out Files Go by Google, it has some neat features (Free up space, Find files, Backup and Send).
Get: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.nbu.files
 

upnorth

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Jul 27, 2015
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@upnorth Indeed Knox is enabled by default. (If I'm wrong about this someone please correct me!!) To the best of my knowledge the Knox security is integrated within the OS of the phone even. Add everything else that I have taken for security and my phone is nicely locked down.
Nice. (y) With Galaxy Xcover 4 it's not on by default or at least not in my country. It's a good feature and highly recommended.
 

RoboMan

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Jun 24, 2016
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@RoboMan Thanks! We have quite similar configurations there. How do you like ARP Guard? Personally, I haven't used that application before. However, it looks quite interesting!
It's definitely great, it even notifies you about Wi-Fi security events. I love it and use it everytime I connect to an unknown network.
 

lowdetection

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Jul 1, 2017
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That is my router, dd-wrt is based on Linux, as you can see from this putty session, this rom provide ARP Spoofing protection capabilities to all clients connected to it.

There is also an Android app called dd-wrt companion for it, I usually authenticate inside it using a private-public key mechanism through SSH port 22.

explorer_2018-06-03_18-55-36.png
 
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