My frustrating experience and Solution to TimeService, MonkeyTest and other auto-installing Android apps.

Android

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN DETAIL.

I noticed my Android phone (Android 4.2.2) one fateful afternoon had a small white dot by the side of the screen announcing one app called EasyTouch. This app I certainly didn’t install, it installed automatically and I simply uninstalled it. After about an hour, the same app was however found on my device.

For about five days, I was battling with automatic re-installation of this annoying app, which I uninstalled each time it did. I visited Play Store, reported the app, uninstalled it, disabled auto update, changed my phone setting not to allow installation from unknown sources (Settings –> Security—> unchecked “Unknown Sources”), etc. However, nothing I did seemed to work, the app always reinstalled itself after a while.

I finally decided to do a factory reset, but formatted my device’s internal and external storage if perhaps there would be no need to go that extreme. This also didn’t fix the problem, the app always reinstalled itself after some time. Whenever I uninstalled it and restarted my device, “Android is upgrading” would be displayed and then sadly, the app EasyTouch would appear.

I installed KingRoot, rooted my device, stopped apps from starting automatically during boot etc. Other apps stopped loading at boot after changing the setting, unfortunately, the EasyTouch app never did. It always installed back once the phone restarted. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I opted for a factory reset, ensuring I didn’t include the option to automatically restore my apps, yet the app came back. I was angry and frustrated.

If you have experienced this, or something similar, I’ve found a quick solution I hope will work for you until this problem is fixed by whoever is responsible for doing so. I believe Google should do something serious about this considering the permissions the apps automatically inherit.

I discovered the auto-installing app (EasyTouch, in my case) is linked to “TimeService” and “MonkeyTest” and I suspect they attach to the android OS core at boot time. So you need to deal with these two apps (MonkeyTest and TimeService) , plus the one(s) they automatically install. Don’t bother uninstalling, they will always auto-install after a while, which is frustrating.

OK, now you can jump to “The unbelievable solution that worked for me” part of this post to resolve the problem.

However, let me state that I am not an Android expert. I just did something that worked for me and will hopefully work for you. If it does, fine, I’ll be glad to have been of help. However, if it doesn’t, well… I’m sorry, you have to try out something else.

These apps “TimeService” and “MonkeyTest” are reported as threats by good antivirus apps and I believe it’s dangerous having them run on your device freely. They both work together to install random apps on your device. In my case, EasyTouch Classic was the chosen random app and when you check the permissions automatically granted these apps, you will be shocked.

Some have reported other apps that automatically install like mobogenie, DU Speed Booster etc. Here’s the post reporting it.

You can read the details about each of these apps at the end of the post with permissions they get on your device, like ability to read your phone status and identity, to take pictures and even record videos, record audio, track approximate location etc. Don’t freak out yet, get to see the full list of permissions and you will be appalled.

THE UNBELIEVABLE SOLUTION THAT WORKED FOR ME.

To solve the problem and have some peace of mind:

1. Download and install Lucky Patcher on your device (if your phone is rooted, fine, if it’s not don’t bother).

2. Open Lucky Patcher and select “MonkeyTest” from the list of apps displayed

3. Select “Tools” from the list of menu

4. Then select “Disable Package (Freeze)”.

5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for “Time Service” and any other auto-installing apps on your device.

That’s all you’re done. Make sure you don’t uninstall the app, because it always finds it’s way back, but if you want to try, you must be the adventurous type, by all means, go ahead . So for now you won’t get bothered with auto-installing apps until a better solution is provided.

Let me know if this has helped anyone out there.

If you want a permanent solution, you need to flash your device’s stock ROM and restore from a backup if you had one before the apps started auto installing. That’s for the experts I believe.

***PS: Some have reported using Gemini App Manager or Titanium backup pro (instead of Lucky Patcher) to freeze “MonkeyTest”, “TimeService” and other auto-installing apps***

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>

Now to the scary permissions automatically granted these apps on your device. Check them out yourself.

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>

EasyTouch:
Package Name: com.shere.easytouch
App path: /data/app/com.shere.easytouch-1.apk
App’s data path: /data/data/com.shere.easytouch/

Permissions
+ read phone status and identity
+ take pictures and videos
+ record audio
+ approximate location (network based) precise location (GPS and network-based)
+ modify or delete the contents of your SD card
+ disable your screen lock
+ set an alarm
+ change network connectivity, connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi, full network access, view network connections, view Wi-Fi connections
+ access Bluetooth settings, pair with Bluetooth devices
+ close other apps, retrieve running apps, run at startup
+ draw over other apps
+ control flashlight, control vibration
+ read sync settings, toggle sync on and off
+ expand/collapse status bar
+ delete all app cache data, mock location sources for testing, modify system settings, test access to protected storage.
*************************************************************************************************************

Monkey Test:
Package Name: com.android.wp.net.log
App path: /mnt/asec/com.android.wp.net.log-1/pkg.apk
App’s data path: /data/data/com.android.wp.net.log/

Permissions
+ read phone status and identity
+ take pictures and videos
+ modify or delete the contents of your SD card
+ find accounts on the device
+ connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi, full network access, view network connections, view Wi-Fi connections
+ take pictures and videos (system service)
+ close other apps
+ install shortcuts, modify system settings, test access to protected storage
*************************************************************************************************************

TimeService:
Package Name: com.android.hardware.ext0
App path: /mnt/asec/com.android.hardware.ext0-1/pkg.apk
App’s data path: /data/data/com.android.hardware.ext0

Permissions
+ read phone status and identity
+ modify or delete the contents of your SD card
+ full network access, view network connections, view Wi-Fi connections
+ modify system settings, test access to protected storage.

If EasyTouch is the auto-installing app on your device, you may also find a file in your internal or external storage named mobclick_agent_cached_com.shere.easytouch

If this has helped you, let me know.