so, i think that the netbook is set up to go. but i found something else...

i expected this phone to ship with something on it, and always intended to wipe it down before i seriously used it; it was cheap and from china, and i knew the thing was compromised. i didn't get the chance to do this (learn how to do this. but i'm quick with this stuff.) before i had to use it to contact my isp in late 2017. but, i had the foresight to actually ban the device from logging in to my google account at the time; i wasn't able to log in last october because the device was banned (i had forgotten and remembered afterwards), and it's part of the reason i bought the netbook. i changed my password as soon as i got back on. i haven't turned the phone on since october, and the first thing i noticed was some weird apps i didn't recognize, and some trips to the google music store that i definitely didn't do myself.

i don't even have a credit card to steal, and i haven't used the phone to buy anything, so i'm not really exposed to much. but, there's no sim card in the device. how is it phoning home?

at the same time, the device claimed there hadn't been any network traffic since oct 7, so it seems more like the apps activated and couldn't get anywhere...

i dunno. i reset the thing. but, a little research has pulled up this chinese spyware company that actually installed the thing in the image. so, i have to root this device and delete it.

in truth, i'm going to see if i can image the thing flat up; i have some pretty deep os experience, and i've played with linux, but i don't know much about phones, specifically. i'm going to have to teach myself how to do this. so, there's another detour.

i need a nap, though.