Malicious apps can hose Android phones, erase data

arstechnica.com

8 pointsilhackernews3 comments

Well, current Android versions support starting the device in safe mode, not executing any third-party apps then, so that you can remove misbehaving apps. Looks like this is made exactly for such situations. Though I'm not sure if that mode is available on all devices, might depend on OS and boot loader.

That attack is then annoying and might cause device wipes due to not knowing that option, but looks not that blocking then. Google might also filter that attack by looking for that in their Google Play app check routine.

I don't think 'safe mode' is an Android thing. Are you referring to a Sony device? They seem to have some sort of safe mode.

It's definitely not vendor specific since I've seen manuals for various devices.

When successfully started Android, you should be able to access it by long-pressing the power button to get into a popup menu, then long-tapping on the power off text button there. Also different hardware key combinations might work while booting.

Also, just speculative, Android itself might detect a boot loop or crashes while booting and then automatically restart into safe mode.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com