Boox "Phone Home" Issue? What Is It And How To Solve It (KSync Process)

[@angal26]

Hi Voja, this is an awesome video! You’ve convinced me to get a Tab Ultra and also MDO. This video totally addresses the “phoning home” conversations over the past months. Thank you so much for your dedication, research, demonstration, and recommendation to by pass this issue. Fantastic video!

[@JoesStyle]

FYI, In order to follow you video, I did need to get the pro version.Thanks for the video! You rock...

[@MyDeepGuide]

Thank you for the heads up. As I mentioned, I wasn't sure which features are Pro and which are not, since I've had NetGuard pro for several years.

[@victorcotu]

Using netguard to block network access to another android app it is ok, but you cannot expect netguard to block any malicious action done by the operating system that is installed by the device's manufacturer itself. The OS can circumvent any measure that netguard may apply. Same thing about logging network traffic using netguard.

[@crasheba1533]

Exactly this. Also some people are saying "the file the device is sending is too tiny to contain a lot of data" but they forget it could be compressed and encrypted in a way the file could contain a lot of information once decrypted (and decompressed) in China. We don't really know what kind of software (maybe military grade) they could de using when making these devices for spying. This is just a theory but we don't really know because they don't let us know what kind of information they're obtaining/analyzing from us. And "the West is doing the same" is not an excuse to not comply with international laws.

[@elf4600]

I love your gestures and your way of communicating. transmit a lot of tranquility while I listen to you. Thank you for your work.

[@harewoodm]

You are a lifesaver. You helped me set things up when I got my Note 3 but I missed the key steps you pointed out in this video. I love my Note 3 and getting this straightened out makes things even better. Now...can't wait for news about the new MDO :D

[@dtndtndtndtn]

Another way to prevent ksync from running is to disable it with adb commands. It can take some work to set up the adb shell but it should mean you don't have to have netguard running all the time.

[@MyDeepGuide]

Cool tip!

[@rexlai8438]

I have tried to uninstall ksync with adb commands. The Boox Push function will break, the "Login to Boox account" function will also break.

[@dtndtndtndtn]

@@rexlai8438 OH yeah sorry I don't use those features so I didn't know.

[@bradleystone6498]

Voja, I love your work, BUT ... saying that the concern over Chinese intellectual property theft is absurd is ... unfair. China has the largest intellectual property theft record in the history of mankind, and spends an enormous amount of money on its spying infrastructure. If we write anything of value, the concern is a fair one. That being said, this is a great video, and I am very happy that you put it together. Kudos to you, and I am looking forward to the next MDO.

[@MyDeepGuide]

I think you may have misunderstood me. What I said is absurd is the notion that a secret process on a Boox device is sending user's notebook data to a server in China where a person is then looking over that data and... Well, that's where these internet theories usually fall completely apart. This is the sort of nonsense that people are spreading online, and I just wanted to kinda address that ridiculous aspect of it. Nothing we write is of value to anyone but ourselves and our immediate social and professional circle, and no human is manually going over the data. Our behavioral profile data is far, far, far more valuable than any scribble made on any of these devices. This is the point that seems to elude the majority still, and I'm surprised at that, as it's a very well documented and covered topic, and has been for several years now. What you said tracks (about privacy invasions done in China), but this is done and has been done by every single western tech giant, first. There is a reason why every tech giant has been transformed into a data collection and trading business over the past decade. China is, as usual, just trailing along and behind the "pioneers" such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, they just care less at hiding it.

[@jonidimo]

I love Voja work too, BUT ... intellectual property by itself is a theft. Do you have any idea of how the big companies prevents the third world countries to develop their own technology? Do you have any idea of patent-trolls? Did you ever read the ricetec case? All those laws were made only to benefit the big companies that already have power, not to defend the inventors.

[@timbolicous]

Hear hear. China LOVES our IP and their companies MUST obey if asked to spy. Also: why do your notes DISAPPEAR when you're logged out of sync? What app DOES that? Its clearly to discourage people from logging out. Luckily you can turn off that feature and just backup locally (See Reddit).

[@timbolicous]

​@@MyDeepGuide 1) Labour in China is cheap and 2) they can use data analysis to zero in on targets they wish to drill down on. How do you think the CCP manages to very QUICKLY find social media posts they don't like and block them - right down to the use of certain phrases? They can just use automatic metadata analysis to decide whose data they will bother looking at. For example: 'is this person connected to any companies we are interested in?' How do you think US agencies rake through all the massive data THEY collect? (See Snowden revelations). Not so hard.

[@maziasty]

@@MyDeepGuide wow you're a straw man

[@slivkask8329]

Hello Voja, thank you very much for your effort and dedication you put into the video! 👍

[@lencalhoun1614]

Thanks for the detailed vid. I just got a Note Air 3 c, and NetGuard doesn’t show a single Ksync icon. Must I purchase the Pro version to see it? Is it possible the new Note Air 3 c doesn’t have the “phoning home”issue anymore?

[@ahuachapan2]

The size of the sent packets doesn't mean anything. A stolen password has only a few bytes, also credit card info has only a few digits. It should be interesting a wireshark detailed packet analysis. Thanks Voya.

[@MyDeepGuide]

Well if you are sending sensitive data over an unencrypted protocol, then yes, but this is true of any device that has connection to the internet.

[@maziasty]

@@MyDeepGuide if boox intercepts keyboard input through its own keyboard app what does it matter if the connection is encrypted or not

[@CyrilJap]

Something strange just happened on my Tab Ultra. It showed a message saying PDF export (or something like that) but I wasn’t creating any PDF. I checked the documents, and there was a new pdf of one of my notes. I opened it, the file has a long name, random letters and numbers. Then the PDF disappeared from my documents. I looked for it, the path was ksync something, but just a minute later, it was gone again, nowhere to be found, and the opened PDF file path says : [the original note is abnormal]. It’s there, but has no path anymore! Then I looked for ksync and found your video. I use a sub account and no sensitive information on my BOOX, so I’m not worried, but I wouldn’t trust it with my real google account.

[@Robkellysound]

Has something changed here? Ksync now has 1000 in its details, and in NetGuard there is a "Filter Related" button, which now means that a host of other system apps also get blocked such as "Android System". On this video, ksync has 10146. It is now 1000, at least since the latest update as of April 2023.

[@andrewjazdzyk1215]

Thanks for this video, I just downloaded this last night actually (I'm mostly concerned about my research) and this was very helpful.

[@juznapruga018]

Brate, milina te je slušati.👍

[@Tegatreides]

hi. thank you for the video. the method has a bit of a problem though if u actually want to use a vpn.

[@jumpsneak]

I see notifications on my boox from ksync about automatic pdf exporting, so its probably a process for syncing files

[@rcmrcm3370]

QQ is the China equivalent of AOL or IE chat service, so I'm guessing they are using QQ's platform to at as a server exchange.

[@rcmrcm3370]

banned by Trump Admin from USA. Same for Al i pay which was pinged. Interesting.

[@rcmrcm3370]

Possibly some sort of permission management for ebook platform/encrypted docs, or just payment like is done with cell phones in China.

[@elf4600]

Hello, I have tried to follow the thread of your video but I do not understand English well and sometimes the translator does not do his job well. I just wanted to know if there is a major problem with the Boox Note 2 because I saw in another video of yours that you commented that it lacked legal stamps to sell it in Europe and even so, due to a legal vacuum that you mention, they sell it. Does this model seem more likely to have this problem that you mention in the video? Thanks. Nice viedos.

[@MyDeepGuide]

I think it might be a translation error, as I don't know of any such legal issues you have mentioned and I didn't really talk about that. So, I'm not sure what you mean.

[@elf4600]

@@MyDeepGuide Thanks. It's complicated with google translate sometimes. I also thank you for your interest. It is that in the back where it has the copyrights there is a symbol, similar to an e that in the Note 2 plus device, you comment that it appears tripled but in the note 2, you comment that it does not have it and that it has to be for some void legal because to sell the Note 2 in Europe, it should have this seal, the same as the Note 2 plus device that does have the seal on the back.

[@MyDeepGuide]

I think you must have mixed my video with someone else's :)

[@omegix]

I think I followed these steps identically, but when I disabled ksync netgaurd also disabled a bunch of other apps, like Keychain, Input Devices, Dynamic System Updates, and others. Maybe it's a difference between the pro and regular version, or maybe it's a new dependency in the latest firmware?

[@MyDeepGuide]

Could very well be the dependency of the new update, as the launch process is the main synchronization process that synchronizes the tablet data with your data in the cloud account.

[@angal26]

same for me as well… non pro version here

[@GokhanCvs]

Hi Voja, thank you for the information. Did you had chance to check NetGuard's effect on the battery life. Thank you.

[@MyDeepGuide]

No, I didn't have the chance to do detailed testing, but I am sure that it will have some kind of effect. Disabling the log will definitely lower that impact.

[@TheMarkRich]

They refuse to issue the android source code as they are required. Without this use of android is prohibited so it's not surprising they phone home with data.

[@MyDeepGuide]

What data, exactly?

[@dowcmathis]

Thanks for posting this, Voja. Like you, I'm bothered by not knowing what a process is, who's it is, and what it's doing. Also, thanks for the brief tutorial to NetGuard. I wasn't aware of this tool, and I've added it to my toolkit.

[@maximusmj]

Did you use wireshark for the analysis?

[@MyDeepGuide]

I researched it, but I didn't like it. I ended up in the command prompt in the end to get what I wanted :) basically the biggest part of the job is to identify the IP on your router of the device you are looking for. Once you have that (and you make sure it's set to static IP, while doing the tests), it's easy to monitor its outbound activity.

[@littleartimes121]

I'm more worried about battery issues been have reporting on reddit and Facebook. At its price point having the possibility of battery swelling after only 1 years is disheartening. Especially since Im still using my kindle keyboard since it's release.

[@MyDeepGuide]

Well, I've had my Note Air 1 for almost 2 years now, Nova Air for almost a year and a half and my Poke 2 for over 2 years and none of the devices had any issues of any kind, and batteries are running normally on all 3. Now there are people who will put the device into a high consumption mode and fast charge ate the same time and if you keep doing that, any battery will eventually die, because what you're doing is basically killing the battery that way, and I do know that most of those complaints were people using the device as an external monitor while plugged into a charger and exposed to the sun. Now of course, faulty batteries do happen as well, but I can say that from my personal experience I've never had an issue like that in normal everyday use.

[@tobefree3718]

It’s important to recognise that all this is being shaped and in large part being driven by Sinophobia. Google, Facebook etc are among the most nefarious organisations we have seen emerge in recent decades. Yet people login, sync, trust without such debates.

[@MyDeepGuide]

I'd add Microsoft and Apple as well, to the list of the "leaders" in this. Yet, magically, no accusations against them, just flatline acceptance. I wonder if Boox was from Germany and everything else was exactly the same, how much lower the level of noise and misinformation would be? (queue in below a torrent of comments of people going mental about how China and Germany are not the same, which isn't the point, nor am I saying that in the first place... But when did common sense matter online, eh?) :)

[@tobefree3718]

@@MyDeepGuide yes exactly Voja. We are in an information war and clearly Silicon Valley is very very nervous about the dramatically improving Tech consumer industry in China. Their products are now often better and cheaper than East Asian competitors and the US. We are seeing a rerun of the fear and xenophobia constructed around Japan in the 1970-80s on the back of their tech industry far outperforming the west. Huawei was attacked in large part because it was the leading force in the digital Silk Road infrastructure roll out from 2017 onwards. Accusations of state led surveillance were no doubt valid but also dramatically inflated because of the geopolitical ramifications of building an IT regional infrastructure. Consumers are now part of the propaganda war. On both sides. And that leaves people blind to the fact that everyone’s spying, data mining. And thus, Surveilling.

[@timbolicous]

'Whataboutism'

[@johnserpo9267]

Having a VPN/firewall running in the background at all time will definitely drained the battery faster.

[@lingodrive]

Thanks for the advice and the implementation of NetGuard

[@timbolicous]

You have to LOG IN TO THEIR SERVER to get your own notes! Who cares about 'phoning home' in the background when this is the case? Your notes are ON THEIR SERVER. I stopped using my Air2 because of this MONTHS AGO. I can't trust confidential business info on a Chinese server. I really hope this video deals with that aspect too. Fingers crossed.

[@jytou]

You don’t have to. They offer a sync service, but you can use other sync services. You can even have your own WebDav.

[@ernestintownandjackintheco1024]

I had a different and much easier solve: I returned my Boox and purchased a Supernote and haven’t looked back 😄

[@MyDeepGuide]

And how do you know it doesn't "phone home" = ping the same storage servers? :) The whole point of this video was to address this issue once and for all, as the amount of misinformation on the topic is ridiculous.

[@ernestintownandjackintheco1024]

@@MyDeepGuide True. In fact, I asked that question on Ratta’s very active subReddit but of course there were no definitive replies. Yes, there is quite a bit of misinformation. I’m not particularly concerned about it; if China wants in on my Latin practice notes, they are welcome to them!

[@MyDeepGuide]

Exactly my point as well :) It's refreshing to hear a common sense attitude these days :)

[@PACotnoir1]

@@ernestintownandjackintheco1024 Etiam, In vino, veritas est!!!

[@ernestintownandjackintheco1024]

@@PACotnoir1 nunc est bibendum!

[@noobahoi]

It's not normal and it's a scandal. I don't use the synchronization of Onyx, and I only use offline e-books and an open-source browser. Why the hell would it be 'normal' for an App to 'phone home'? It's none of their business what I do. Firmware updates could be understandable but for that they would only check it one time. As you are an Onyx partner, did you mention it to them? I will complain to Onyx about this behavior. F*ck them! :(

[@MyDeepGuide]

Did you not see that all apps that use a login of some sort behave in the same way? Or that doesn't matter? Wether or not you use a login doesn't matter, as the app is programmed to check if it has communication to a server or server services, and to cycle that check periodically. Why isn't it a scandal for you that the KZbin app is doing it? Or the Kindle app is doing it? Or the Google Play Services are doing it? Or that Audible is doing it? Can you clarify that to me, as I don't understand the logic behind what you are saying, thank you.

[@noobahoi]

@@MyDeepGuide It is also a scandal that KZbin or Kindle or Google Play do it. I don't use most of these apps. I also don't use Google Play for Onyx and use F-Droid instead. If I am fine with such a behavior on my phone I would have no problem. So with all due respect, this is a whataboutism and won't make the behavior better. ;) The point is for a primary e-ink device I don't use KZbin and I primarily use it for reading. And with an open source browser (E-ink Bro). So why should my reader send a lot of data to China? It's a matter of data economy and privacy.

[@MyDeepGuide]

Well, then you should write the same complaint to Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and while you're at it, since it's the same kind of a thing, so might as well cover all of the grounds :)

[@noobahoi]

@@MyDeepGuide I don't use Google Android and Windows so I don't think it's the same. I also don't use a Tesla with it's data horrors.

[@MyDeepGuide]

How are you not using Google when you have a KZbin account you are posting from right now, and it's algorithm is collecting, analyzing, and updating your behavioral profile that they have stored on their servers with each new click, or keystroke?

[@Vi6Jewel]

"Tencent Building" == Chinese Government :)

[@bilonggrisimmeri]

This is far too complicated. I did not understand any of what is in this video. I own a Boox Note Air2 Plus and have not registered with the store, because I only read free ebooks. I never switch on WiFi in my Air 2, and only use it with my WiFi router switched off. That's probably about the best a non computer literate person like me can manage.

[@MyDeepGuide]

It absolutely is, and if someone has similar concerns, keeping a device offline is the first thing I recommend, because it's simple and 100% under your control :)

[@timbolicous]

Its really not that hard and he shows you all the steps at the end (except one step may be wrong). 1. Install the app. 2. Hit okay each time you're asked. 3. Make sure its not getting turned off to save power (it TAKES YOU THERE and is also shown in vid). 4. Turn it on by moving the button. 5. Search for Ksync app. 6. Press the two symbols that look like wifi signals. 7. Make sure the app autostarts. Done. I remember all that just from watching the video. NOTE: a user pointed out that its INCORRECT to untick 'rules and conditions' and Voja seems to have agreed, so ignore that bit of the video.

[@Kallasticot]

If you are concerned with privacy, why don't you just stop using the Internet? That's a solution that works.