don't give your phone to anyone even for a minute. such spy software can be installed on your phone within seconds! Be aware of such spy software e.g. www.thespyphone.com
don't give your phone to anyone even for a minute. such spy software can be installed on your phone within seconds! Be aware of such spy software e.g. www.thespyphone.com
how do we find out if your phone is being tapped and how can we remove it?
Oohhh,,,,scary! Hey, it's your TV ya gotta be careful with! I can send this guy and aluminum cone to duck under when he makes a call.
There may be a hole in the Bluetooth connection that can be compromised, so keep it off.
How many calls did people make before cells? Gotta stop at a phone booth, or get out of your seat to use the home line.
Magic Jack? All internet, all open to any semi literate hacks.
So who are all these people who must get their hands on all these compromised phones to download the spyware? I have a phone and it goes to no one's hands but mine?
And I certainly would not hand it to anyone I know at work -- because it is always in my pocket?
Seems to me all these hacked users must be the most careless, thoughtless users imaginable. So I don't trust your stats or the accuracy of this article at all.
First of all, you can't just throw a random app on an iPhone. It first has to be downloaded from the victim's iTunes account, and if it's not a free app the victim would have to pay for it. Once you got it on the phone, it wouldn't be able to do anything unless it was actually running - i.e. the user would have to specifically open it. The likelihood of a user opening (and leaving to run) an app that they didn't install while they were doing whatever it was you wanted to spy on is unlikely.
Secondly, GSM networks have nothing to do with the equation. Even if it were possible to infect someone through a text message, it would depend only on the phone. It wouldn't matter if you were on a GSM or CDMA network at all. Text messages work just as well on either.
Thirdly, no phone will open spyware just because someone sent you a text message. The only possibility is if the manufacturers specifically design it to allow this, which they wouldn't do because it's a huge security hole.
This article seems to have been either poorly researched or not researched at all. Your anonymous Italian developer, who appears to be making things up, should have been contrasted with someone who actually knows what they're talking about (like, say, someone willing to put their name in an article and attach their assertions to their reputation).
I think that if you took the time to do a day or two of research, you'd find this article full of wild inaccuracies, misunderstandings, and useless fear-mongering. I expected more from Newsweek; perhaps I shouldn't have.
If someone wanted to spy on you they can and you can't stop them. You can't prevent it no matter what you do. So stop being sheeple and realize that anything is possible. Anyone can hack this or that, if you are just now realizing that things aren't safe you better lock yourself in a rubber room.
I didn't think of that mcorleone You are right. Of course, how else could an entire new industry - or rather an expansion of a current one take place without firstcreating an overriding fear in people using their "we are sad to report" insecure phones. I was being terribly Un American and anti-business.; I sincerely apologize for my unpatriotic actions!
Posted By: mcorleone @ 06/07/2009 2:59:49 PM
I hope I won't have to report you to the House Un-American Ways Committee. Why would the manufacturer build in security before they'd establish the danger vis-a-vis reports such as this one; so they could then do exactly what you've suggested and come along with an expensive fix --- that everyone will then know they must have?
This is sufficient reason to avoid using a Smart Phone. How horrible that some low-life, who happens to get their hands on your phone, could then be listening to one???s private conversations. I don???t know what La La Land the fellow who said, "So what? The only people afraid of someone snooping are doing something wrong." is living in, but there is no justification for anyone to be listening in on a PRIVATE conversation between individuals not suspected of illegalities. NONE.
When you go out in public and a security camera records you that is one thing; it is part of daily life. To suggest that the surreptitious invasion of one???s private personal and/or business conversations might be hijacked is something we should just ???get used to??? is beyond the pale of reason.
Since it is apparently the fault of the phone manufacturers creating devices that lack any security I think the onus of correcting the problem should be placed on them. Someone should institute a class action suit on behalf of all the smart phone users based on the fact the manufacturers did not exercise due diligence to protect their customers. You cannot tell me that someone in the upper echelons of management didn???t have the brain power to realize this was going to happen.
If I were a smart phone maker, I would make it a top priority to fortify my phones against this type of spying, knowing it would give me a tremendous unique selling advantage. Personally I would make this the sine quo non (without which no) criteria for choosing both a smart phone and a provider. If you sell a product you have a responsibility to the purchaser to be thinking ahead for them and doing your best to protect them. Apparently, today's smart phone makers are more interested in eye candy features than their users welfare.
I hope I won't have to report you to the House Un-American Ways Committee. Why would the manufacturer build in security before they'd establish the danger vis-a-vis reports such as this one; so they could then do exactly what you've suggested and come along with an expensive fix --- that everyone will then know they must have?
No, mine isn't. I have T MOBILE. They refused Bush's request for phone records and spying. They're a German company who refused everything Bush wanted! The only other one I know of to refuse was Qwest! CEO wound up in jail
What about all those people who check their credit cards and bank accounts from their cell phones? I see a new crop of criminals rising to the forefront just to empty out bank accounts and credit cards.
just think...the corporates making these items probably know more about the government than the government does.
What about the wiretapping law (both federal & state)? Seems that illegal monitoring of cell phone calls will have to be dealt with and possibly prosecuted, don't you think?
So what? The only people afraid of someone snooping are doing something wrong. If you don't want to be observed or heard lock yourself into a 3 layer brick /air structure with no windows or air exchange to the outside world. Did the Indians worry about snooping their smoke signals? There are so many ways to snoop on you today that isolation is almost impossible. There are endless numbers of wireless transmitters, gps trackers, micro-cameras, computer spyware... on the market. You would think that the author of this article would point out the obvious. If you want privacy, go live amongst the Indians in a South American rain forest - note that the restrooms lack walls and ceilings and floors ....
Actually, it is worrisome. Here's one reason: my abusive ex has no custody rights. He has threatened to kidnap her. If it ever occurred to him that he could send her a cell phone in the mail that already has that software installed, he would find it much easier to figure out when she's away from home or school. A simple conversation about when to pick her up outside the movie theater, for example, might have devastating consequences.
"One worry is that the software will find its way into the hands of criminals."
Does he mean the government?
That's why I don't use a cell phone except for emergencies and it is BASIC. No GPS...it's not worth it to me to available to everyone, including the goverment 24/7 Where is the outrage? Just, gee, how do I know and what should I buy. PASSIVE Americans don't want to lose their gadgets that rub their balls for them even if it means losing their freedom. WEAK....Who are these people living in my America? Sheep.
So how can a person know/check to see if their phone has spyware installed? And, second question: how to remove it if it's there?
I don't know about other phones, but I suspect with a BlackBerry, you could go to Desktop Manager (on your computer connected to the phone with a USB cable), then click on Application Loader and open the list of installed programs. See if anything looks odd - something that you didn't install or don't recognize. If anyone out there *really* knows the answer to detecting spyware on your phone, would you care to tell us please?
This is nothing new. For decades, lawyers and others have been using this technique. They "accidentally" leave their cell phone in a conference room, so that they can lisen in to the other party. Virtually all phones have had auto-answer/ringer-off features since the earliest cell phones. The software doesn't do anything new....any user can press a few keystrokes to enable auto-answer.
This is a decades old feature of virtually ever cell phone ever produced. It's amazing that journalists are so ignorant of the basics of how their own cell phone works. How can a feature that has been around for decades be reported as "news".
I could be mistaken, but I think this goes beyond simply having auto-answer on, ringer off. These are programs, probably Java applets or tiny utilities, that apparently hijack the cellular network to transmit data, while leaving no call records. If this were merely auto-answer on, ringer off, wouldn't you expect to still have a record of a phone call being made?
The only way to shut off the phone is to remove the battery. The FBI/CIA can easily wiretap your phone at anytime. And now that most phones have GPS built in, it makes it easier for them to track you.
Easy solution..shut off your phone when you're not using it.
the spyware has the capability to compromise your phone ie., turn the speakerphone on and listen to your private conversations- and turn your camera/video on to 'watch your every move. the thing is, you assume the phone is off- and while it appears to be inactive- the 'spyware' is automatically controlled. .
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