Applications that can spy on you via your mobile phone are real, but how concerned should you really be and how can you safeguard yourself against an attack? If you feel that you are the victim of this sort of attack some of the information below may help you erase the software from your phone, but this guide should not be used in place of police intervention.
Some of you might have seen a story run by Channel Nine's A Current Affair where the journalist showed a smartphone spying application in action, capable of logging calls, SMS messages, GPS coordinates and even turning the phone into a microphone. Obviously the use of this kind of smartphone application can have powerful and dangerous consequences for those who are spied on, but how realistic is this sort of attack and what can you do to protect yourself? Should I be concerned?
While we don't want to underplay the severity of this kind of attack, we do want to stress that the use of these applications is not something most smartphone users will need to worry about. It's difficult to accurately estimate how many people are using this sort of software to spy in Australia, but unless you have a reason to be suspicious we doubt you need to worry too much. Glenn Ryan, a Private Inquiry agent operating in Sydney, told CNET Australia that while he has been aware of applications like Flexispy for a number of years, he finds most of his potential clients are not aware of its existence, and those who have heard of it don't understand the legalities surrounding the use of this technology.
He says that most of the clients of his firm are deterred once they understand what they would be required to do to use spy software legally. So using spy apps is illegal?
In most instances, absolutely. In all other cases, using Flexispy could land you in hot water, with penalties including jail time. Smartphones are little computers This is the first thing to remember when considering what kind of attack you might need to protect yourself from. Smartphones are designed in a similar way to the PCs we use at work and at home, and as such there is the possibility for someone to write malicious code and for this code to be installed on your phone.
Application developers like Laramine, the company behind Flexispy, have exploited this design and created software that taps into the phone's core hardware and sends the data it collects back to a central server. You are reporting the following post: This post has been flagged and will be reviewed by our staff. Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community.
Mar 18, A company called mSpy now can convey to you phones preloaded with spying software that could tempt you to monitor texts, calls and, well. Which Android Spy app is the best? Mobile Applications forum. About This Forum Look in the app store. Thankx for your tips and info. Flag.
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Look in the app store. Thankx for your tips and info. Back to Mobile Applications forum 4 total posts.