Unless you are an adept of the full Facebook disclosure system, you probably value your privacy quite highly. Most people would be uneasy if they found themselves under constant surveillance, with a third party having access to their private conversations and e-mails. Yet with the new generation of cell phone spyware which has just hit the market, this situation is actually happening to some people.
The modern smartphone is an incredibly useful tool for most people: it helps us organise our lives, communicate more effectively, and get access to huge amounts of data whenever we need. And all this comes from one compact, handheld package which slips easily into our pockets-10 years ago we could only have dreamed of this. However, there is a hidden, dark side to the current smartphone craze. Many people do not realise this, but just as desktop and laptop PCs could become infected with spyware, so the same applies to most types of smartphone. A it doesn’t matter if you’re toting an iPhone, an Android phone, Nokia N series phone, a Blackberry or a Windows mobile phone-all these mobile platforms are capable of being compromised with cell phone spyware.
It’s a worrying thought, but there are some people who are willing and able to spy on other people in their entourage. It could be their spouse or partner, it could be their children, it could even be their friends or business associates. Whoever the target, these wannabe James Bonds apparently feel no compunction whatsoever about spying on people. The method is simple: when they see the target’s cell phone is lying unattended they will “borrow” it for a few minutes in order to install the malware. All they need to do is browse to a specific vendor’s website from where they can download and install a spyware package tailored to that model of cell phone. Once installed the spyware works invisibly in the background, and the phone’s user will usually remain totally ignorant of this uninvited malware.
Once the spyware has been installed on a phone, all the creepy spymaster needs to do is to navigate to a website using any browser, where, made available for his viewing pleasure, will be recordings of all telephone conversations made, copies of all text messages and e-mails sent and received, and lists of websites browsed by that cell phone. Some of the more insidious spyware packages even record the physical location of a cell phone using data tower and GPS triangulation. Moving into the realms of genuine spy gadgets, some spyware can even record all sounds around a cell phone even when it is apparently turned off – any private conversations will be picked up and recorded even if the phone is in your pocket!
However, there is no cause for panic. A quick search on Google will reveal all sorts of methods of detecting and removing cell phone spyware and, whilst worrying, this problem is not yet very widespread. Although it is useful to bear in mind that the mobile computing platform is expanding exponentially right now, so it is only a matter of time before this spyware becomes a serious problem…
