Cellphone spying getting easier for abusers, stalkers

Cellphone spying getting easier for abusers, stalkers

www.northjersey.com

“You could now listen in 100% completely undetected” — that’s the promise one company makes on its website to anyone who wants to eavesdrop on someone else’s cellphone.

And within minutes, software can be loaded on a smart phone to allow a third party to monitor calls, view text messages and photos, and track a person’s location and movement via GPS. The built­in microphone can also be activated remotely to use as a listening device, even when a phone is turned off.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I was reading this article and I am horrified that someone can just install an app on my phone and basically clone it to spy on me. I know i am a control freak but this amount of control borders insanity especially when spying on a love partner. For spying on kids is ok as long as you tell them that you will occasionally check on them.

Why is it legal for a partner to invade someone's privacy by spying on them and possibly exposing their secrets to whoever also is spying on the spy. What measures can we take to ensure such things do not happen ( Especially paranoid people like myself)?

I guess the most logical solution/s are to
- Check data usage cuz i am guessing there should be a spike in data usage.
- A free android firewall app like DroidWall should be able to list the ip addresses of incoming and outgoing connections.
-go to whatismyipaddress.com and search for the most common ip address. Also check for domain names and cross check with known mobile spyware servers.
-if you have the domains/ipaddresses then ask your service provider to block them all
-Turn off data when not using phone (also helps to preserve battery)




www.northjersey.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

www.spybubble.com...

I seen this the other day on as an ad on another web site. How can it even be legal to even sell such software?

If you have to resort to methods like this to "control" the other person, why are you even with them in the first place?

This tech should give you a plethora of reasons for concern a helluva lot more compelling than your ol' ball and chain finding out about your subscription to friskyfurries.com or whatever. Good God, what is wrong with the dialog between the sexes that this seems to be the very first thing the vast majority of men cite as a primary concern when addressing privacy and security issues?

Conversely, how many women go out of their way to "spy" on their male partners?

www.independent.co.uk...

Men beware: your partner may be watching you. Armed with sophisticated bugging devices, women are becoming the latest recruits to the hi-tech world of espionage.

Not that they are travelling the world as undercover agents: their targets are closer to home. A survey published this week will reveal that nearly three out of four women are prepared to spy on their husband or boyfriend if they suspect them of infidelity.

Nearly three-quarters, 72 per cent, of the 10,000 cohabiting or married women surveyed said they would snoop on their partner's mobile phone text messages, and just over a third, 34 per cent, would secretly follow their partner.

Is a new industry being built upon our effed up interpersonal lives?

It is all part of the booming domestic spy industry - a result of technology such as text and email which makes it easier, yet more dangerous, to have affairs. Dave Allan, who owns the Spy Store in Leeds, the country's leading supplier of eavesdropping gadgetry, said he has at least one woman a day coming in wanting to spy on her husband.

"The increase in domestic spying has soared, especially with women," he said. "Our business used to be 60 per cent to business and 40 per cent domestic; now that figure is the other way round."

Sweet Jesus, we all need to grow up some, I guess.

Originally posted by LiveEquation
What measures can we take to ensure such things do not happen ( Especially paranoid people like myself)?

I guess the most logical solution/s are to
- Check data usage cuz i am guessing there should be a spike in data usage.

I'm not sure you'll see the spike in data usage, but it depends I guess, you could if it was really large but it might not be.

My solution for now is a little simpler, I'm just avoiding upgrading my old cell phone. It still works just about anywhere in the world there is service, and you can't load all this spyware on it if you wanted to. I'll keep using it until the non-replaceable battery dies, but the battery is still very good.

Once the battery dies and I upgrade the phone, I'll have to deal with this nightmare...I'm not looking forward to it. It's probably pretty involved to protect yourself. I would say the number one priority for me would be maintaining complete physical control over the phone at all times, so nobody can download stuff on it without me knowing. But most of us would tend to relax this requirement around our spouse and that's what makes us vulnerable. Maybe I should lock it in a safe when I go to sleep where my spouse doesn't have the combination?

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

Once the battery dies and I upgrade the phone, I'll have to deal with this nightmare...

Try one of the online auction sites. More than likely someone on there will have the same phone for sale. Once you get it, either swap the SIM card (gsm carriers) or activate it online. (cdma carriers)

Also for anyone wondering, don't bother with lock codes on the phone. A couple seconds with the right software and these can be erased / reset by the offending person.

ive done this kind of thing for laughs at friends houses a long time ago. man on man im in the wrong line of business...or am i.


Yes people you CAN !!!! activate a smart phone remotely without needing to be 500km close to the person, infact you can engage a cell phone from across the world, that's how secure your so called dumb phones....oops i mean smart phones are. If you want my advice, always remove the battery and if your a paranoid person, try and find a cell phone pre 05, without the whistles and bells. A simple phone is what i am referring to... btw, if anyone is in possession of a service model nokia phone 090 , u2u me.

mate its been easy to tap phones for ages....the new iphone....absolutley ridiuclous

steve jobs died before the truth came out about what his technology actually does

watch this space

peace

reply to post by LiveEquation


I literally despise cell phones, I can't begin to tell you just how wonderfully liberating it felt as I took my hammer to it outside my home back in 2008!

There can't be very many legitimate organizations out there that are actually interested in hearing what the average joe has to talk about.

Then again, you have your "celebrity hackers", as to why even they would want to listen in on a bunch of shallow, skinny, gossip-mongers is beyond me!

Hahaha

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Non-replaceable battery? What model cell phone do you have? If you are will to take it apart I bet you can get a battery for it. I have not heard of a cell phone that had a non-replaceable battery.

OK, here is an update. I just did some checking and found out that there are quit a few cell phones that have a non-replaceable battery and it seems that more cell phone makers may start to do this. I would not buy a cell phone that had a non-replaceable battery. I was gave a camera that has a non-replaceable battery and I not sure what I am going to do when the battery deads.

Originally posted by alilonthecheekyside
reply to post by LiveEquation

 

I literally despise cell phones, I can't begin to tell you just how wonderfully liberating it felt as I took my hammer to it outside my home back in 2008!

....
Hahaha

Well I understand what you are saying. I maybe paranoid but I embrace technology with caution. I have a lock code on my smartphone and this irritates my girlfriend when she wants to read kindle books on my phone. I forgot my phone once at a grocery store and went back to find it. The lost and found department had but at that time my phone didnt have a lock code. Someone had used my phone to read my emails because I log all activity on my phone just like i log all events on my PC. I was so embarrassed because the email they had read was very personal and private. Ever since that day, I decided I will have the phone lock after 30 seconds of no use.

I love using the phone to read kindle books. I will use a nokia when i am in a village where data is not available.

Yet I guess it is weird that partners/lovers would go to such extent to spy on our phones. If people close to us are doing this, what should we expect from the government? The government maybe doing worse. We know the issues that world governments have with Blackberry's encryption algorithm. We also know that mobile service providers use military grade encryption for all your calls, but how exclusive is this implementation?

Originally posted by fixer1967
reply to post by Arbitrageur

 

Non-replaceable battery? What model cell phone do you have? If you are will to take it apart I bet you can get a battery for it. I have not heard of a cell phone that had a non-replaceable battery.

OK, here is an update. I just did some checking and found out that there are quit a few cell phones that have a non-replaceable battery and it seems that more cell phone makers may start to do this. I would not buy a cell phone that had a non-replaceable battery. I was gave a camera that has a non-replaceable battery and I not sure what I am going to do when the battery deads.

I suspect there may be ways to replace a non-replaceable battery, but not by ordinary consumers. Hackers might do it.

I'd rather not give out the model of my phone, but I will say it's 8 years old so that's the longest lasting rechargeable battery I've had..it still holds a good charge to this day. If it had died after 2 years, I would have really been mad that I couldn't replace it. If it dies now, I figure I've got more life than I expected, as I didn't expect more than 5 years when I bought it.

reply to post by LiveEquation


I can see a day when every phone, pad & computer comes with a secret spy device installed at the factory by government mandate. Why bother chipping everyone? Big Brother will be with you at all times.

The scary thing here is when you google "how to remove spyware from a mobile device" many of the responses say it cannot be removed easily. I did find this response on how to remove the software.

wiki.answers.com...

If you have an android device, do a full wipe (not just a factory reset) and install new SPL and a fresh android image (from a reliable source!). You should be fine then. Takes some nerves and dont forget to charge the batterie before installing the new image. If you batterie runs out of power fast, plug it in but be sure that you do not shut off the phone while upgrading / wipe

Originally posted by LiveEquation

Cellphone spying getting easier for abusers, stalkers

www.northjersey.com

“You could now listen in 100% completely undetected” — that’s the promise one company makes on its website to anyone who wants to eavesdrop on someone else’s cellphone.

And within minutes, software can be loaded on a smart phone to allow a third party to monitor calls, view text messages and photos, and track a person’s location and movement via GPS. The built­in microphone can also be activated remotely to use as a listening device, even when a phone is turned off.

(visit the link for the full news article)

what about the huge data bill?

does it magically disappear?

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

Originally posted by LiveEquation
What measures can we take to ensure such things do not happen ( Especially paranoid people like myself)?

I guess the most logical solution/s are to
- Check data usage cuz i am guessing there should be a spike in data usage.

I'm not sure you'll see the spike in data usage, but it depends I guess, you could if it was really large but it might not be.

My solution for now is a little simpler, I'm just avoiding upgrading my old cell phone. It still works just about anywhere in the world there is service, and you can't load all this spyware on it if you wanted to. I'll keep using it until the non-replaceable battery dies, but the battery is still very good.

Once the battery dies and I upgrade the phone, I'll have to deal with this nightmare...I'm not looking forward to it. It's probably pretty involved to protect yourself. I would say the number one priority for me would be maintaining complete physical control over the phone at all times, so nobody can download stuff on it without me knowing. But most of us would tend to relax this requirement around our spouse and that's what makes us vulnerable. Maybe I should lock it in a safe when I go to sleep where my spouse doesn't have the combination?

quite simple.

buy a very cheap simple phone.

like £0.99 pence to under £4.99 from any vendor or even online.

they only do the basics.

Originally posted by Sharpenmycleats
The scary thing here is when you google "how to remove spyware from a mobile device" many of the responses say it cannot be removed easily. I did find this response on how to remove the software.

wiki.answers.com...

Thats some important information you posted there. I read the wiki answers page and i never thought about the heating issue. I will keep that in mind.

reply to post by verschickter


That is very interesting there. By doing SPL/HSPL are you not rooting your phone? Is a rooted phone better than a non-rooted phone? I have both WP 7.5 and android on my phone. I use wp7.5 for communications and android for games and kindle. Paranoia is synonymous with caution right? or is it madness?

reply to post by LiveEquation

So anyone can stalk you on ANY cellphone?