Mobile phone spy software is more prevalent than you may think.
You don’t have to be a celebrity or politician to fall prey; it can happen to anyone.
If you suddenly find your mobile’s battery life disappearing rapidly, or your data usage goes through the roof, it should be a sign of snooping.
Why would someone want to spy on you?
An excellent question and the answer is probably data.
If you’re in business, it could be details about sales strategies, new product development and so on. It could be to find out whether an affair is taking place or it could be related to a court case.
You’re probably wondering how the soy software gets on your phone. Well, it’s easier than you think. For example, during repairs or for some other reason, a backdoor application can be installed to piggyback your GPS service or spy software can be installed on your mobile device.
How to tell if your mobile phone has spy software on it
There are several signs to look out for that suggest your phone is being tracked or monitored in some way. They can be quite subtle, but when you know what to look out for, they can also be glaring:
Unusual sounds during calls
Clicking sounds, static or distant voices coming through your phone during conversations can be a sign that you’re being snooped on.
Decreased battery capacity
If a mobile phone is tapped, it is recording your activities and transmitting them to a third party. This leaves a footprint in the form of increased battery usage, and as a result, the battery loses life faster. You can test this by using your battery in another phone of the same model and compare the results. If it uses less battery, it could be that your phone is bugged or it’s defective in some way.
Phone shows activity when not in use
Other than message alerts, when your phone is not in use, it should be silent. If yours is making noises or lighting up its screen when you’re not using it, it could be a sign that someone’s snooping on you.
Phone takes a long time to shut down
If your phone is transmitting data to someone, it will take longer to turn off – especially after a call, text, email or web browsing because it could be sending information to a third party.
Battery temperature feels warm
If your phone feels warm, even when you haven’t used it, it could be still in use secretly transmitting data. However, this is only a potential sign.
Receiving unusual texts
Receiving strange text messages containing random numbers, symbols or characters is another sign. The remote control feature of spy software works by sending secret coded text messages to your phone and in some cases, these can be seen if the software is not working correctly. If this happens regularly, you could have a spy app on your phone.
Increased data usage
Some spy apps (the less reliable ones) use extra data to send the information collected from your phone, so look out for any unexplained increase in your monthly data usage. The best spy software programs data usage has been reduced and will be almost impossible to spot but the poor programs will show significant data use.
How to find mobile phone spy software
It’s possible to find spy software on an Android by looking inside the files on the phone. Go to:
- Settings
- Applications
- Manage Applications or Running Services
You may be able to spot suspicious looking files. Good spy programs usually disguise the file names so that they don’t stand out but sometimes they may contain terms like spy, monitor, stealth and so on. Some of the poorer quality software programs are still quite easy to spot.
If you are only looking for confirmation of spy software, you won’t do any damage to the phone. However, it’s best not to remove or delete any files unless you know what you are doing.
If you do find suspicious software ,it’s a good idea to take your device to someone who does know what they are doing.
MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, and surrounding villages.
Source: BullGuard