What is Spy Phone Software & How to Find Out If It's on Your Cell Phone
By Rome Tsai
What Is Spy Phone Software?
Spy Phone Software (sometimes referred to as cell spyware) is software that is downloaded directly into a compatible mobile.
Once installed, the software becomes undetectable and immediately begins to record activity, and then secretly uploads all the data to an online web account.
The person who installed the spy software, can now log into their account via any internet connected device, and view all activity recorded, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
What Can It Do
Spy phone software has come a long ways over the last few years. In the past, the only thing this type of software did, was enable someone to read text messages by secretly forwarding the text messages to another number. However, the technology has now improved to give users a variety of spy options such as:
Text Message Interception - Spy software secretly records all text messages sent and received. Full contents of each message will be revealed.
Email Logging - All outgoing email messages will be secretly recorded.
Call History (with inbound/outbound time & call duration) - This spy feature will enable someone to find out when and who the user is talking to.
Call Interception - This spy phone feature gives someone the ability to listen to a LIVE call in progress. No more wondering what was said, with this feature, a would be spy can secretly listen in on your cell conversation.
Spy Call / Remote Monitoring - This feature turns a mobile into a remote listening device when not in use.
GPS Tracking - If installed on a mobile with GPS, all GPS location coordinates will be recorded and sent to your online account. This will enable you to track the person in real time.
Now that you know what spyphone software is and what it can do, how can you find out if you have it on your cell? Here are the top five things to look out for.
Top Five Things To Look Out For That Might Indicate You Have On Your Cell.
1) Can I Borrow Your cellphone? Someone has recently asked to borrow your mobile to make a "private call" or to download a ring tone or something similar such as an app or game. (99.9% of all spy software requires a person to get physical access in order to install the software.)
2) Where Is My Charger? Is your battery life suddenly a lot shorter than the usual amount of hours? Depending on the type of software, you might experience a considerable amount of abnormal battery drain.
3) Receipt Please! Your SMS / text message bill has recently increased and you do not remember sending so many messages. Another sign is that you notice an unusual increase in GPRS activity and/or charges on your bill. Most cell phone spyware apps use GPRS to transfer the data logs, which means you might be able to identify an increase in data traffic if you normally do not download ring tones, surfing the net, etc.
4) Strange Lights. Your device 'lights up' for no reason but does not ring. Some types of spyware have remote monitoring features and when someone attempts to call or monitor you, the spy software cannot stop the mobile from lighting up/flash.
5) Strange Noises? Some have a live call interception feature, which cause your cell phone to actually make a noise when you are talking on it. Sometimes it is hard to tell with background noise in general, but if you are inside and notice a clicking noise, it probably means you are being tapped.
Another good way to check and see if your cell phone is LIVE is to use a RF Bug Detector. It can detect and let you know that your cell phone is transmitting aleting you that someone may be listening in.
If some or all of these are happening to you, the only way to completely remove it is to go to the place of purchase and/or service provider and
tell them you want to reinstall the firmware because someone installed cell spyware. You can also check out forums online for the latest detection applications. Most of these forums have resources where you can download free applications that will detect these type of programs.
As you can see, this type of technology has come a long ways and it is a lot more powerful than people think. The good news is that there are ways to detect it and ultimately remove it.
For more information on spy phone software, including the latest news on cell phone spyware detection and removal, check out the #1 Spy Phone Software resource site. You can also follow me on Twitter @spyphoneguy
