Can you say with certainty that your phone is not compromised? Like it or not, the modern generation has already gotten used to the idea that smartphones are being tracked by the government, hackers, employers, former lovers, journalists, and so on. These types of actors can listen to your calls, read and send messages and emails, or change information within the interface.
In this article, we'll look at 6 signs someone else has access to your phone.
Before iOS and Android took off, a battery problem was one of the signs that the phone was compromised. Hot battery continues to be a problem in modern smartphones though.
You have probably experienced battery overheating, and perhaps even asked about this problem in a store. In most cases, chances are you've been told that a hot battery is common on smartphones. For example, Apple only starts to worry about overheating when the device starts to shut down.
Why can a smartphone overheat? For example, due to the large number of running applications and the endless consumption of content from various sources. However, in any case, these reasons cannot do much harm to your device.
However, a hot battery can also indicate a compromised mobile phone. For example, when specific wiretap software is running in the background.
Moreover, you should pay special attention if your smartphone does not hold a charge at all.
Keep an eye on your phone and pay attention to how apps affect your battery. For example, if an application is constantly draining the battery even in case of infrequent use, you need to deal with this problem.
On the other hand, older phones don't hold up as well as newer models, so you should look for other reasons before looking for a spy track. For example, you might be sunbathing on the beach or running too many applications. Does the phone case get warm? Are there any connected devices via bluetooth?
Overheating can be one of the indicators of malware, and there are other signs that are discussed below.
Tracking your phone bills can help you not only save money, but also detect spyware.
Countless apps consume a huge amount of traffic, especially if you are not using free Wi-Fi (due to security concerns). It's even worse if your children are using your device while you're not at home. In general, you need to track how much traffic you consume each month.
If suddenly the amount of data consumed has unexpectedly increased compared to the average value, you need to figure out the reasons, since someone can collect and send information to an external source not only through your home Wi-Fi, but also at any other time , wherever you are. were.
We can say that you know your phone like the back of your hand (that is, not very well) and have forgotten half of the installed applications.
However, it is extremely important to know what exactly is on your smartphone, especially with regard to applications running in the background. If you find such applications that you have not installed, you should immediately check for malware.
One of the most well-known mobile malware is Hummer. At the beginning of 2016, this Trojan infected about 1.4 million devices a day. The malware was first spotted in 2014 with the highest concentration in India, Russia and the Philippines.
It is assumed that if they created a virus (most likely located in China) received only 50 cents per infection, then they could earn more than 500 thousand dollars in 24 hours.
After hitting the victim's device, intrusive ads appeared, since malware does not have to hide its presence. After installing Hummer, it tried to gain superuser rights, which allowed all content to be loaded and made uninstallation much more difficult. Even factory reset doesn't help.
Malware can generate tons of ad traffic and therefore significantly increase the amount of information consumed.
It is only natural that the more information is used, the slower the device will work.
The HummingBad malware is very similar to the Hummer. This Trojan has killed about 10 million people. HummingBad hits the device when a user accidentally downloads a malicious app. For example, fake versions of YouTube or WhatsApp can still be found in the App Store.
With the help of HummingBad, cyber fraudsters earned about 300 thousand a month. The peak of infections occurred in 2016. Although since then the revival of this malware has begun.
HummingBad also gains superuser rights and, in some cases, encourages you to download fake system updates in order to have complete control over your activity. Then pop-up advertisements begin to appear, and all information is transmitted to a server controlled by a group of Chinese hackers Yingmob. In addition to the so-called "click fraud" HummingBad can intercept all your messages.
Naturally, if all information sent from and to a smartphone or tablet is intercepted, the speed of work slows down. Although at first glance, it may seem that the slowdown is due to the aging of the phone.
This issue isn't just about HummingBad. Performance issues will arise regardless of the method used by attackers to control your phone.
Of course, legitimate applications can also consume a lot of resources, but not enough to greatly affect the response time of your device.
You can also check which apps are consuming the most RAM. On iOS, go to Settings> General> iPhoneStorage. On Android, a list of running applications is available in the Developer Options section. Perhaps the Photos or Music apps will be at the very top of the list. Here you can estimate resource consumption and find suspicious applications.
You may already be ignoring signals that indicate wiretapping or surveillance.
For example, something perceived as spam, an embarrassing misunderstanding, or a misused number may already be suspicious.
Strange SMS with pseudo-random numbers, letters, or symbols may be suggestive, but not particularly noticeable.
These signals should not be ignored.
The most likely reason for this kind of circumstance is errors in malware used by cyber fraudsters. In case of incorrect installation, encrypted messages will appear in the Inbox folder, which may go unnoticed. These random data sets can be instructions sent from a server controlled by a hacker to a malicious application. Or the application itself is trying to contact the creator.
Another example. If family or friends say you are sending strange messages or emails, chances are your phone has been compromised and is being used to infect the devices of your family and friends.
In general, try to track any suspicious activity: message threads, social media profiles, Sent Items and Outbox folders. If you can't remember whether you sent an email, immediately proceed to a more thorough scan of the entire device for the presence of malicious applications.
This cheating scheme is more sophisticated, but being vigilant can save you from being cheated.
It seems that everyone is already aware of the scenarios according to which the attackers operate, but nevertheless, incidents continue to arise. We forget about advice and make the same mistakes. For example, if you click on a malicious link in a message or letter, you can lose a lot of money.
You may not even be redirected to a malicious site. If a malicious application is installed on your phone, the appearance of the site you visit frequently may be changed.
In this case, the malware acts as a proxy server, controlling the communication between you and the visited site, and can slip a fake page or simply save everything you type. Even private browsing won't help.
The problem arises when you use sites that require you to enter personal information: passwords, credit cards and other financial information and personal data, which are valuable currency on the Dark Web. Pay special attention to the sites of payment systems (for example, PayPal). The same goes for mobile or internet banking.
Changes to fake sites can be as minor as a few pixels in logos. And even if you see something strange, you might think that the site is testing a new interface. Compare the mobile version of the site with the one displayed on your computer monitor, but keep in mind that responsive pages will look slightly different.
Conclusion
Don't be overly paranoid. Most of us will not be victims of cell phone surveillance. However, some safety precautions should be taken.
Only download apps from official stores to reduce the risk of malware infection. Apple and Google are reviewing the app before it becomes available to the general public. Also, try to pay attention to the symptoms described in this article.
In this article, we'll look at 6 signs someone else has access to your phone.
1. Persistent battery problems
Before iOS and Android took off, a battery problem was one of the signs that the phone was compromised. Hot battery continues to be a problem in modern smartphones though.
You have probably experienced battery overheating, and perhaps even asked about this problem in a store. In most cases, chances are you've been told that a hot battery is common on smartphones. For example, Apple only starts to worry about overheating when the device starts to shut down.
Why can a smartphone overheat? For example, due to the large number of running applications and the endless consumption of content from various sources. However, in any case, these reasons cannot do much harm to your device.
However, a hot battery can also indicate a compromised mobile phone. For example, when specific wiretap software is running in the background.
Moreover, you should pay special attention if your smartphone does not hold a charge at all.
Keep an eye on your phone and pay attention to how apps affect your battery. For example, if an application is constantly draining the battery even in case of infrequent use, you need to deal with this problem.
On the other hand, older phones don't hold up as well as newer models, so you should look for other reasons before looking for a spy track. For example, you might be sunbathing on the beach or running too many applications. Does the phone case get warm? Are there any connected devices via bluetooth?
Overheating can be one of the indicators of malware, and there are other signs that are discussed below.
2. Increasing mobile traffic
Tracking your phone bills can help you not only save money, but also detect spyware.
Countless apps consume a huge amount of traffic, especially if you are not using free Wi-Fi (due to security concerns). It's even worse if your children are using your device while you're not at home. In general, you need to track how much traffic you consume each month.
If suddenly the amount of data consumed has unexpectedly increased compared to the average value, you need to figure out the reasons, since someone can collect and send information to an external source not only through your home Wi-Fi, but also at any other time , wherever you are. were.
3. Intrusive ads and apps
We can say that you know your phone like the back of your hand (that is, not very well) and have forgotten half of the installed applications.
However, it is extremely important to know what exactly is on your smartphone, especially with regard to applications running in the background. If you find such applications that you have not installed, you should immediately check for malware.
One of the most well-known mobile malware is Hummer. At the beginning of 2016, this Trojan infected about 1.4 million devices a day. The malware was first spotted in 2014 with the highest concentration in India, Russia and the Philippines.
It is assumed that if they created a virus (most likely located in China) received only 50 cents per infection, then they could earn more than 500 thousand dollars in 24 hours.
After hitting the victim's device, intrusive ads appeared, since malware does not have to hide its presence. After installing Hummer, it tried to gain superuser rights, which allowed all content to be loaded and made uninstallation much more difficult. Even factory reset doesn't help.
Malware can generate tons of ad traffic and therefore significantly increase the amount of information consumed.
4. General performance problems
It is only natural that the more information is used, the slower the device will work.
The HummingBad malware is very similar to the Hummer. This Trojan has killed about 10 million people. HummingBad hits the device when a user accidentally downloads a malicious app. For example, fake versions of YouTube or WhatsApp can still be found in the App Store.
With the help of HummingBad, cyber fraudsters earned about 300 thousand a month. The peak of infections occurred in 2016. Although since then the revival of this malware has begun.
HummingBad also gains superuser rights and, in some cases, encourages you to download fake system updates in order to have complete control over your activity. Then pop-up advertisements begin to appear, and all information is transmitted to a server controlled by a group of Chinese hackers Yingmob. In addition to the so-called "click fraud" HummingBad can intercept all your messages.
Naturally, if all information sent from and to a smartphone or tablet is intercepted, the speed of work slows down. Although at first glance, it may seem that the slowdown is due to the aging of the phone.
This issue isn't just about HummingBad. Performance issues will arise regardless of the method used by attackers to control your phone.
Of course, legitimate applications can also consume a lot of resources, but not enough to greatly affect the response time of your device.
You can also check which apps are consuming the most RAM. On iOS, go to Settings> General> iPhoneStorage. On Android, a list of running applications is available in the Developer Options section. Perhaps the Photos or Music apps will be at the very top of the list. Here you can estimate resource consumption and find suspicious applications.
5. Strange texts and messages
You may already be ignoring signals that indicate wiretapping or surveillance.
For example, something perceived as spam, an embarrassing misunderstanding, or a misused number may already be suspicious.
Strange SMS with pseudo-random numbers, letters, or symbols may be suggestive, but not particularly noticeable.
These signals should not be ignored.
The most likely reason for this kind of circumstance is errors in malware used by cyber fraudsters. In case of incorrect installation, encrypted messages will appear in the Inbox folder, which may go unnoticed. These random data sets can be instructions sent from a server controlled by a hacker to a malicious application. Or the application itself is trying to contact the creator.
Another example. If family or friends say you are sending strange messages or emails, chances are your phone has been compromised and is being used to infect the devices of your family and friends.
In general, try to track any suspicious activity: message threads, social media profiles, Sent Items and Outbox folders. If you can't remember whether you sent an email, immediately proceed to a more thorough scan of the entire device for the presence of malicious applications.
6. Sites look different
This cheating scheme is more sophisticated, but being vigilant can save you from being cheated.
It seems that everyone is already aware of the scenarios according to which the attackers operate, but nevertheless, incidents continue to arise. We forget about advice and make the same mistakes. For example, if you click on a malicious link in a message or letter, you can lose a lot of money.
You may not even be redirected to a malicious site. If a malicious application is installed on your phone, the appearance of the site you visit frequently may be changed.
In this case, the malware acts as a proxy server, controlling the communication between you and the visited site, and can slip a fake page or simply save everything you type. Even private browsing won't help.
The problem arises when you use sites that require you to enter personal information: passwords, credit cards and other financial information and personal data, which are valuable currency on the Dark Web. Pay special attention to the sites of payment systems (for example, PayPal). The same goes for mobile or internet banking.
Changes to fake sites can be as minor as a few pixels in logos. And even if you see something strange, you might think that the site is testing a new interface. Compare the mobile version of the site with the one displayed on your computer monitor, but keep in mind that responsive pages will look slightly different.
Conclusion
Don't be overly paranoid. Most of us will not be victims of cell phone surveillance. However, some safety precautions should be taken.
Only download apps from official stores to reduce the risk of malware infection. Apple and Google are reviewing the app before it becomes available to the general public. Also, try to pay attention to the symptoms described in this article.
