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Saturday, November 20, 2010

How the right mobile phone technology can turn anyone into a spy

Mark Bridge writes:

A few weeks ago I received a phone call out of the blue. It went something like this:
“I think my partner's cheating on me. How can I get into the GPS on his phone to find out where he is?”

I'm no secret agent. I wasn't comfortable giving too much information and ended up suggesting that a private detective would probably deliver evidence that was more conclusive. Nevertheless, it got me thinking.

Of course, you could enable Google Latitude on the other person's phone – or set up geo-location on their Twitter account – but all this is a bit hit and miss. What if they don't use it?

One solution is to install software on their phone. If you're able to do this – and they're using a smartphone – there are plenty of mobile phone spying techniques available. For example, Android users could be living in fear of SMS Secret Replicator from DLP Mobile. It secretly forwards incoming text messages to another phone. The program itself is hidden once it's installed, although an itemised bill will make the text trickery pretty obvious.

If you're after someone who uses an iPhone, similar software can let you browse through the phone's photos and automatically upload GPS positions every half hour. You'll need the iPhone to be jailbroken, so once again it's not all plain sailing.

And don't worry; Symbian users haven't been left out!

But why not get hold of your own mobile phone technology to find out what's going on?

You can now bug someone from miles away – even from another country – thanks to a mobile phone call. A bedside alarm clock can have a 3G video camera built in. Even an innocent mains adaptor could listen to someone's conversations.

Let's face it, a mobile phone set to 'silent' and 'auto answer' in a desk drawer may well be all the spy equipment you need.

And if not, the James Bond style of GPS tracking bug is now available for little over £100.

Just remember a couple of things. Firstly, if you're spying on someone, the moral high-ground may be a long way above you. And secondly, make sure you stay on the right side of the law. Otherwise your next phone call may be the last one you make for a long while!

 

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1 comments on article "How the right mobile phone technology can turn anyone into a spy"

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James Rosewell

11/24/2010 9:16 AM

I'm always amazed by the phone calls you get Mark!

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Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 24th June 2013

More of the same

Mark Bridge writes:

Another week, another couple of product announcements from Samsung. There appears to be no stopping them, despite a recent drop in the company’s share price.

This time it’s a couple of tablets – one of which runs both Android and Windows 8 – and a 20 megapixel camera that’s got a 4G-enabled Android device built in.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 17th June 2013

Making the network truly mobile

Mark Bridge writes:

The telecommunications industry was making plenty of headlines last week – but much of it wasn’t particularly upbeat.

The debate about privacy and security continued in the wake of allegations about US agents intercepting internet traffic. Meanwhile, Nokia prepared to make its last Symbian smartphones and Tradedoubler warned that mobile devices were having a negative effect on high-street consumer loyalty.

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How to shield from internet snooping

George Putic of voanews.com writes:

When news broke about U.S. government agencies collecting metadata about its citizens’ Internet and phone communications, many were surprised by its scope. The surveillance covered a vast number of Internet messages and phone calls. The government did not deny the action but pointed out that the collected data contained, not the substance of the communication, but the so-called metadata.

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Giving it all away

Paying with our privacy

Mark Bridge writes:

There’s been a lot of talk recently about PRISM, which may allow the US National Security Agency - and anyone they choose - to access some of our personal online information if it passes through the USA. It’s unclear exactly what (if anything) is being shared with whom… and given the nature of national security, we may never know.

However, alongside the possibility of governments seeing information we thought was secure, it’s also worth pointing out that we choose to share plenty of online information ourselves.

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Mark Bridge writes:

Where did it all go wrong?  When did the mainstream mobile industry start to slide away from innovation and into repetitive nonsense?  For a while I suspected the downloadable ringtone was to blame. Just days after hearing 'Barbie Girl' on the mobile phone of a man from Vodafone Value Added Services in the late 1990s, I'd downloaded a poptastic tune to my own Nokia 2110. Soon, the entire mobile world was focussed on 30-second instrumentals instead of technical innovation. It was the beginning of the end.

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