How Spy Applications Are More Powerful These Days

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Technology has practically breached every inch of human existence today. With monitoring and spy applications flooding the markets today, their use has become aggressive and is now seen as leaning towards the negative end. After all everything has its advantages as well and its disadvantages. However, in the case of these monitoring applications, the disadvantages have started cropping up more than the benefits. There are many places where spy applications seem more powerful than the work that they were intended to be made for. Here are some of these:

Jailbroken? Not a problem

Having a phone that isn't jailbroken never felt this good. From the regular spy application to the highly complicated one today, installation has become easy and convenient on any phone. Although initially having a jailbroken iPhone was a necessity for downloading such applications, now that is not much of concern anymore. This is especially great news for parents who would always be concerned about the easy installation of spy applications. But it also means that even a non jailbroken iPhone can be hacked and abused with a spy application now.

Remote installation

Now you don't need to have the phone in your hand physically in order to download a spy application on it. It can be easily done virtually without much hassle. How scary is that? Remote installation means your phone is not at all a private asset. Having spy software installed on your phone without your awareness is an open breach of privacy. This also means that there may be an external source picking at your personal files like photographs and videos.

GPS not needed

Initially it was a requirement of spy applications to have open access to GPS in order to adequately track someone down. But with the advent of the high tech spy applications, now you don't need GPS services to track someone down. While this may be scary at first but if you look at it from a positive perspective, you will understand that this is a great feature for parents who get worried when their kids travel alone and enter an area which does not have strong tower signals.

Secret snapping and videotaping

Since someone can easily install a spy application on your phone without your awareness, what's stopping them from remotely accessing the pictures and videos on your phone as well? Spy applications have become increasingly powerful as they can extract pictures from any gadget without the owner being aware of it happening. Same ways they can also control some other functions of the phone as well and alter your preferred settings easily as well. Like in a real James Bond movie, you wouldn't even know if someone had accessed your phone or laptop's camera and was secretly spying or stalking you.

MIC bugging

Like remotely accessing your phones pictures and camera, the same can happen with your phone or device's MIC. This can be accessed remotely and be employed to hear complete conversations taking in the environment. Not only just listen to the phone's surroundings but also tend to record them. MIC bugging may look cool in spy movies but if it happens in real life one can only stop to wonder how much private is their private life really.

Remotely updating itself

The worst thing about these powerful spy applications is that they can easily update themselves alongside the other updates happening on your phone or gadget. While you may have deliberately allowed them to update themselves, with these spy applications, permission is not usually needed in fact it have been self-served already without your awareness.

Viewing complete calendars

Imagine if someone always knew what your next move would be? Where you would be going? How and with whom? With spy applications as powerful as the ones found in the market, this is a complete possibility that one must never neglect. Since spy applications can remotely access your phone, they can easily get into your personal calendars and copy down your whole week, month and even year's schedule hence allowing criminals to track you down easily. This is not only unethical but also dangerous.

Access to address book

It's one thing to be spied upon and it is another thing to lead the criminals to spy on others too. However, it is not your fault if your address book gets hacked remotely. Like the rest of the functions that can be accessed externally your address book can be done as well.

Conclusion

Who would have thought that inventing these powerful spy applications would one day become so dangerous? While they have their advantages in specific areas they have drastic disadvantages in other areas. In the wrong hands, with the wrong mindset these can manage to create enough havoc in the lives of many innocent people.This is why, you need to be extra careful while using these devices. It is strongly recommended not to leave your device unattended. In addition, you must use a strong password on your device to keep it safe from snoopers. Spy apps works in stealth mode so it is difficult to know their presence on your device but there are a few signs which can tell you that your smartphone is being watched. Some of them are as follows:

• Increase in mobile data usage
• Strange voices and beeps from device
• Device turns off randomly
• It drains battery faster
• It works slowly

Please note that these signs may also be caused due to other factors but if you face any of them for a long time then you need to take solid steps to ensure your privacy and security. Experts do not recommend keeping private photos and private data including bank information, ATM card numbers and passwords, etc. on smartphones. Another good idea is to install a spy app on your own device just to make sure no one else gets access to your smartphone as these apps will keep you updated about all your mobile activities. If you find a text message, a call or anything else which you did not send, then it means someone got access to your smartphone. In a nutshell, spy apps may have become powerful weapon for hijacking anyone's life but with extra care and taking serious security measures, you can keep your device safe from them.

*Guest Post* The article is written by Brooke, a tech and digital parenting expert. She is an author and mostly covers latest tech news and reviews of cell phone spy app like TheOneSpy. Follow her on twitter @brookechloe78 to get latest technology news.