The continued development of tech has brought both great things and bad. Among the bad is the persistent presence of spyware. When your phone is tapped, it violates your privacy.
Spyware is software that taps into your phone and begins accessing your data, with the companies behind this software then intending on selling your data.
But why would anyone want to spy on me? You ask. Well, the question is not whether you are worth spying on but on how much your data is worth (or could be worth). And the answer is – a lot. Your data is worth a lot, which is why spyware is very dangerous.
How then, can you tell that your phone is tapped? Well if you see your phone or PC showing the following signs, take note.
Battery problems
Our phones develop battery problems after a while but a phone with spyware will often experience very fast discharge of the battery. This is often due to the spyware running in the background, which then drains the battery very fast. The spyware will often not be optimized like the other apps, which is why it will chew up the phone battery drastically.
So, if your phone has shown a very drastic reduction in an inability to hold a charge, as well as becoming very hot after a short time of usage, it could be a sign that there is invasive software inside.
Unwanted apps or ads
Many android phones will often have ads that are built into the OS. However, for one, these ads are never invasive, and too often are strategically placed to appear only in specific situations, e.g., when you clean your phone with the Phone cleaner.
However, if there is a sudden increase in ads at inconvenient times, then your phone could have spyware. The spyware could be pushing the ads at random times so that you can accidentally click on them and give them access to all your data.
A general drop in performance
Malware and spyware will often lead to a drop in your phone’s performance because they are constantly transmitting information from your phone to the hacker(s). So, if your phone suddenly begins to lag, even though it has sufficient memory space, that could be a sign of spyware – someone has access to your data, tracking what you do on your phone always, including the sites you visit (phone is tapped).
So, to check for any invasive software, here is what you do:
- Go to settings
- Click on advanced settings
- Click on application management
- Go through all the apps and find anything suspicious. Often, this software will try to replicate a known software. So you could find an app called Settings, meant to hide suspicion by replication your settings app. But with a weird animation, or you may find games that you did not install. If you find them, delete them or back up your data and factory reset your phone.
To stop them from accessing your phone in the first place,
- Go to settings
- Open additional settings
- Go to security and privacy
- Uncheck the option of Unknown sources. This will stop the phone from allowing downloads from unknown sources,
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