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Stalkerware: What to do if you're the target - CNET

Stalkerware: What to do if you're the target - CNET

Stalkerware: What to do if you're the target - CNET
Jun 04, 2020 2 mins, 32 secs

"I thought I was going nuts because I was pretty sure I hadn't shared that information," said Allie, who ditched her laptop and phone rather than find out what software her ex might have installed on them.

It's jaw-droppingly easy for someone to buy and install intrusive apps, known as stalkerware, on someone else's device.

The apps are plentiful, according to antivirus software firms that track their prevalence.

A recent Harris poll conducted with antivirus firm NortonLifeLock found that one in 10 people admit to using stalkerware to track a partner or ex-partner.

Many apps bill themselves as legitimate monitoring apps but can offer staggering amounts of information from targets' phones and can operate completely undetected.

It isn't easy to decide what to do about it, domestic-violence experts say, because your partner or ex might become more dangerous if you delete the software on your device.

Stalkerware refers to a broad group of apps that someone else can install on your device to intercept texts and phone calls, access your location, log your web browsing activity and turn on your camera or microphone.

The apps can be installed on all kinds of phones, though it's a bit more complex to get stalkerware working on iPhones.

The person installing stalkerware typically has to get physical access to the user's phone to install an app.

A big exception to this is if the person installing stalkerware has the target's iCloud credentials, allowing them to access backups of the other person's phone.

People still install them on other people's phones, though, finding the apps for sale on the app makers' websites instead of an app store, and at times undermining the foundational security of a target's phone by jailbreaking it.

The apps are often sold as child or employee monitoring services, but they're ripe for abuse because they can run undetected on a device, say law enforcement officials and domestic-violence experts.

The software often disguises itself, either by displaying an innocuous icon (like a battery monitor), or by not displaying an icon at all, says Kevin Roundy, technical director at the NortonLifeLock research group.

While researching stalkerware apps, Roundy identified other categories of apps that often work in concert with the intrusive software.

An additional step is using antivirus software on your phone, if you use an Android device.

(There isn't any antivirus software available for iPhones.) Antivirus software from Kaspersky, Malwarebytes and NortonLifeLock all scan for the software and warn users if they find known stalkerware apps.

These concerns are why multiple antivirus companies don't automatically delete stalkerware from their users' phones. 

First, you can cut off the app's access to things like your camera and microphone, and then delete it from your phone

You'll be signed out of all your accounts, and all the extra apps installed on your phone after purchase will be gone

She didn't know if she'd be able to get rid of whatever software might be on her phone or computer, and she didn't think she'd be able to learn more than her former partner knew about hacking

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