SPYWARE FOR PERSONAL USE
So this is really a controversial topic, and rightly so. We're gonna look at exactly what is meant by 'mobile spyware' and how it can affect the individual. ...Although that's beyond the scope of any one article!
First and foremost, what is 'spyware'?
Well we mean a small program that is installed on a device, such as a mobile phone, and which then invisibly transmits information to another terminal, typically any other computer connected to the internet.
This happens entirely without the user knowing and continues to run in the background, allowing access to such things as SMS, Video-viewing, Live Conversation Eavesdropping, Environmental Listening, Phonebook and call-log, Location (on Google Maps)...and more.
In other words the spy can find out exactly what the phone user is up to at any time, even if a call is not being made in some cases.
This is truly open to abuse of civil liberties and there are obviously going to be legal restrictions in place. You need to be the owner of the mobile device in question in order to have the right to install the software. Whether you have the moral right to eavesdrop is another matter entirely.
In some cases it may well do some good, saving relationships, businesses, stopping bullies or simply as a safety-device for location of a cellphone. There are other uses and as this is such a new technology we have only just begun to explore them.
The future is really going to tell how this affects us as a society, especially since mobile phones are becoming more and more involved in every aspect of our lives. Do you remember when we didn't have them, when we couldn't get hold of each other 24-7?
Anyway its a massive subject, fascinating technologically and sociologically...and it's here to stay.
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