Before talking about Spyware detection, a few words about Spyware in general.
If you are using at least iOS 10, Spyware can only be installed on Apple devices by somebody having physical access to the device and it requires quite some time to install the Spyware and requires the device to be jailbroken. The newest iOS Version (at the time of this writing it’s iOS 12.1) can not be jailbroken at all.
There are other Spying possibilities e.g. based on iCloud Access but that’s another subject and simply changing the App ID password will prevent that.
So if you are using iOS 12.1 you can ignore the following because there can’t be Spyware on your device.
I have already written about how to detect if your device is jailbroken but again, that’s impossible if using iOS 12.1 but here are some additional tests which can easily be performed:
1.) Dial Codes
Some Spyware programs are using dial codes, to open the Spyware user interface. The following list contains known dial codes of the most common spyware software:
| *#900900900 | Opens the FlexiSpy uninstall Menu |
| *00# | Opens the mSpy User Interface |
| *123456789# | Open the MobileSpy Menu |
(The last one is only known to be available on Android but it would not harm to try the code)
For trying these codes, just open the Phone App and type in the code combination and hit the dial key. If nothing happens or you get a “not available” message, all is good – at least regarding these Spyware programs.
1.) Browser History
If somebody installed Spyware on your device, he or she might have been in a rush and forgot to delete the browser history so you can try the following:
Open Safari, tap on the book Icon then tap on the watch Icon to see the browser history. Here look for one of the following addresses:
| mflx.biz |
| mspy.com |
| flexispy.com |
| djp.cc |
Next, open Settings -> Safari -> Advanced -> Website Data and also look for the same addresses there.
If you can find one of these addresses, at least somebody (maybe you) visited these websites which usually will be needed when installing one of these Spyware programs.
Other Dial Codes
While talking about dial codes and even though most of you will know the following, just in case, here are some additional dial codes for other purposes:
*#06#
Will show your IMEI number. (The International Mobile station Equipment Identity number is a number used to identify a device that uses terrestrial cellular networks)
*3001#12345#*
This is the so called “Field Test” which provides information about cell signal, including more precise reception reading.
*67 followed by a phone number
or…
#31# followed by a phone number
Hides your phone number to the call destination
*43#
Enable call waiting
#43#
Disable call waiting.
Call waiting is the feature that allows you to hear another incoming call when you’re already on active phone call, often referred to as a ‘beep’. Turning off Call waiting means that incoming callers will be sent directly to voicemail if you’re actively on any call with the iPhone.
Stay safe,
Marcus