In this article I’m going to look at how to detect WebWatcher – a popular spy app. Although Webwatcher is quite popular, it isn’t really that advanced both in terms of features and in being detectable. This article will highlight how some apps are better at hiding than others.
There are quite a few different spy software programs that hackers use to hack iPhones. Spyware products are available on the market for all cell phones and are relatively inexpensive.
Modern spy apps are incredibly sophisticated, which means that they can go completely unnoticed by the user on whose phone it is installed.
Hackers can use these apps to gain access to various kinds of data from your device, ranging from passwords, emails, text messages, contacts, photos, and virtually anything else.
There are even more harmful programs that have the ability to copy data directly from videos and photos from your mobile phone.
They can record calls, use your phone’s camera, and even calls on Skype or other VoIP networks. In the following paragraphs, we will talk about one of these spyware apps available for the iPhone, which is WebWatcher.
What Is WebWatcher?
WebWatcher is one of a range of spyware programs in the market right now. Their spy product for monitoring the iPhone is similar in ways to the mSpy no jailbreak version explained in this article – with a few differences.
They have a range of tools that can easily monitor data from your iOS device and collect it for spying purposes. Usually, a conventional spy app would require you to jailbreak a device first and then install the app.
Needless to say this is a complicated process and requires comprehensive knowledge of the Apple file system as well as the jailbreaking process. However, jailbreaking a device alters the file system, which can be detected by a reliable anti-spyware tool.
More importantly, there is the risk that installing spyware on a jailbroken device will alter its performance and will have a strange effect on the device’s performance. But, when you use WebWatcher for the iPhone you don’t have to worry about installing anything on your phone.
Instead, it makes use of a feature called the iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, which makes use of a feature built into iPhones to sync data to a computer that is on the same network.
WebWatcher hijacks this feature to retrieve the data from the phone onto another computer that is on the same network.
This could be the victim’s computer or a hacker’s. On top of that, the hacker also has the option of creating automatic backups so that the data is always backed up whenever the phone is synced.
Can WebWatcher be Detected on an iPhone?
Since the program makes use of an actual iPhone feature and there is no sign of malicious software, detecting it is actually quite difficult. There is no spy software physically on the phone being monitored to detect so this is your problem!
Similar to the other no jailbreak spy apps out there there is no way to detect these on the phone or device being monitored. Instead you need to look for changes to settings and backups. Ultimately your best defence is to secure the phone – I’ll explain below.
Have You Enabled Wi-Fi Sync?
Perhaps the most reliable way to figure out if WebWatcher is installed on your device is to check if the iTunes Wi-Fi Sync feature is enabled on the phone or not. A hacker would have to have this option enabled on your device to use WebWatcher, so you can simply cut off access by turning off this feature.
To do this, just go to Settings and then General. If you see the Wi-Fi Sync option, then your phone is set up to sync with the computer.
How to Stop WebWatcher on iPhone
If the sync is enabled, there’s no need to panic. If this setting is activated it doesn’t automatically mean that you have been hacked; it could simply be used for backing up the data.
But, if you are confident that you haven’t turned this feature on yourself, there is a pretty strong chance that your phone is hacked.
First, you need to disable the Wi-Fi sync feature outright. This is going to prevent anyone from looking over the network and stealing your data. Turning off Wi-Fi Sync will stop Webwatcher from working right away.
Once you have turned off the feature you should start checking all of the computers on your network for the WebWatcher software. Although it will have stopped working you want to make sure it is removed totally.
Run an antivirus program on all of your computers to figure out whether it has been hacked or not. It will give you a better idea about where the hack might have been installed and then remove it.
More importantly, running an antivirus software program is going to give you the peace of mind that there are no security vulnerabilities in your computers.
To Sum Up
Apps like Webwatcher that can monitor the iPhone and Apple devices without the need to Jailbreak are more difficult to detect. You can’t find any evidence of them on the target phone (the one being monitored). There is no actual app on the phone to find!
You may see evidence that one of these apps is being used by noticing settings like Wi-Fi Sync or iCloud backups being activated – and not by you.
Really your best defence is to cut off these areas of attack. At present all no Jailbreak spy app versions target either Wi-Fi Sync or iCloud backups. Make sure these are turned off and stay turned off. If you want backups I recommend using an alternative method.
As always prevention is better than the cure. Secure your iPhone with strong passwords or an app. Stop anyone accessing your phone and it will stay safe …. simple but true!
Think your phone has been hacked using an actual spy app installed on the phone? I have a guide – My Phone Was Hacked – How do I fix It? – check it out for details.
These are just a few things that you can do to detect WebWatcher on an iPhone and get rid of it on your device. Thanks for reading!