How to check if your iPhone is infected with Pegasus spyware
Worried that your iPhone is infected with Pegasus spyware that bugs people? The free iMazing app now has a built-in Pegasus detector, which you can use to check whether your iPhone is safe.
Read on after the ad.
Detect Pegasus Spyware
Recently it became known that spy software called Pegasus is in circulation. Developed by Israeli technology company NSGO Group, it is used to spy on activists, journalists, politicians and other prominent individuals.
Worryingly, iPhones can be infected via a so-called zero-click attack. An iPhone can be hacked without the intervention of the victim, such as clicking on a phishing link. The company NSGO Group does this through a security leak of iMessage, the messaging service of Apple.
Until now it was difficult to see if your iPhone is infected with the malware, but now there is a good app for that. In the new version of the macOS app iMazing (version 2.14), the app can detect the spy software on your iPhone.
Incidentally, the chance that the ‘normal’ user is the target of the attacks is small. As iMazing itself says, you probably don’t need the detection software because “a vast majority of iPhone users are not at risk.”
Pegasus detector iMazing
Do you want to err on the side of caution? Here’s how to check if your iPhone is infected with Pegasus spyware:
- Download and open the macOS app Amazing;
- Choose ‘Continue trial’ and connect your iPhone to your Mac;
- Select ‘Detect Spyware’ from the list of options and click ‘Next’;
- Go through the steps and click on ‘Start Analysis’.
The app will now let you know if Pegasus has been detected on your iPhone. The software cannot be used to remove the spyware or protect you from it. As mentioned, however, the chances of the ordinary user being the target of a Pegasus attack are slim.
It is used by governments to eavesdrop on prominent individuals. Amnesty’s research showed that there are about 50,000 possible victims.
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