Last July, security researchers discovered evidence of Pegasus spyware being used on the phones of journalists, politicians and activists. This spyware can be installed remotely on an iPhone or iPad, giving the person or organization that installed it full access to the device. And all the data on it, without any action taken by the owner, including text messages, emails and even recording of phone calls. Pegasus was originally designed and marketed by the Israeli company NSO Group allegedly to monitor criminals and terrorists.


Now you may be wondering whether your devices are infected or not, although there is no reason for a large entity like this to monitor my iPhone unless I am a big responsible, there are always those who are curious to know if their device is infected or not, There is a free tool that lets you check this out with just a few clicks.

The chances of your device being infected with Pegasus spyware are low, and many reports claim that the iOS 14.7.1 update fixed this issue and patched the vulnerabilities that Pegasus was using, but this has not been officially confirmed by Apple. However, if you want more peace of mind, here's what you need to do.


Install the iMazing app on your Mac or PC

iMazing recently updated its desktop app to include a mobile validation toolkit, which is designed to detect Pegasus traces on a device and does not charge users to access the feature.

◉ Download iMazing to your computer from this company's website Link. Don't worry about purchasing the app, you can run the full spyware test with only the free trial.

install iMazing Open it, and when prompted, select the free trial.

You may have to wait longer for the app to back up your iPhone or iPad.


How to Run a Pegasus Spyware Scan on iPhone or iPad

◉ With iMazing installed and running, connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer. You may have to enter the screen lock code on your device to approve the connection before continuing, this should be considered if your phone doesn't appear in iMazing.

◉ Next, scroll down and choose Detect Spyware.

◉ A new window will open that will guide you through the process. The tool works by creating a backup of your device, then automatically analyzing it.

◉ iMazing suggests leaving all the default settings as they are while clicking on each window of the app.

◉ There are options built into the tool for advanced users, but for most of us, the default settings will do the trick.

◉ After reviewing the basic default settings, you will need to accept a license for the tool and then click the Start Analysis button.

◉ Once you start the process, make sure to leave your device connected until it is finished. It may take half an hour or a little more.

◉ After creating the backup, you will have to enter your account password to allow iMazing to start analyzing the files.

◉ Once iMazing starts analyzing your device's backup, it will show you its progress by showing each individual app it checks, starting with iMessage. The app uses a database known as “malicious email addresses, links, process names, and file names.”

◉ When iMazing is finished, you will see an alert with the results.

◉ The alert also includes two buttons to open or reveal the report. You may see a bunch of random links that may not mean anything to you.

◉ At the end of the scan, the results are displayed in a simple, easy-to-read window.


What to do if iMazing says your device is infected

If iMazing tells you there is an infection, it will ask you to submit the report, click Detect Report to go directly to the file, to the customer support team for further analysis. However, the company suggests that if you or a family member is sensitive in the community, remove your SIM card immediately and turn off the iPhone.

For the record, the odds of getting a positive report are very low, but at least you'll be reassured.

Source:

cnet

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