Cell Phone Spying – Using SpyPhones

Update: This article is outdated and was written before the iPhone and android phones came out. We recommend you read the latest Top 3 Android Phone Apps for Spying on Text Messages and Call History

 

How to spy on a cell phone?

Have you ever wanted to spy on your special someone’s mobile/cell phone? Now you can and it’s a lot easier to do than you think. All it takes is for you to purchase quality spyphone software available from several different online vendors. Within minutes, you could be reading your loved one’s sms messages, find out who they are calling or who is calling them, know their location, and even listen in on their surroundings.

**It’s worth mentioning that another option is to buy a phone with spy software installed for you. These phones are usually referred to as “spyphones” and are sold by many online vendors. However, watch out for the cost. Spyphones can range from $500 – $1,500.

What is spyphone software?

Used by people who suspect their spouse is cheating, parents who want to monitor the kids, or employers who want to monitor phone usage by their staff – spyphone software such as Flexispy & Mobile Spy is software that you install on a mobile phone which then secretly records the phone’s activity such as sms messages sent or received, call history, etc. and then either uploads the data to a remote server, or forwards it immediatly to you via SMS (text message) giving you complete knowledge of all activity that occurs on the phone.

How does it work?

Once installed, the spyphone software is completely hidden from the user and begins collecting all available data such as SMS Messages, ingoing/outgoing call history, location tracking, GPRS, etc. and uploads the collected data to a server where you can view it online. Other software, like neo-call, can forward SMS messages to your cell phone instantly.

You then simply access the webpage of the spyphone vendor, enter your account details, and then you have full access to all the data collected 24/7, that you can access at any time. You can read all sms messages (both incoming and outgoing), know who they are calling or who is calling them, where they were when the call was received, and some spysoftware will even allow you to pickup calls and hear the noise when the phone is off!

Here is an overview of the entire process:

#1 Pick -> Mobile Spy

My TOP PICK is Mobile Spy. Out of all the spyphone software I’ve come across, this is by far the most dependable and feature rich spyphone product on the market today.

Mobile Spy was the first spyphone software to monitor Windows Mobile based smartphones. The program has gained major media attention from dozens of radio stations, magazines and web sites all over the world because not only does it work as advertised, but it’s sold by one of the leaders in PC spy technology.

As with most spyphone software, Mobile Spy software gives you the ability to monitor the various activities outlined below. Your logs are safely stored in your private Mobile Spy account which is accessible from anywhere in the world using a username and password you create.

Activities Monitored by Mobile Spy

SMS Monitoring
– Records every text message sent or received.
– Sender’s Number
– Recipient’s Number
– SMS Date / Time
– Message Text

Call Monitoring
– Logs all inbound and outbound phone calls.
– Number Dialed
– Number of Caller
– Call Date / Time
– Call Direction

Furthermore, where Mobile Spy really wins hands down is their support and service.

Support – When I purchased Mobile Spy, I had a few problems with my GPRS settings. Every time I sent in a support request, not only did I receive a ticket number, but my support questions were correctly answered right away. In some cases, I received a reply within minutes. I’d say, 100% of the issues I raised were solved within 24 hours.

Service – One problem I have noticed when using spyphone software is the dependability of the vendor’s website. Due to the large server loads that these programs place on the servers, you need to make sure the vendor has the capability and resources to ensure the servers stay online. In the last three months of using Mobile Spy, not a single time has the server been down compared to other vendors such as Flexispy who routinely have server problems which becomes quite frustrating.

In summary, Mobile Spy has all the features you will ever need, is made by a dependable company, has great support and provides a service which works. They also are the only ones who offer a FREE 7 day trial period.

For more information or to download a free trial, visit MobileSpy’s Website

Please note: Mobile Spy is available for Windows Smartphone & Symbian OS.

#2 -> Neo Call

Neo Call was actually the first company to market spyphones. They support the largest variety of phones and have more products than any of their competitors. So why are they not the market leader?

The problem with Neo Call is that their site and ordering process is too confusing. Sometimes trying to offer too much to someone results in them not buying anything. This is the case with Neo Call. I’ve been using spyphone software from the early days when it was only talked about in the hardcore mobile hacking forums, yet even I get confused when trying to figure out which software is best for me.

Here is a list of their products:

Neo-TRAX (Localization Software)

Neo-LIST (Call List Software)

Neo-LOG (Data Log Software)

Neo-SMS (SMS/MMS Software)

Neo-LOG PRO (BlueTooth Data Log Software)

Neo-PHONE (Spyphone Software)

Neo-SIM (Sim Info Software)

Neo-RECORD (Sound Recorder Software)

Neo-INTERCEPT (Interceptor Software)

As you can see, they have a large selection but which one do I buy? If you look at the feature details of each one, several of their products do the same thing.

One product I have tried is the NEO SMS product. (the strange thing is that the features in Neo SMS are also in most of their other products. Which brings me back to my original point, which one do I buy?) Once installed on the Target Phone, Neo-Call software with SMS Forwarding feature will send to the predefined number a copy of any SMS received or sent by the Target Phone.

Translation = You get a copy of every SMS sent or received. Cool huh?

On a positive note, Neo Call has a great online forum which is quite active with users and Neo Call staff. Their support is also pretty good. I received quick replies whenver I had any problems come up.

One final point to bring up is that since Neo Call uses SMS forwarding, you do not have to worry about the phone you want to spy on not having their GPRS settings set up correctly, traveling overseas and not having GPRS acces, and best of all you do not need access to a computer because the SMS messages are sent directly to your phone.

For more information, please visit www.neo-call.com

#3 -> Flexispy

Flexispy gets all the press, but is Flexispy the best or is Flexispy just a product of good marketing? In my opinion, I think Flexispy is clearly NOT the best. In fact, I would highly advise AGAINST buying Flexispy. Why? Here are my top reasons why you should NOT buy Flexispy.

1) Price – The cost of Flexispy ranges from $150-$350 USD per year. This is a ridiculous price to pay for this software. Furthermore, they only offer a 5 day money back return policy and NO free trial period. From my experience, it usually takes several days for users to figure this product out and to find time to get Flexispy installed on a target phone. 5 days is clearly not enough time to see if this works. Other products such as Mobile Spy, offer a free 7 day trial period. This is proof that they believe their product. If you have $350 bucks to throw away, then buy Flexispy. If you want value for your money, then buy Mobile Spy or Neo Call.

2) Flexispy Support – There is none. Yes, they will answer your questions and try to help, but good luck trying to get a response out of them. When they do reply, it’s clearly not written by someone who is a native English speaker so you spend more time trying to figure out what they are trying to say. I don’t mean anything against non native English speakers, but I do have an issue with customer service replies that are written in such a way that I have no idea what the person has just wrote. (The company the makes Flexispy is based out of Bangkok, Thailand so this could be the reason why)

3) Security – Flexispy uploads all cell phone data to a remote server. This is great, however whats not so good is that anyone can access the information. YES! Anyone. There was an article in the Washington Post in July 2007 which stated the following:

“One security researcher found that by using this application, people are exposing the records of those they’re spying on to the entire world. The trouble stems from the fact that each item in the database is assigned a specific numeric ID, which is contained in the URL. According to this advisory, penned by a researcher at AirScanner, a mobile and wireless security company, by simply modifying that address, the demo account allows full access to the database going back at least until the middle of last year.”

So how would you like to have all the data of the phone you are spying on to be available to anyone? This is clearly a major problem and should be enough to convince anyone to stay away from Flexispy.

4) Flexispy’s Website – When I was using Flexispy, I was only able to access the site once every ten times I tried to log on and view my account. The site was down more than it was up. This became quite frustrating and was one of the main reasons why I demanded a refund from the Flexispy team. Whenever I would complain to Flexispy support, they either did not respond or simply said “it works” as a reply.

Bottom line, stay far far away from Flexispy. Of course this is only my humble opinion, but Flexispy clearly has problems and is not worth the money. In fact, I’ve lost count the number of emails I received from unhappy Flexispy customers who claim they never got the product to work. Authentication errors, Invalid Web Account, Flexikeys problems, the list goes on and on.

Do yourself a favor, and stay far far away from Flexispy.

22 Responses to “Cell Phone Spying – Using SpyPhones”

  1. denise says:

    I am looking for a way to tack my boyfried text messages. Is there a way i can do that. I tried big daddy and it didnt work, spytool and it didnt work on my phone. I have the touch by tm

  2. DAVID says:

    I HAVE T-MOBILE (G1) I WAS WONDERING IF I COULD DOWNLOAD THE SOFTWARE TO MY G1 AND TARGET A SPRINT PHONE (LG LOTUS) I SEE THERE ARE MANY SOFTWARE OUT THERE BUT I NEED ONE THAT SUPPORT, THESE TWO PHONES..

  3. ninjakid09 says:

    my girlfriend is talking to this guy that she supposedly knows and she won’t tell me who he is or anything about this guy can you help me with this situation

  4. Dee says:

    I too am looking for a way to track tx messages from phones other than a smart phone. Is it possible?If so can you recommend software?

  5. sean says:

    Which spysoftware allows you to hear conversations when the phone is off? Looking for one that gives coordinates for tracking purposes. Any info on either of these?

  6. Lisa says:

    Is there a way to track text messages, incoming and outgoing calls, etc. in a sidekick LX? it doesnt have windows mobile.

  7. sally says:

    Has anyone heard of or used e-stealth products? I have been looking at their website and wondered if this is a good product? Thanks

  8. Vivek says:

    Dear Friends
    I am computer Hardware &Network service Engineer i am looking for a way to track others cell phones Incoming and outgoing call details and SMS details. can u help me?
    i want to track my Girlfriend’s Cell Phone.

  9. mike says:

    Hi,

    Im looking for a way to track tx messages from phones other than smart phones. Is this possible? If so can you recommend software?

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