Does your iPhone or iPad have Pegasus spyware? Discover for free

Whenever there is a report on a iPhone or iPad exploit being actively distributed and used, it is annoying. In July, it was revealed that the security researchers have found evidence Pegasus spyware used on the phones of journalists, politicians and activists.

Spyware can be installed remotely on a target iPhone or iPad without the owner taking action, granting the person or organization that installed it full access to the device and all the data it contains. This includes text messages, emails, and even recording phone calls. Pegasus was originally designed and is marketed by its creator, the NSO Group, to monitor criminals and terrorists.

I think it’s natural to wonder if your devices are infected whenever reports like this surface, even if there’s no reason a government entity would want to monitor my usage. iPhone. That is, unless they really want to know how much time I spend on TikTok each day. And in this case, they can just ask. (Spoiler: it is many.) For the curious like me, there is now a free tool that allows you to check your iPhone or iPad with a few mouse clicks.

To be clear, the chances of your iPhone or iPad getting infected with Pegasus spyware are low, and various reports claim that the most recent update, iOS 14.7.1, fixed the exploit that Pegasus was using, but this has not been confirmed by Apple. That said, if you want the peace of mind – just in case – of knowing that your device is free from anyone spying on you, here’s what you need to do.

Download and install the iMazing app on your Mac or PC

iMazing recently updated its Mac and PC app to include Amnesty International’s Mobile Verification Toolkit (MVT), which is designed to detect signs of Pegasus on a device and does not charge users for access to the feature.

Download iMazing for your respective computer from the company’s website. Don’t worry about purchasing the app, we can run the full spyware test using the free trial.

Once downloaded, install iMazing and then open it. When prompted, select free trial.

How to run the Pegasus Spyware test on your iPhone or iPad

With iMazing installed and running, connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer using the appropriate cable. You may need to enter your lock screen passcode on your device to approve the connection before continuing (keep in mind if your iPhone or iPad does not appear in iMazing).

Then scroll through the action options on the right side of iMazing until you find Detect spyware; Click on it.

A new window will open, guiding you through the process. The tool works by creating a local backup of your device (so you’ll need to make sure you have enough storage space for the backup) and then scanning that backup. It’s an automated task, so you don’t have to stay put to monitor it once you click Start.

iMazing suggests leaving all default settings in place when clicking on each screen. There are configuration options built into the tool for advanced users, but for most of us (including myself) the default configuration settings will do the job.

After performing the basic configuration, you will need to accept a license for the tool and then click on the button Start analysis button.

Once the process has started, make sure to leave your iPhone or iPad connected until it is complete. I performed the test on my iPhone 12 Pro and it took about 30 minutes to create the backup and an additional 5 minutes for it to be scanned. After the backup was created, I had to enter my account password to allow iMazing to start scanning the file. For this reason, I recommend starting the tool and checking it after a while.

Once iMazing starts scanning your device’s backup, it will show you its progress by displaying each individual app it checks, starting with iMessage. The application uses a database of “known malicious email addresses, links, process names and filenames”

Once iMazing is finished, you will see an alert with the results. In my case, my iPhone 12 Pro had no signs of infection and had no warnings.

The alert also includes two buttons to open or reveal the report. I went through my report and it contained a bunch of random links that didn’t mean anything to me.

What to do if the iMazing app says your device is showing signs of infection

First of all, don’t panic. It could be a false positive. iMazing asks you to send the report (click reveal report to go directly to the file) to its customer support team who will then perform a more in-depth analysis.

The company suggests, however, that if you or a family member are active in a “politically sensitive context” and have a positive report, immediately remove your SIM card and turn off your iPhone.

Again, the chances of getting a truly positive report are very low, but at least you’ll have peace of mind. For more safety tips, recheck these settings. For more privacy, go through these steps.