Carrier IQ: How the Widespread Rootkit Can Track Everything on Your Phone, and How to Remove It
Android developer Trevor Eckhart last week released information and started an uproar about a widespread rootkit, called Carrier IQ, that's capable of logging everything you do and comes preinstalled on a ton of smartphones-including various Androids, Nokia phones, and BlackBerrys. Here's how it works and how you can get rid of it.
What Is Carrier IQ?
Last week, 25-year old Eckhart discovered a hidden application on some mobile phones that had the ability to log anything and everything on your device—from location to web searches to the content of your text messages. The program is called Carrier IQ, and unlike the Android malware that's been causing such a stir, it actually comes preinstalled by the manufacturer of your phone. In fact, you can find it on a bunch of different devices, including Android, Nokia, and BlackBerry phones. It's what's known as a rootkit—a program with massive amounts of privileges that hides its presence from the user. It was originally designed to log things like dropped calls and bad data connections for troubleshooting purposes, but manufacturers like HTC and Samsung have modified it to run in the background, completely undetectable, with no option to opt out of its "services". At best, it slows down your phone, and at worst, anyone on the other end of the application could, in theory, read your text messages, see what you search on the web, and much more.