New iPhone security patch in iOS 14.8: How to check for Pegasus spyware on your phone

Any new report that a hacker actively distributes and uses a file iPhone or iPad exploding is unsettling. This summer, security investigators discovered evidence of Pegasus spyware used on the phones of journalists, politicians and activists.

Spyware can be installed remotely on a recipient’s iPhone or iPad, giving the person or organization that installed it full access to the device and all the data it contains, without the owner take no action. This includes texting, 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 when reports like this appear, although there’s no reason for a government entity to want to monitor my iPhone usage. That is, unless they really want to know how much time I spend Tik Tok every day. And in this case, they can only ask. (Spoiler: That’s right a lot.) For those who are curious, there is a free tool that allows you to check your iPhone or iPad with a few clicks.

To be clear, the chances of your iPhone or iPad being infected with Pegasus spyware are low and Apple seems to have fixed the flaw that Pegasus exploded with the recently released IOS 14.8 update. That said, if you want peace of mind (just in case), this is what you need to do.

Download and install the iMazing app on your Mac or PC

iMazing recently updated its desktop app to include Amnesty International’s Mobile Verification Toolkit, created to detect Pegasus signs on a device and that doesn’t charge users access to the feature.

Download iMazing for your computer from the company website. Don’t worry about buying the app – you can do the full spyware test only with the free trial.

Install iMazing and open it. When prompted, select the 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. You may need to enter the lock screen code on your device to approve the connection before continuing (something to keep in mind if your iPhone or iPad doesn’t appear in iMazing).

Then scroll down through the action options on the right side of iMinging until you locate Detects 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 analyzing the backup. This is an automated task, so you don’t have to stay in control to control it once you click Start.

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

After going through the basic settings, you will need to accept a license for the tool, and then click Start the analysis button.

Once the process begins, be sure to leave your iPhone or iPad connected until it’s done. I tested it on my iPhone 12 Pro and it took me about 30 minutes to create the backup and five more minutes to analyze it. After creating the backup, I had to enter my account password to allow iMazing to start parsing the file. Therefore, I recommend starting the tool and checking it after a while.

Once iMazing starts analyzing the backup of your device, it will show you its progress by showing each individual application you are checking, starting with iMessage. The application uses a database of known email addresses, links, process names, and malicious file names.

When iMazing finishes, you’ll see an alert with the results. In my case, my iPhone 12 Pro showed no signs of infection and had 0 warnings.

The alert also includes two buttons to open or reveal the report. I looked at my report and it contained a lot of random links that meant nothing to me.

What to do if the iMazing application indicates that the device has signs of infection

First of all, don’t be scared. It could be a false positive. If this happens, iMazing asks you to submit the report (click Reveal report go directly to the file) to your customer service team for further analysis. However, the company suggests that if a family member or you are active in a “politically sensitive context” and have a positive report to immediately remove the SIM card and turn off your iPhone or iPad.

If your phone is not infected, you still want it install the latest update on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, which addresses the vulnerability.

For more safety tips, check these settings. For more privacy, follow these steps.