Lining the inside of your hat with tinfoil also works wonders.

srsly. Unless you warp back to like 1970s and become totally disconnected, they can find anything they want about you. Your whole life is online now, no matter how hard you try to maintain a facade of “privacy”. And TBH, I sometimes like to throw in random phrases like “the bread is in the oven” just to fuck with anyone who might be listening.

I was just about to post my own snarky tin-hat joke until I followed the second link in the piece. Seems that this form of wiretapping has actually been done. This hack isn’t as crazy as I originally thought. I agree that the average joe would have to be paranoid to worry about this, but I don’t think it’d be too terribly nuts for certain types of activists, criminals, terrorists, freedom-fighters, etc. to give this a shot.
Also, the magnetic reed switch is kinda clever– Having a mini-toggle hanging out of your cell would be pretty annoying.

Nice Hack.
But really?
You are correct Wayne,
Paranoia, Paranoia, Paranoia, somebody’s comming to get ya! Crazy’s!

Nice hack.

And john is right, this is something that is actively being done for sometime now.

The simplicity of this hack is exemplary. Very nice.

As for those that think this is paranoid, it isn’t the government that you need to worry about. They don’t care about you, but others may. This kind of wiretapping is even available as a commercial service for parents to listen to their kids phones for gods sake.

It is also commonly used by ex’s looking for things in settlements, employers, competitors, etc.
I have had a girlfriend whose phone was tapped, most likely as her dad was an exec in a company targeted for a buyout at the time. Competitors do this. Crummy lawyers do this. Your company can do it to you. Your ex or your favorite stalker can, too, and will.

well for his work i love it good for you for thinking out of the box and if you do have the gov listening in on you Just remember you just made it that more difficult for them to do there job and anyone that does that brave o screw HLS

Hi!

I´m wondering what good is it for doing such hack to an old Nokia series40 phone.. those cannot run any hidden listening-applications..

I must say though that using a reed switch like that in a phone like that is very clever..

Meh hate all you want but this is the first hack ive seen on hackaday in a long time thats as ingenious but simple as this, using the mechanisms of the device itself to switch it on and off with the minimum of parts is what hackings about! not making completely new products with microchips let alone arduinos, id almost call lego mindstorm not hacking if it wasn’t for the simple cool factor of lego!

What next? Tin-foil hats?

It doesn’t hurt to be a bit more secure. As Stunmonkey said, you can download applications that run silently in the background to do these sorts of things (saw one for the blackberry).

You still need physical access to the phone, but that wouldn’t be hard for a spouse to do.

“they” being to hear what you say when the phone is off == “they” are standing near you? In which case, this will do diddly shit unless the reed-switch somehow emits some sort of privacy bubble.

It’s weird that people that have nothing worth wire tapping get all upset about it whereas government officials etc don’t seem to give a shit at all (plaintext passwords over Tor etc).

Wow, what a bunch of pricks today… slick hack, I like the use of the reed switch… and for those who think this sort of thing is for crazy people…. google preemptive detention and see what Obama has in store for American citizens…

If it’s been confirmed by the feds it’s no longer paranoia, now you could argue they might not target him, but seeing AT&T allowed the NSA to listen in on like a hundred million subscribers too, well, there’s that, and you and I don’t know what this guy making the hack is up to, perhaps he does something completely reasonable that certain parties don’t like, or perhaps he buys some weed once in a while, point is that there is NO reason to say it’s paranoia or to attempt to be so out of the loop as to make jokes as if it’s not done.

I find it quite incredible how so many americans manage to completely ignore facts and reality and go as far as to try to ridicule people that don’t, you are ridiculing yourself at that point.

and to the people asking about eavsdropping apps that is not how the phone is being tapped… they don’t need an applications, hell they don’t even need the phone turned on…

Most humans are the Eloi just asking to be harvested by the Morlocks. Really, you have nothing to worry about, it will all be provided for you. Don’t worry when your friend shows up missing, they just went on a trip to a better place.

Actually the FBI & CIA have had similar features on their land line phones & cell phones for years, I actually think It’s a pretty good idea & simple. You could take it a step further & do it to your laptop as well. I think a lot of people laugh & blow it off because they just don’t want to face the facts, Ignoring it wont make it go away. Although they can still track you with the GPS unless you take out the battery.

The internet is being “listened” to constantly & signatures are applied to this traffic just check out the wiki on room 641A. We have seen many things from scifi movies become reality, Really why not 1984. Everyday more & more rights are taken away…

I can’t believe how many people shrugged off the whole AT&T NSA secret rooms fiasco, You would think more people would care about that than gay rights, But you don’t see people marching in the street over this, It’s appalling!

does my blackberry’s phone condom fix the ‘wiretapping’ issue? the phone condom being the ‘sliding case’ that comes with the blackberry curve phone

Way too much paranoia! Set yourself a limit. And FYI, I can find more information about you over the internet than over the cell phone… BTW: I changed to xxxx the real numbers and other information and don’t want to extend this… the problem is not the government, is ourselves. Figure out Facebook for example how bad is that for our privacy. And we can continue… It is an interesting hack, but lame purpose.

Domain Name:STAHLKE.ORG
Created On:20-Dec-2008 23:05:15 UTC
Last Updated On:12-Jul-2009 07:30:40 UTC
Expiration Date:20-Dec-2009 23:05:15 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Directi Internet Solutions Pvt. Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com (R27-LROR)
Status:OK
Registrant ID:DI_912xxxx
Registrant Name:Daniel Sxxxx
Registrant Organization:n/a
Registrant Street1:5xx xxx Rd. Apt xxxx
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Fairbanks
Registrant State/Province:AK
Registrant Postal Code:99709
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.9077xxxxx
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:dxxxxxxx

etc. etc. etc…

shouldn’t it be possible to monitor any of the signals on any of chips to see if the phone is transmitting data to the government or whoever when it’s “off”? what about battery usage, wouldn’t that really create a much bigger power draw than when the phone was really off?

Simpler would be to put phone in a sound-proof container when not using it. I would assume this also applies to BT devices.
PERSONALLY? I want R/T voice encryption. But I suppose you’d have to be Busch or one of his cronies to be able to even get one.
Gotta love the family plan though with the free text OH YEAH not

Security through anonymity.
Nobodys gonna tap your phone if they care who you are.

Hey! You leave Canada out of this!

Oh, who am I kidding? Cobra is right about us. But, people are working hard to make it just as bad up here as it is in the States.

rofl
CALM THE FUCK DOWN

Dan? COINTELPRO is an example of how NOT lucky we are in the US.

people here obviously doesn’t know how cell phones and cellular networks work. and this is a hack site, i’m disappoint.

nice hack, but for a lame purpose.

Wow!

Hack a Day must need some banner ad hits…

That NSA wiretapping story was highly sensationalized. There is no need for a warrant to tap a non-U.S. citizen. Canada and France listen to U.S. citizens all the time (to steal our secrets).

Also, McCarthy was right. Read about the VENONA project for more info on that.

Also, you idiots should remember that victims have rights too…

“That NSA wiretapping story was highly sensationalized. There is no need for a warrant to tap a non-U.S. citizen. Canada and France listen to U.S. citizens all the time (to steal our secrets).”

Bingo. When the story first broke (and each subsequent revival of it), I spoke loudly and clearly into my closed flip phone… saying “Allah Akbar! I shall fly the plane into the Sears Tower for Muhammed!” and I’ve yet to get any visits.

I figure if they’re watching me, recording everything I say and do, I’ll do my best to poison the data they have.

Or maybe some people can just get over themselves and stop using paranoia as an excuse to fuel their narcissism.

Cool hack, interesting idea, but the bottom line is if you’re in deep enough that they’re listening to your cellphone, you probably shouldn’t be using a cellphone anyway (or just use disposable phones and cycle them often).

@Jamesmaddy: You must of missed the comment from Dan above,
“OK, people who think I am paranoid are missing the point. If I was paranoid I never would have put this up on my web page, would I? My point was that if people get in the habit of just shrugging their shoulders to such things then we are in big trouble.”
Meaning his intention wasn’t to become more private.

But nice way to attack some guy that shared a cool hack with us all.

The suggestion that “the government” can listen to your phone is ridiculous. Try this test:

Make a call, put your phone near a common FM Radio – listen to the interference created by the outgoing signal.

Now end the call and leave your phone near the Radio… any outgoing signal?

Ok. Now you know.

Your phone MUST send out a signal for someone on the other end to HEAR you. Try the same test and MUTE your mic whilst in the call. Notice the drop in signal strength – because you aren’t transmitting as much signal – just a ping to the tower to keep the line open.

I live in a country with a relatively small population, but there would easily be 10 million + mobile phones in use. As a government – are you going to listen to the average Joe chatting with his girlfriend?

Meh. You’re just not that important – sorry.

Oh,and another thing — how many of you people complaining actually read the write-up?

The people who want to do this to protect themselves from the government are wackos.

The people who want to do this to protect themselves from people significant others or other people they know need to (1) learn how to build relationships based on trust, and (2) learn accept the consequences of your mistakes rather than try to cover them up.

Either way, if you somehow feel that you need this hack, you are pathetic.

well, i Think He brings up some Exciting points. Can you honestly say you want the government listening in on you? And granted, yes; they probably have little reason to. but, shouldn’t Knowing that they can concern you Even a little bit? I for one think Such an Abuse of communication by our government is something we should no Longer stand for. but, I guess this is just my two cents. well, have a good day Everyone.

This is why I put my phone next to my tv speaker and just put godfather on repeat. They can listen in, but they’re not going to get anything useful.

ALL YOU PEOPLE BITCHING ABOUT THIS HACK, PARANOIA, TINFOIL ETC.:

Even tho your looser lives aint worth monitored by the Government or some other party, many hackadayers indeed are involved in breaking the law, politics etc. which makes this hack pretty useful.

So nolifes sitting @ home STFU

edit. control-your-FLESHLIGHT-with-your-wiimote

“This mod allows you to still receive phone calls.”

Err.. if you turn off your phone (as said earlier “even if the cell phone is off..”, how does that allow you to receive phone calls? Thus if you were going to do this, why not just pop out the battery? o.O

great hack!
will do as soon as i get a reed switch.

every ones a moron if they think the government isn’t listening in. they been in loop since the creation of telephone. anything government funded is going to be monitored. telephones, cellphones, internet, etc…. you named it they probably have they’re noses sniffing on it.

A better hack would be to install a piezo right next to the microphone and put it on the same circuit so it generates a noise/feedback when the mic is powered. That would notify the user that the black helicopters are coming and make it impossible for someone on the other end to hear anything over the noise. You could wire it into the flip sensor on a clamshell phone so the circuit is disabled when open.

BTW, those of you who are paranoid and think that your phone will generate interference when next to a speaker/TV/radio… well that works for GSM/TDMA devices which are bursty (and their interference is why most are banned in hospitals). Spread spectrum phone (CDMA,CDMA2000,UMTS) signals appear as noise and do not cause interference.

hehe Sincerely Yours’s comment has a subliminal message!

The problem is no matter how well-meaning, backdoors are found and abused.

For example, the remote 3rd party control system put into telephone systems for law enforcement to catch the mob was subverted by hackers in Vegas to redirect calls for call girls to other companies less than 6 months after it was introduced. Hackers had mastered the system before local law enforcement even got training. Think about that for a while.

[list of still active backdoors removed]

If the government really wanted to help, they’d be designing better locks, not trying to cripple the ones we have.

All you guys pointing fingers and ranting “paranoid” JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! and research before you post.

If you want to be safe from the government, all you have to do is speak in Arabic or Farsi. The military and three letter acronym guys apparently can’t find any straight translators (and they fire the gay ones).

Or just do not have a cell phone and you will not have to worry about this, but if you must have a cell phone, One way around this is to use a handheld portable cell phone jammer that you turn on when not using your phone. This device is the size of a cell phone, but jams the signal of cell phones when they are not in use. Preventing your location from being tracked by triangulation, or conversations spied on. This device has a jamming radius of minumum of 10 Meters (30 Feet) and jams GSM/CDMA/ and GPS if needed. and has battery and can charge via car outlet or home outlet. I sell these for $90. You can get a jammer by contacting mail@ciotaenterprise.com

The gov spying on you is fairly unlikely as they just do not have the man power to spy on everyone real time.

Heck they have trouble monitoring suspected Al Queda members because they learned to swap sims regularly.

Now corporate spying is a very big problem and a company that wants to spy on another company has a small target audience.

As for software that’s laughable ever try to use a voice mail system that used voice recognition?
They’re pain and it’s hilarious how inaccurate they are.
Most places are now uninstalling them and going back to touch tone PBXs.

Though it is possible to install spy software on a cell phone locking the damn file system like most phones do does make it harder to detect.

As for using the speaker as a mic well it would be kinda hard as if it’s connected to a a DAC vs an ADC and there is no mixer circuit to switch the connections.
Though some phones do use the speaker as a mic.

If you work for a company with some IP that that would be valuable if stolen it’s not paranoia to check phones for taps , order untrusted devices powered down or have jammers installed.

I think the triangulation and gps features in cell phones should be made user can disable it.

As for accuracy triangulation is only accurate to around 3200 feet on average.
http://searchengineland.com/cell-phone-triangulation-accuracy-is-all-over-the-map-14790

So there is no need to worry about death by an orbiting laser.
Heck they wouldn’t even be able to score a kill with a MOAB.

A less invasive “hack”:
Take just the plug from a broken headset and plug it into the cellphone headset jack. Hell, even the correct size swizzle stick should disengage the internal mike and speaker.

Paranoia can be useful sometimes. There are some cases every year when employers bug their employees “just in case”! If “common” (read: fucktarded) people wouldn’t be interested in bugging other people why is there a reasonably large market for bugs/miniature cameras and misc. wiretapping equipment? It’s not the government one should worry about.

People- Forget the govenment, this technology is available to anyone and everyone. All you need is the phone #, it is programmed remotely. Your phone will beep everytime they get a call/text. It’s real. It happened to me. Do a utube search and you’ll see many stories about on the subject. Nice work on the hack.