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Detekt looks for government spyware on your PC

Detekt looks for government spyware on your PC
Jonathan Riggall

Jonathan Riggall

  • Updated:

Are you worried that ‘they are watching you‘? Detekt is a free tool for checking if there is any known government spyware on your PC, listening to and watching your activity. The app is designed with journalists and human rights defenders in mind, the kind of people who are targeted by government spies and agencies around the world.

Made in partnership with Amnesty International, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others, Detekt is described as a ‘best effort’ tool. It can detect known spyware, but there’s always the chance of new sypware being created. The app is totally free, and it’s recommended you run it with your internet connection disabled, and you need ‘administrator rights’ for your PC. A scan may take up to thirtry minutes, according to the developers, depending on how powerful your PC is.

If Detekt does find some spyware, you are advised to visit this page for further instructions. Detekt itself cannot remove spyware. If it detects something, you have to assume the computer is compromised and stop using it until it’s been cleaned.

Download Detekt.

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Jonathan Riggall

Jonathan Riggall

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