Technologies, as you know, do not stand still, and malicious, alas, including. More recently, the maximum that annoyed the average metropolitan resident was intrusive Internet spam. With the advent of the era of mobile technologies, annoying, sometimes dangerous spam began to arrive on the phone, tablet. Why such spam calls, SMS are dangerous, is it possible to fight this evil on your own by installing an application for a mobile phone, we will analyze below. The editorial staff of the site "bestx.htgetrid.com/en/" offers you a rating of high-quality anti-spam applications.
Content
What types of spam messages are there?
Spam of any kind is an intrusive advertisement that at least takes up your precious time, at the most it can harm you from a financial point of view. At the same time, the standard caller ID, which is built into your mobile device by default, is usually useless. And here is the reason.
Spam messages are conventionally divided into four groups:
- Useful mailings - notifications about the completed laptop repair, the need to pay a monthly fee, and others;
- Conditionally useful - SMS, calls about upcoming discounts on goods, delivery of the necessary goods to the store;
- Unhelpful - messages advertising the services of banks, micro-credit organizations, and much more;
- Malicious - capable of harm, steal personal data, create a loan without your knowledge.
The latter operate in an extremely cunning way. When a call comes in, your responses, usually monosyllabic (yes, no), are recorded by the malware. Having a sample of your vote, personal data (number, passport series, phone number), scammers can go through audio identification in order to obtain a service or even a loan. It is practically impossible to prove in the future through the court non-involvement in this order.
A natural question that arises from every spam-attacked person, where did the cybercriminals get your phone number from? The vast majority of data to scammers, spammers are provided by citizens themselves, future victims of mailings. One has only to order online goods through the store, where they will ask you to enter a phone number, authenticate the game account, and your personal data may become publicly available. And all on a legal basis, because the user, without going into the details of the license agreement, the signed contract when buying a product, will voluntarily transfer his data. And where to buy a database of individuals is not a problem now. Moreover, the dangerous identifiers, spam of calls from unknown developers, is the same collection of personal information without guaranteed confidentiality. But you still cannot do without such applications, since the standard phone blacklist will ban any incoming calls from unfamiliar numbers, including useful ones, for example, about the need to pay off a loan debt.
How to protect yourself from spam and fraud?
First of all, it should be remembered that any struggle begins with prevention, therefore, when placing an order in an online store, conducting an action through social networks, carefully read the offer agreement. When you receive a call to clarify your data, be sure to specify the purpose for which you called and from which company? It would be best to make a verification call to the addressee, if we are talking about a bank, or drive up to his office in person. In no case do not provide personal information even to a well-verified or familiar subscriber. If you have already been attacked by scammers, then there are only two ways out of this situation. Either change the number, or by installing the application, which will be discussed below, start the fight against spammers by writing a complaint about them. For the latter option, there is a step-by-step instruction:
- First of all, a spam call detection program and a call recording application are installed on the device. Uninstalling the last one after submitting a complaint is easy, and the application itself does not take up much space.
- After receiving a call, you must turn on the recording of the conversation, during the conversation itself, ask the caller for the name of the organization, its exact name (LLC, MP, etc.), legal address, e-mail. Moreover, the caller must say all the information clearly, if the spammer says it inaudibly, ask him to repeat everything.
- Then you turn to the mobile operator in order to get the details of the calls in order to have a complete proof of the call for you.
- A complaint is written to the email address, where it is indicated who called, when, for what purpose. The letter must contain a link to Article 14 of Federal Law No. 152-FZ. Under this article, you have the right to receive information about the processing of your personal data by this company. Also, a recording of the conversation, a screenshot of the call detail, and a scan of the contract are attached to the letter. If, for example, we are talking about a store through which you made a purchase, then you should attach a scan of the page where you agree to the use of your data. Indicate even in the text of the complaint that, according to the law, you have the right to contact the FAS. The main thing is to get a confirmation letter from the company that your requirements have been received, and their further consideration is underway. Usually, phone calls stop at this stage.
- If the calls have not stopped, go to the FAS, Rospotrebnadzor, Roskomnadzor page where advice is given on how to start the procedure for sending a complaint to these organizations.
All these measures are quite effective, in Russia there have recently been several cases when large financial organizations were fined in this way, and the plaintiff received material compensation. For example, if he was abroad during the calls. However, if the advertising call comes from a private person, it is rather difficult to take any measures, then all the hope is for an anti-spam application for a smartphone.
Another important factor in maintaining confidentiality is the regular check of mobile devices and media for malicious viruses that can "drain" personal data, passwords, addresses, phone numbers, users. The best solution would be to install a paid antivirus program. Only this type of antivirus software with a search function for phishing sites can fully ensure the safety of your data and save you from the hands of scammers. Of course, the question immediately arises, which is the best antivirus to buy? According to buyers, the best option is Kaspersky, an antivirus that has earned the best recommendations from experts. Some help will be the additional, free service of the Yandex search engine, which, together with the voice assistant "Alice" on Android OS, has a call filtering function. Among free antiviruses, ESETMobile Security is the leader, the best manufacturers of wearable electronics recommend it for installation.
What to look for when choosing an application?
First of all, decide whether you will use this program all the time or you will need it once.The first case may require software, whose functionality is broader, such, as a rule, are paid for. In all other cases, the usual utilities installed for free through Google Play or the App Store will do. I must say right away that software should be installed on a gadget only from these stores. Then, of course, you should decide on what operating system you have on your phone. As you know, the main operating systems are Android and iOS, but now the HarmonyOS operating system is gaining popularity. It is being developed by Huawei, the popularity of models of which has increased day by day, since their characteristics were higher than those of competitors, and the average price was lower. However, the US harassment of the company scared off many potential buyers from Huawei. The fate of those who bought Huawei equipment remains unclear, because the support of their smartphones, regular updates remain in question. But as a rule, the improved version of the software is installed on the OS of the latest release.
Rating of the best anti-spam applications, caller IDs for smartphones
Android operating system
Whoscall
The software occupies a leading position among spam identifiers due to its simple, readable interface, good functionality, which is compatible with inexpensive devices. It is also important that the installation, configuration is done quite easily, with your own hands without watching a promising video tutorial or reading the instructions. In addition to fighting unwanted calls, the program will help you filter SMS, MMS messages.
Advantages:
- Keeping incoming calls, short messages;
- Will not raise questions about how to install, how to remove;
- Minimum load on the smartphone processor.
Disadvantages:
- Internet connection required.
Truecaller
One of the most popular anti-spam programs at the moment, it maintains its own database. The fight against advertisers occurs by synchronizing the application with a database that changes depending on the user's location. That is, when the owner of the smartphone moves, his blacklist of unwanted calls, for example, from taxi services, will be automatically updated. This scheme eliminates mistakes when choosing a number to be "banned" or which call should be answered. Moreover, when you repeatedly mark a number as unwanted, other users will also receive information about it as unwanted. The advantage of the program is the complete replacement of the operating "dialer", although it may confuse someone.
Advantages:
- Friendly interface;
- Huge database thanks to the popularity of the app.
Disadvantages:
- Additional function, call recording, paid;
- Access to all your numbers can scare away those concerned about privacy.
IOS operating system
Callblock
Callblock is quite difficult to call a program for fighting unwanted calls, rather, it is a small application. When a call comes in, it cannot, like the above systems, recognize the caller, identify him, but effectively block him. On the plus side, there is an expandable database containing the numbers of the worst spammers from 100 countries. The efficiency of the utility will be the higher the more malicious messages are sent to your number.
Advantages:
- Simple but effective blocking system;
- Positive feedback from a large number of users;
- Fast installation, customization at home.
Disadvantages:
- There is only 30 days of free use, then you have to rent it for $ 1.99 per month.
Mister Number
Another application that works with the internal database of spammers and their definition (telemarket, microloans, ransomware). Moreover, the inclusion of Mister Number occurs automatically, without the consent or notification of the owner of the phone. A malicious, potentially dangerous call is blocked automatically, the rest are sorted by the owner himself. The program is controlled, including via voice mail.If your selection criteria are maximum efficiency with the elementary use of the service, pay attention to Mister Numbers.
Advantages:
- Recognizes the most famous types of fraudulent messages;
- Easy to use.
Disadvantages:
- Limited functionality.
Mixed applications for different operating systems
Showcaller
The main advantage of this program is its small file size, just over 4 megabytes. This allows you to put the "Showball" on inexpensive, budget smartphones with a small amount of RAM. Moreover, often popular models of smartphones do not have a slot for an SD card, and therefore, their physical memory is limited. In such cases, "Showball" will be simply irreplaceable. The program conserves battery energy, thereby extending the battery life of a tablet or smartphone. The functionality of the "Shokoller" is at its best, when a call comes in, the number, the caller's icon with the name of the activity is shown.
Advantages:
- Modest consumption of resources of a wearable gadget;
- Small size of the installation file;
- The ability to register spam;
- Supports database search;
- Built-in T9.
Disadvantages:
- There is no own database.
RoboKiller
A very powerful means of struggle, capable of "scaring off" almost 100% of all unwanted advertisers. None of the novelties on the market of systems for combating malicious advertisers, crooks can not be compared with the Robokiller. His "heart" is an analytical system that can decipher an incoming call, determining the noise level, speech, the amount of time between words. After that, the subscriber is either blocked, the call is dropped, and the number enters the database. The service algorithm in this way distributes subscribers, sorting them by direction, recording the conversation, which is simply invaluable for further filing a complaint. Therefore, when using the service, most of the questions, how to turn on antispam, record a conversation, disappear by itself. The system has rich functionality, the description of which can take more than one page.
Advantages:
- Large database stored on the cloud service;
- Wide functionality;
- Autonomous work.
Disadvantages:
- Paid version only.
Who called?
Our review ends with a simple, shareware program that quickly generates a blacklist at your discretion, thereby supplementing its database. The latter has a seven-year history, covering a huge range of crooks of all stripes. Some of the functions of the system are paid, first of all, the names of subscribers, as they are registered with other victims of advertising "terror". Worrying about how much full access to the utility costs is not worth it. After all, the user is given coins every day, which allow you to unlock some of the paid functions. The utility will be useful for organizations that are worried about their image, as it clearly shows how respondents react to their polls and promotions.
Advantages:
- Ensuring confidentiality (dialed numbers are ignored by the system);
- Reliable protection against collectors, collection services;
- View feedback from other participants for a specific type of calls;
- Gaining access to the closed features of the system thanks to the collected coins.
Disadvantages:
- A permanent internet connection is required.
Conclusion
Perhaps someone will find the rating incomplete, or even erroneous. Therefore, the readers of the article will be kindly requested to share advice through the comments on how to choose an anti-advertising application, by what parameters, what software must be mentioned. In short, the more information comes in, the better. The material collected by the author will serve as the foundation for a future article, with a more complete, up-to-date list of utilities.