“Hey, lend me your phone for a minute.” Beware if your friend, spouse or anyone else makes such a request. They just need to get hold of your phone for 10 minutes and then, look out, they can track your every move. And you won’t even notice.

It is remarkable what technology can do. Someone can actually take control of your phone with a simple program. They can listen to you, read your e-mails, track you every second of the day. You may as well say goodbye to privacy if you are careless with your cellphone and prone to misplacing it.

It may sound like science fiction but is true. The program is called SpyBubble and is out there on the Internet for anyone to download, if they wish to spend the money. No, it is not for free; any site that promises you a free download of such programs is taking you for a ride. Actually SpyBubble’s mobile phone spy software is only a small part of the SpyBubble program. You are paying specifically for the information that SpyBubble collects. The software connects to SpyBubble’s database, which interprets and separates the information it collects from targeted cell phones. Without connecting to the database, just installing the program on someone’s cell phone is useless.

And although you have a bug in your pocket (the phone can actually relay surrounding conversation too) you won’t even know that your privacy is being invaded. The software will keep sending your tracker periodic updates from your phone and will include your contacts, call records, SMS, GPS location, browsing history and much more. It is compatible with any brand or phone model available in the market. This includes Android smartphones, Blackberry phones, Windows Mobile or any other Symbian phones.

It is a simple, easy to use software and you don’t have to be an expert to use it. SpyBubble Mobile Spy is a US-based company but it works in India, Pakistan and in all the West Asian countries, provided the mobile phone has an online connection. Even if Internet connectivity is missing, it can still work by forwarding an SMS to the tracker. So there you are, forewarned is to be forearmed.

Disappearing mails

Another intriguing tool that is available on the Internet is Burn Note. It is free and it allows you to create self-destructing messages online. If you want to share sensitive and confidential information over the Internet but you don’t want any trace of it to remain, you should give Burn Note a try. It is great for playing a prank as well. You can begin by signing up for an account at burnnote.com or you can just create a message without registering. If you create an account you get a few more options. The whole process is very simple.

Once you have sent a mail from this account, as soon as the person receiving it opens your mail it will self-destruct within 72 hours. If the mail is not opened even then it will disappear without a trace within 72 hours. Click the send button after you have finished and you can also share the link provided. If you have created an account you can keep a copy of all the notes you have sent. To check your copies you can click on your username and go to Notes. It will have a record of the email addresses of the people you have sent mails to.

Photo apps

Are you into photography? Then you can have some fun with the pho.to website. You can download the Pho.to Lab app into your Android phone too. It consists of easy-to-use photo editing services as well as some fun tools to turn your photos into cartoons. You can create interesting collages and photomontages. And the best thing is you can share your photos easily on Twitter with Tweet Pho.to. Have fun.

Send in your computer-related problems to askdoss@abpmail.com with bits&bytes in the subject line