Examining the Stealth iBot Computer Spy
The first time I ever saw this technology presented, it was in a closed door session of a Counter Intelligence briefing in a room full of very serious individuals…. “Spies”, if you really must know. After the presentation of its capabilities I remember the stunned looks of unbelief on some of the faces of those individuals….and then the lip curling smiles
that come with the knowing that what we just saw would change everything…..in the world of spying that is.
That lasted about 10 seconds, then the gauntlet was thrown down; “Our anti-virus program will nail this type of threat within minutes” …”we’ve seen this threat before, it’s been floating around for years” …were just a few of the comments from the “Cyber Wizards” in the room. Then the challenge was on!
The following examination of the “Stealth iBot Computer Spy” is only a snapshot of the forensic examination that was performed. Here is the condensed version. The Stealth iBot Computer Spy program was installed on a Lenovo laptop running Windows XP and one of the latest “name brand” anti-virus programs. Upon inserting the 1gig USB Flash Drive into the USB port of the laptop, actual installation only took about 10 seconds. The flash drive was safely removed and the Stealth iBot was now silently running in the background, embedded in the operating system. Now ready to capture every keystroke and actual screen shots, down to intervals of every 3 seconds.
An “anti-virus scan” was initiated and took roughly 45 minutes; it resulted in a green checked marked “No Threats Detected” screen of assurance. Not bad, I noticed a couple of the cyber wizard techies whispering to each other.
Next, several name brand “Spy Bot” and Spy killer programs were used to scan the Lenovo, again the “No Threats Detected” screen of assurance, one even boasted “Congratulations, no threats found!” (See pic) By this time it was obvious the Stealth iBot was going to put up a fight. But, it was now time to reinsert the flash drive and see
what the Stealth iBot captured.
The Stealth iBot flash drive was inserted into the USB port of the Laptop and the program booted up immediately. The command was initiated to download the captured information to the flash drive, and took less than 10 seconds! At this point the captured data file rests on the Stealth iBot flash drive and can be moved to another PC, but we elected to drop the captured data file folder on the Lenovo desktop to see what Stealth iBot captured. And capture it did!
There were no less than several hundred perfect screen shot images of everything that was viewed on the Laptop! including the screen shots of all the various scans of the laptop including a separate .html file that opens in your browser of every typed keystroke.
Now here I must digress to add that after the briefing had long since ended, almost everyone who attended the briefing was still present during the scans….including the “cyber wizards” who had been instructed “not to leave the room” until they figured out how to detect this threat!…. And to purchase some as soon as possible! Without a doubt, The Brickhouse Security “Stealth iBot Computer Spy Program” does everything that’s promised and more. Will it defeat any anti-virus program? The short answer is no, but then again it’s not designed to because even if an anti-virus program does manage to detect the Stealth iBot more than likely it will be granted “trusted status” because the file extension will look as though it is associated with the operating system….clever…Huh? What was that you asked?….. Was I able to detect it?? Sure, but that’s what ex-spies do…….we hunt spies.
About the Author:
J.D. LeaSure, Counter Surveillance Specialist is the President/CEO of ComSec LLC. He founded the Virginia Beach-based firm in 2007 filling the need for an experienced and knowledgeable Counter Espionage and Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) service provider in the greater Virginia/DC Metro area.
Hi there,
If you take a look at the above story, it was really hard for a computer forensic corporate espionage person to find it, so I figure that it would be the same for a computer IT person.
I would recommend contacting tech support: 1-800-654-7966
I would recommend only using it on a PC
I downloaded my information… I had nowhere near 10,000 screen shots…maybe 100 or 200 and the computer had been used for a very long time..there should have been a lot more screen shots and text data logged. There was only text data and screen shots for maybe 2-3 days and the computer was used a lot. Why is this???? Am I doing something wrong? Does it need to be installed again??? Do I need to fix some settings? any help is appreciated.
Hi there, the problem might have something to do with some system files on your computer that are causing the software to not work properly. I would suggest contacting support@spycobra.com for direct assistance – they specialize in this product in particular and will be able to better help you.
Ok..thanks so much! I appreciate the speedy reply. Will do so. Thanks again!!
Unfortunately the Stealth iBot does not work on Macs
Will it also work on 64-bit Windows 7?
Yes
if i install this on one lap top will i be able to view what it has been collecting on another laptop or can i only view it from the computer it has been installed on
I just installed the ibot on windows 7. I found evidence of it in the search area. I guess I will see if they notice it or not. I tried to delete any suspious items so I am not sure if it will affect the performance.
Yes, you can view it on another computer
n closing, remember that security is not a matter of adding stuff to your system. Security is an attitude, an approach and thought-set.
I have Norton 360 in my Computer. Will Norton detect Ibot during or after installation?
Installation is OK. How do i uninstall if i don't want use “Ibot” in my computer?
How do i uninstall Stealth Ibot from the computer?
What is an administrative password?
Hello, please, this Stealth iBot, records everything that is connected to the computer via usb? For example, if I have a barcode reader connected to your computer the Stealth iBOLT will record the data?
Hello, please, this Stealth iBot, records everything that is connected to the computer via usb? For example, if I have a barcode reader connected to your computer the Stealth iBOLT will record the data?
I bought this and the trackstick and NEITHER have ever worked! Very disappointed and a LOT of wasted money – with still not solid answers
the computer i want to monitor is a PC, but the files will need to be reviewed on a Mac, is that possible?
Hey, I'm so sorry about that – did you contact our tech support team?
So, does this store the records directly in system? Nothing captured is sent to a remote server like the “nanny” programs do?
I can't open saved file. Do I need special software for that?
Does a user need to be logged on to the computer to install this? In other words, if you don't know the username/password to login on that machine, can you still stick in the USB drive and install this?
Not Happy ! Tech support can't figure this out, and now I am out 150.00 …… Thanks Brickhouse Security.
One more question; you stated that you will be able to use on windows 7 atleast the new versions of it. how will i know if it is compatible. i figure i have 1 min to do all this onto said computer. thats the idea…discrete and furtive. but after reading all these comments…its not so furtive. my main concern is will i be able to retrieve as said on your website, data if the pc is either locked or fresh boot/turned on and password protected. I just ordered one, but if this item does not perform as advertised, “The computer spy quickly bypasses any password protected section of your computer and logs exactly what people are doing on your computer–even if they think they’re protected by a password.”
I love it! It works just like they said it would and the screen shots are clear and can be taken every 10 seconds. Now I can see what my kids are doing on the computer when I’m at work. It works with more then one computer too. The only bad thing is the keystrokes only show you what the person typed on your computer and not the person they are chatting to. The screenshots show you both ends of the conversation though. So what would make it better is if the screenshots had the date and time on them so you could go right to the one your looking for! But other then that great product!
I love mine. It does take a little longer to install and configure than indicated but I was still able to do it while the target walked away from the laptop.
Data retrieval can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, so you have to be careful that you are going to have enough time. One time I retrieved data while the target was asleep in front of the computer!
Approximately 10% of the screenshots come out blank for some reason but I still get plenty. It seems like maybe the ones that come out blank do show up on the next retrieval.
I am glad I purchased this product and definitely feel that I got my money’s worth. Also, the rebate was sent promptly.
I have it installed on my laptop Win7 x64, works fine except that typed letters do not get recorded as they are entered…sometimes a “Left Shift” is thrown or other crap. Why it cannot record the way the character is typed??
Not very excited about it!
This was easy to install and perfect for monitoring teen’s computer. Only drawback was having enough time to download – sometimes taking a few minutes. You have to leave yourself enough time to adequately do this, but viewing was easy on another computer. Great product!
does one need the password and username for the laptop this device will be used on?