The length of the Log is currently limited to 10 Entries.
The Ten last Entries are saved in the Log.
When a new Event is detected, it is Logged, while the oldest Entry is deleted.
You can Optionally Log New Detected Networks also during the Self Learning Process.
There is currently no way to increase the Length of the Log.
To start with, many users seem to wish that the Log could be longer.
After some time's Use, however, you will probably have Detected All Networks around you, and hopefully Ten Entries will be sufficient to Log UNKNOWN Networks.
The Log does not update automatically. If you want an updated view, you must click on the "Show Log" (on the Settings page).
Please also note that All Detected Networks are collected in a Separate List ("List of Detected Networks"), also accessible from the Settings page.
Some Real Attacks by "IMSI Catchers" are reported to last only for a few seconds.
That seems to be sufficient to only read the IMSI (the "International Mobile Subscriber Identity") from your Phone.
The IMSI will IDENTIFY your Phone. The Police will know who you are, and that you were where you were at the time.
Even very Brief Attacks by an "IMSI Catcher" can be Captured, Detected and Flagged by this App.
Using a Special Technique, Attacks lasting only a few Seconds will be Detected.
Even if you have set the Check Period (on the Settings page) to 1 minute or more!
You don't need Internet Access for this App to work.
It will also work without Internet Access.
But the Reliability of the App will Increase with Internet Access.
The reason for this is as follows:
When the App Finds a New Network - which it suspects to be an Unknown Network - it will first check against its own Internal Database of Learned Networks.
If the Network cannot be found there - and there is no Internet Connection - then the Network is Detected as UNKNOWN.
But if the App has an Internet Connection, it will also check with an External Database of Networks. If the Network is Registered there, the Network will not be flagged as Unknown, but it will only be included in the Internal Database of Learned Networks.
This means that - when you have an Internet Connection - you will have fewer Networks Detected as Unknown.
In order words, when a Network if flagged as Unknown, the Probability that it is a "Fake Cell Tower" is increased with Internet Access.
The External Database will not be consulted during the Self Learning Process - while the App is building its own /(Internal) Database of Networks.
You must also Agree to use the External Database.
This App will work more Reliably if you allow Network Data to be fetched from the Web based OpenCellId Networks Database.
In order to fetch Data from this Database, you must also agree to contribute Data to this Database.
When a Network is Detected (for the First Time) by this App, the Network Data and Your Location are Anonymously sent to the OpenCellId Database - if you have AGREED. Only the registered Data about the Network and the Location of your Phone is Submitted. No Data about you or your Phone is included. And - your Location data will not be saved by this App.
We have taken the Liberty to AGREE to this Feature by Default.
You can DISAGREE if you want - on the Settings page.
If you DISAGREE, the App will still work, but perhaps a little less Reliably - as it is unable to Check for the Actual Existence of New Detected Networks - but must rely entirely on its own Internal (Learned) Database.
Each Time some Network Data is Read from - or Contributed/Sent to - the OpenCellId Database, it will be logged.
You can learn more about this Database on "www.opencellid.org", where you can also see the Location of Any (Known) Base Station (Cell Tower).
In order to be able to Send/Contribute Data to the OpenCellId Database, the GPS should be Enabled on your Device.
This is an Optional Feature, controllable from the Settings page.
We have decided to make it optional, because it seems that some manufacturers have implemented the methods to get data bout the Neighboring Networks incorrectly.
Hence - it seem that;
- on some phones, the available data from the Neighboring Networks may be missing or incorrect, resulting in an INCORRECT Warning Level Assessment, and
- the methods to get data bout the Neighboring Networks sometimes fail, causing this App to be Force Stopped, and
- this only works for Phones using Android 4.3 and newer anyway.
SO;
- If you have a Phone using Android 4.2 or older, you needn't bother to Enable this Feature at all. (But if you do, no harm is done.)
- If you have a Phone using Android 4.3 or newer, you could TRY to enable this Feature.
- If you then experience Warning Level Assessments that you think are incorrect (often too High), Disable it again.
- If you experience that the App fails or Stops, Disable it again. There seems to be nothing that we can do about this issue. Please blame the manufacturer of the Phone.
MICRO-, PICO and FEMTO-Cells are low powered mobile Phone Base Stations designed to bring mobile Phone Services to small Pockets that are outside normal Phone Coverage. Used in Malls, Hospitals, etc. This App will also Detect those.
Currently that is not possible.
However, you can Enable the Register Mode (on the Settings page), which Disables Whitelisting by Default.
This is almost identical to Blacklisting by default - except that the Detected Networks are not entered into the Black List.
In order to be able to Send/Contribute Data to the OpenCellId Database, you should Enable the Location Services by GPS Satellites and by Networks on your Device.
If these are not Enabled, no Data will be Contributed/Sent to the OpenCellId Database.
You must also Agree to Fetch and Send Data from/to the OpenCellId Database.
In order to Save Battery Power, a Special "Passive" GPS Location Technique is used.
As you may have experienced, any Android App can Stop. Also this App.
But you need not worry!
If this App has Stopped, you can just Start it again. And it will continue as if nothing has happened.
NO DATA IS LOST!
If the App has stopped without any obvious reason, it may be because you have enabled an Energy/Battery Saving Scheme.
"Service Unexpectedly ReStarted by System"
If you see this Log Entry, it is because the Android Operating System has ReStarted the "Cell Spy Catcher" Service.
Before that, the Service has obviously been Stopped by the System, either because the System Needed the Memory Space occupied by this App (which can happen in a few cases - where you have too many Apps Running, and not enough Memory Space Left), or because the "Cell Spy Catcher" had Crashed (due to a Software Bug).
In any Case the "Cell Spy Catcher" will continue Running.
No Data is lost.
The Notification Text Message which is shown at the Bottom of the Screen - every time this App does its checking - is primarily meant to indicate that the App still is working in the Background.
When you get tired of seeing it, you can get rid of it by Disabling "Shown Notifications" on the Settings page.
Some users want to Hide the App's Icon from the Notification Bar/Area and the Lock Screen, e.g. to Avoid showing to others that they are using this App.
Before Android 6, this is not possible.
From Android 6, it is now possible to Hide an App's Icon from the Notification Bar - and consequently from the Lock Screen.
This is the way to do it:
- Start the Device's Settings App,
- Go to Apps,
- Scroll down to this App, and click on it,
- Click on Notifications,
- Click on Block.
If your screen is constantly on - and you seem to have a shortened battery time - this is how you can fix it:
- Either always manually close/lock the screen after use, OR
- Disable the "Show Notifications (Show Text Each Time a Network is being Checked)" Feature (on the Settings page), OR
- Select a "Periodic Check of Networks" Time Interval that is longer than the Screen Timeout time that is set on the Display page of the Settings App of your Device.
"DNSTA" stands for "Do Not Show This Again". It is used in some Dialogs.
When you tap on a Button with this Text, the Dialog will NOT be shown again.
If you have removed some particular Dialog in this Way, and you want to have it back, you must Uninstall the App, and Reinstall it.
(When you Uninstall an App, and Reinstall it, all of your Data - i.e. Settings, Logs, and All of the Learned Database of Networks will be lost.)
A CSV ("Comma Separated Values") File of All Networks Detected may be generated from the Settings page.
If you don't know what a CSV File is, you can safely forget all about it.
This File is primarily meant for Research Purposes.
It contains Data from All Detected Networks in the Complete List, normally found both Before - During - and After - the Self Learning Process.
Networks which are Detected Before the Self Learning Process is Completed, are labeled "NEW".
Networks which are Detected After the Self Learning Process is Completed, are labeled "UNKNOWN" if they are not Confirmed by the Internal or the External Data Base (OpenCellId). If they are confirmed by one of the Data Bases, they are labeled "NEW".
The file is located in Folder Download(s), and is named CSC_<Date>_<Time>.csv, where CSC stands for "Cell Spy Catcher".
It is generated from the Complete List of Detected Networks, and as such it may contain duplicate lines. (E.g. if you have Blacklisted a Detected Network, it may be Detected again later, and then it will reappear in this List (but of course with another DateAndTime value).
A Value of -1 means Unknown or Error.
If the Complete List of Networks grows very long and takes a long time to load/show, you can delete it - after first having saved it by generating a CSV File of it.
Several separate CSV Files can (of course) be be saved/combined/concatenated in a common CSV File. As there is no way/tool to do that in this App, it must be done on a PC or in some other App made for such a purpose.
Normally one would connect the Android Device to a Computer, transfer the CSV File, and open it using Microsoft Excel - or some similar Program.
As the CSV File is a simple txt file, it may be opened with a Text Editor like Windows WordPad, or similar.
On the Google Play Store there are several TXT Editors - which cannot open anything but .txt Files.
But luckily there is also a few CSV Viewers, which are well suited for OUR CSV File.
For Android 6 and later, the User must grant certain "dangerous" Permissions for an App.
For this app, these are Permissions to ACCESS_LOCATION and WRITE_TO_EXTERNAL_STORAGE.
The first is required in order to be able to read the Location of your Device, first in order to be able to get some Network information from your Phone, but also to report the location of Detected Networks to the External Data Base.
The second is required to be able to write the CSV File to your phone's memory.
The app will only work if you Grant it Permission to ACCESS_LOCATION.
If you do not want to Grant this Permission, the App cannot enter the Enabled state, and thus is useless.
Permissions for an App can also be granted - or rejected - from the Device's Settings App.
If you reject a Permission in that way - that you have previously granted - the app may misbehave.
In order to get it working properly again, you must Restart and/or Disable it. It will then ask for that Permission again.
If you have clicked on the Option to 'Never ask again' - that particular Request will not be shown again.
If you do want to have it shown again - after all - you must uninstall the app, and reinstall it.
No wonder you find this strange!
In order to be able to write the CSV File to Exteral Storage, this App needs Permission to "Write_External_Storage".
Android shows this Permission as Access to "Photos/Media/Files". We think it is confusing.
But rest assured - this App never reads anything from your Phone - neither Photos, nor Media Files. Not even its own CSV Files.