(Pando) Amnesty International has partnered with several other human rights groups to release Detekt, a free tool that allows Windows users to determine if their machines are infected with spyware. It’s part of a wider effort to maintain a modicum of privacy in the face of mass surveillance programs.
It’s impossible to know how long Detekt will be able to find advanced spyware. Intelligence agencies are some of the best-funded government organizations in the world, and they have a vested interest in making sure tools like Detekt don’t work, or at least aren’t totally foolproof.
Detekt’s supporters know this. “Please beware that Detekt is a best effort tool,” they warn on the tool’s website. “While it may have been effective in previous investigations, it does not provide a conclusive guarantee that your computer is not compromised by the spyware it aims to detect.”
