Using the best iPhone with a Mac is a seamless experience, but not when using a Windows PC

If you install Phone Link on your Windows laptop or desktop, you can use your iPhone from your PC to make phone calls, use iMessage, and view all incoming notifications However, according to a new report from spyware detection company Certo Software, Phone Link is already being exploited by cyberstalkers

In recent weeks, several of the company's users have reported that cyberstalkers are exploiting the Phone Link app to spy on iPhones Certo has investigated this issue and found that it is actually quite easy for potential cyberstalkers to set up Phone Link on someone else's iPhone

Worse yet, there are no "obvious signs that an iPhone user's data is being shared If the cyberstalker has physical access to the victim's iPhone, they can set up Phone Link on their Windows PC and use the app to read the victim's messages on their PC and see who they are communicating with via the connected iPhone can use the app to read the victim's messages on their PC and see who they are communicating with via the connected iPhone

Microsoft has designed Phone Link to make it easy to set up this app, so basically all the cyberstalker has to do is scan a QR code on their own PC with the victim's iPhone and establish a Bluetooth connection

From here, they simply enable a few options on the iPhone to begin sharing information with the PC However, Certo notes that cyberstalkers can only view a user's iMessage history after Phone Link is set up In other words, they cannot steal messages sent and received before the iPhone is connected to the Phone Link app

Using iMessage and making and receiving phone calls are the main functions of the Phone Link app, but it can also see the contents of all incoming notifications from the iPhone

Surprisingly, even if the iPhone is set to not display the contents of notifications until it is unlocked, the Phone Link app will display this information regardless of whether this iPhone setting is enabled This allows cyberstalkers to see other sensitive information such as WhatsApp messages, notifications from banking apps, etc

While Microsoft will likely make some changes to the Phone Link app in response to this discovery, Certo has a fix that you can apply now to protect you from cyberstalkers exploiting the app to spy on you through your iPhone We've got you covered

To see if someone has set up the Phone Link app using your iPhone, you need to go to the Bluetooth settings menu on your device

Here you will find another option called My Devices where you can see all the Bluetooth devices connected to your iPhone Look carefully through the list for any device you don't recognize and pay close attention to any device that has the "Show Notifications" or "Share System Notifications" option enabled

If you find an unfamiliar device in the list with these options enabled, tap "Forget this device" to unpair it from your iPhone Similarly, if you are not using Bluetooth headphones or other Bluetooth-enabled devices with your iPhone, you can disable Bluetooth altogether

At the same time, Certo recommends checking to see if you have any other Face ID or Touch ID configured on your iPhone

While Microsoft and Apple will address this security loophole soon, it is possible that spyware makers will create spy tools that take advantage of this loophole