Posts Tagged: location

Tracking Systems — Comments Off
10
Sep 11

Smart Vehicle Tracking by GPS

Think of a bumper beeper that transmits the time and location of your target directly to a digital map view in real time. This is what you get when tracking systems go digital.

You attach your tracker in a similar way, but instead of using radio frequencies to transmit data back to you, the GPS system beams detailed information up to satellites in orbit that beam it back down to you – either on a hand-held display (PDA device) or computer.

You monitor everything using a website interface. Many of these devices interface with the popular mapping website MapQuest. If you cannot monitor your target in real time, one of the most powerful advantages of this tracking system is the fact that you can get automated reports that will give you a log of the target’s location over the course of a day (or even several days).

The cost of these systems is consistently falling, though the most potent and complete systems are still at least a couple thousand dollars.

Luckily, there are several variations of this technology that can give you options in the two, three, and hour hundred dollar range. For example, instead of planting a tracker on the target vehicle, you might use a “tracking stick” that you conceal somewhere on or in the target vehicle and retrieve it in order to collect (download) the surveillance data.

These sticks are smaller than a candy bar, and can run for up to a week on a pair of AAA batteries. Just plug it into your computer’s USB port, and you can retrieve the data in several formats, including HTML, Microsoft Excel, or Google Earth’s own KML format, which is custom built to handle 3D three-dimensional geo-spatial data.

 

Cell Phone Spy — Comments Off
9
Sep 11

Cellphone Tracking

Mobile cellphone tracking follows the same basic process as GPS, only that local cellphone towers are used to record and convey the location of a certain user (at a certain time etc). The technology allows this data to be similarly viewed via an Internet connection from a remote position.

Basically, you can monitor anyone who has a cellphone based on where and when they are using it. But there are a few conditions. There are a number of service companies who can easily set up this method of surveillance, but legally you must get approval from the owner of the cellphone you want to monitor.

If you are a father monitoring your child, this may not be an issue (especially if you are the one who buys the phone!). It’s more of a problem, however, when you need to spy. In the past, it was possible to circumvent this approval process by “borrowing” the target phoneand approving the tracking operation yourself.

This is of course against the rules. Today, these services are issuing periodic reminders to the cellphone being tracked informing its user of this fact. Nevertheless, it remains a much less expensive option for individuals compared to GPS tracking, as there is no need for additional hardware.

Cell Phone Spy — Comments Off
9
Sep 11

Cellphone Tracking software

Mobile cellphone tracking follows the same basic process as GPS, only that local cellphone towers are used to record and convey the location of a certain user (at a certain time etc). The technology allows this data to be similarly viewed via an Internet connection from a remote position. Basically, you can monitor anyone who has a cellphone based on where and when they are using it.

But there are a few conditions. There are a number of service companies who can easily set up this method of surveillance, but legally you must get approval from the owner of the cellphone you want to monitor. If you are a father monitoring your child, this may not be an issue (especially if you are the one who buys the phone!).

It’s more of a problem, however, when you need to spy. In the past, it was possible to circumvent this approval process by “borrowing” the target phone and approving the tracking operation yourself. This is of course against the rules.

Today, these services are issuing periodic reminders to the cellphone being tracked informing its user of this fact. Nevertheless, it remains a much less expensive option for individuals compared to GPS tracking, as there is no need for additional hardware.

Video Surveillance — Comments Off
6
Sep 11

Overt Video Surveillance

To monitor a location over a continuous basis you can use a fixed camera that transmits to a single monitor. This is the same type of Closed Circuit TV (or CCTV) system used by security operations worldwide.

Digital technology has vastly improved the versatility of this method, as digital images can be taken at a much higher resolution, and the footage is easier to study and store.

You can get a quality video surveillance camera for $50-$120 that includes audio as well, with color image and night vision at the higher end of the scale. Installation is a straightforward process.

If the unit will be exposed to the elements, make sure you are purchasing a system that is weatherproof.

Double that price and you’ll find a remote controlled camera that can swivel 360 degrees and see in the dark. If you are after a cheap and easy security device, you may even want to consider a dummy video camera, which uses motion detection to pan an area (and flash a green LED light) in order to appear as if it is actively recording. You can find one for under $30.

Monitoring software — Comments Off
2
Sep 11

Unconventional Phone Tap

With regard to audio surveillance, I’ve saved the best for last, if “best” refers to the most devious device on the market. It’s called the “Infinity Transmitter,” and although the technology has been around for decades, the product has only recently been released to the public.

Basically, if you install this transmitter on a target phone, you can then call the number of the target phone from any location. Your call will remotely activate the microphone on the target phone and begin transmitting whatever conversation (or other audible activity) is occurring in the room back to you. In this sense, it’s more of an audio transmitter than a phone tap.

In effect, it transforms a remote phone into a potent bug. And its potency resides in the fact that once planted on the target phone, it can be activated from literally anywhere in the world that can directly dial it.

The device has had a lot of hype in cult circles, with many questioning its existence in the first place. It does exist, but perhaps not on the same all powerful scale that some descriptions afford it. Some of the devices require the target phone to be picked up, at least briefly, then put down again, so repeated one-ringers can get suspicious.

Also when the transmission is in process, some units will render the phone line “busy,” and you can imagine that this will arouse immediate suspicion when a determined caller informs the target that their line has been busy for hours at a time when in reality it has not. Newer models have apparently been designed so as not to require the initial ring to activate the transmitter, but these are not easily available for purchase online. In any case, an Infinity Transmitter will set you back at least $600-$800, and buyers should be warned about the importance of establishing a reliable vendor. Even if this thing is no longer a black market item, it’s still without a doubt in the grey area.