Is Your PC Watching You?

I Put a Tail on You: Snooping by Satellite

Ever wondered where your lowest-producing salesman spends his time? Do you harbor dark suspicions about your spouse's unexplained absences?

Computer-monitoring software can snoop on people sitting at desks, but what if your target is mobile? You could play Dick Tracy and try to follow your suspect yourself. Or you could do what the government does: Use a satellite--or more precisely, 24 satellites, the array that makes up the Global Positioning System (GPS). Developed primarily for the U.S. military but now widely used for civilian activities such as aviation and trucking, the GPS provides highly accurate worldwide positioning and navigation information 24 hours a day. Security companies have found GPS trackers to be very useful, too--for example, to monitor couriers or track endangered corporate executives.

Now, the GPS is being used with products for nosy consumers: private eyes, spouses, parents, employers, or anybody else who wants to tail someone. TravelEyes from Advanced Tracking Technologies is one such virtual PI. Advertised as concealable, this $600 system includes a GPS receiver that's smaller than a pack of cigarettes, a magnetic mount antenna with a cable that plugs into the unit, and a cigarette-lighter power adapter. To connect the device, you can use an optional $12 cable for direct wiring to a fuse box or vehicle battery. The antenna can be hidden under the dashboard or seat.

The unit can record up to 20 hours of travel per use. You transfer data from the unit to a PC via serial cable. Your monitor displays a map that shows where the vehicle went, including street addresses for stops made, the time spent at a stop, and the total mileage involved.

In our tests of a shipping unit, the TravelEyes system performed perfectly. The customized maps that it produces are simple enough for anyone to figure out. Though it doesn't rank as high on the coolness scale as those tiny hidden tracker gadgets in James Bond flicks, TravelEyes works impressively well.