Month: February 2011

Is Cell Phone Monitoring For Real?

Can I monitor a cell phone’s calls, texts, and location?

Concerned parents and suspicious spouses have been asking this question for almost two decades now. And rightly so. Technology has given us access to a whole new world of communication that people born as late as the mid 80s never experienced growing up. We can have a whole life that is hidden from those closest to use through our cell phones. Phone calls, text messages, and cell phone internet activity can all be done on the move, in hidden places, and to the detriment of relationships and psychological development.

That is where cell phone monitoring comes in. If this technology is real and really works then it would be ideal for those individuals who have a child or spouse who is engaging in activity that is doing damage to their relationships or hurting them psychologically. It will give these concerned individuals the data they need to confront their at-risk individual, hopefully sparking a conversation that will turn the situation around for the better.

So first off, is cell phone monitoring for real? Does it really work?

Yes. It is for real and it really works.

What We Mean By Cell Phone Monitoring

I think it might be a good idea to talk about exactly what we mean when we talk about cell phone monitoring. To be sure, there is an element of GPS tracking in there – but monitoring usually denotes more than just finding the location of a mobile phone. It also includes things like seeing all incoming and outgoing text messages, a detailed log of phone calls, and cell internet browsing activities. In short, all activity that occurs on the cell phone is monitored.

This level of monitoring is accomplished by installing a piece of software on the cell phone that allows this type of tracking activity. Not every cell phone is compatible with just any monitoring program. A lot of cell phone surveillance programs only work on certain operating systems (OS). Some even work on only certain versions of those operating systems, so making sure that what you are going to buy to do your monitoring is compatible with your particular cell phone is pretty important. In fact, I would recommend looking at the spy program’s list of compatible devices before you even read more information about it. Why know about what you can’t buy?

If you don’t have any experience downloading cell phone software then you might want to check out our guide on how to download cell phone tracking software. You will either have to buy your monitoring software from your respective app store (iPhone = App Store; Android = Android Market; BlackBerry = App World; Windows = Marketplace) or purchase it from a 3rd party and download it onto your phone. Either way, our guide should give you want you need to know.

Who Should Monitor A Cell Phone’s Activity

The real question that somebody looking into this should be, why do you want to monitor the cell phone in the first place?

There seems be two groups of people who can answer this question in a legitimate way. The first are parents who have a valid reason to be concerned about their children. The second are a husband or a wife who suspects the other in the relationship of stepping out on them. There may be other people out there who want to track a boyfriend or a girlfriend, but doing so doesn’t seem right to me (and is often illegal).

Let’s take a look at each of them in turn.

Two Reasons To Monitor Your Child’s Cell Phone

Children, even teenagers, need their parents to be just that, parents. Sometimes this is going to involve getting into the nitty gritty of their daily experience. Who are they talking to? What do they think about? What do they like? Are they popular? Who are their friends? What makes them tick?

Now these are questions that all parents should have some sort of idea about, even if all the specifics are a little blurry. If you can’t honestly answer these question you need to evaluate your parenting and just how involved in the life of your child you really are. Then you should realize that cell phone surveillance is no substitute for good parenting.

You see, no amount of technology is going to make up for years of neglect and bad parenting. The only thing that will make up for that is effort, work, sacrifice, and growing up. You are the only one who can bring those things to the table with your child. Getting a cell phone monitor is just going to further alienate your teen because you will just be trying to coax out of them something by force (monitoring their communications) because you haven’t cared enough about them to actually learn who they are and help them grow.

That being said, if you have a good, healthy relationship with your child you still might be justified in using some sort of monitoring software on their cell phone. Here are just two:

They Are Being Cyberbullied

Cyberbullying is a real phenomenon and it is only growing in popularity. Kids are messed up (so are parents) and they do terrible things to each other. Its human nature! Some kids will tell their parents that they are being bullied. Others won’t. Some will even take their silence, and the bullying, to the grave.

If you know a little about your child you are going to be able to tell if something is off with them. You might not be able to pinpoint what it is, you just know that your teen has something going on. You probe and question but all your efforts run into a brick wall. What are you going to do now? This is where getting a quality cell phone monitoring program is going to be helpful.

By being able to read the texts they receive as well as the web information on their cell phone and social media sites you can figure out that they are being bullied. With a little elbow grease you might even be able to figure out who is tormenting your teen on the internet. With this information in tow you can talk with your teen about what is going on and ways that it can be dealt with. You might even be able to take matters into your own hands and get those SOBs who are hurting your teen to stop.

Either way, cell phone surveillance software is what is going to open this door for you.

They Are A Cyberbully

Now the shoe is on the other foot. What would you do if you found out your kid was a cyberbully? I sure as hell would want to make sure that they stopped tormenting another human being. This would take a lot of parenting but it would also include some cell phone tracking. After we talked about why they felt they needed to attack another human being and after I made any changes that I needed to myself and my parenting to ensure that I was creating a home where everyone’s needs were being met I would install some monitoring software on their cell phone to ensure compliance.

Even if my teenager doesn’t make the change on the inside to become a better person it is my responsibility to make sure that the bullying stops.

Should You Monitor An Adults Cell Phone?

Adults certainly pose a different challenge when compared over and against children. Most parents are going to understand that to a certain extent they have a right and responsibility to ensure that their children are healthy and safe. If parents are using cell monitoring technology to reach these goals then it seems like a valid use of the technology. To be sure, parents can use spy technology in an oppressive way – but we don’t think that this would be a valid use of the technology. We would advise such parents to stop.

But when it comes to tracking an adult most people will think that being to see their texts, internet activity, call log, and GPS location is overkill. That is if you ask them if they would want another person doing it to them. Otherwise most people I think entertain the idea of knowing everything someone else does on their cell phone – this is particularly true when it comes to romantic relationships.

If a person thinks that they are being cheated on by a wife, or a husband, or a boyfriend, or a girlfriend then they usually throw out all concern about whether or not it is right to track their cell phone in this way. While I can understand this I personally only think it is valid for a husband or a wife to track their other in a relationship. This is primarily because it is the only relationship described above where the individuals have made a covenant with each other in the sight of God and men to be faithful to one another until one of them is dead.

As is the case in most covenant relationships, both parties have a right to know if the other is breaking covenant. If you have repeatedly gone to your spouse and asked them if they are cheating and they consistently deny it but your suspicions remain then it is my opinion that you have a right to install a cell phone monitoring system.

Cheaters and Cell Phone Monitoring

The most important thing that you will be looking for is evidence of the cheating on their cell phone. Cell phone logs and text messages are probably going to be one of the most important pieces of evidence in your search – that and the cell phones location. A lot of monitoring packages will not only let you see the text messages but also let you recover deleted texts, which is really important for the careful cheater.

Once you have evidence of the cheating you can do what you want with it – but I recommend some sort of confrontation. Remember, they are the one who is cheating – but we all bear the responsibility for failed relationships. Work on the relationship and heal it. It will take work, but marriage is an institution that should be saved and protected.

Who Should Not Use Cell Phone Spying Software

Stalkers. If you want to use spy software just so you can stalk someone then you should stop. It is illegal, mean, and stupid.

Business Uses of Cell Phone Monitoring Software

Finally, there are some business uses for this technology. They include, but are not limited, to the following:

  • Ensure business use of the mobile phones for tax purposes
  • Reduce wasted time due to inappropriate use of the phones
  • Keep employees honest about activities and whereabouts
  • Promote a healthy workforce

\m/

Can you think of any other legitimate reasons to monitor someone’s cell phone? If so, please feel free to leave it in the comments below so I can add it above.

GPS Vehicle Tracking Devices Made Simple

I think we’ve all been there before. You have this vehicle that you just wish that you could track.  You might be a business owner, or a concerned parent, or a victim of grand theft auto.  It doesn’t matter.  Whatever your reasoning, GPS vehicle tracking is something that is accessible to individuals at all levels of technological familiarity. Anyone can track a vehicle if they are equipped with a little understanding and the right hardware for the job.

What we hope to do here with this post is give anyone all the knowledge they need use a GPS tracking system for their vehicle. We will go step by step through the whole process and by the end any person should be able to understand what this powerful technology allows them to accomplish as well as some steps for them to take to get their car, van, or truck tracked with GPS.

What Is GPS Vehicle Tracking?

Its always good to start at the very beginning. I hear its a very good place to start. When we begin, we start with GPS. This acronym stands for the Global Positioning System. It is a constellation (fancy word for group) of satellites operated by the United States Air Force. These satellites float around in outer space beaming a special signal down to earth. These signals are used by a whole bunch of devices and can be heard using a special receiver, or chip.

This GPS tracking chip will “hear” the signal and learn several different things from it. The most important things that it is going to learn is the satellite that sent the signal and how long ago it sent the signal. The GPS chip will then do some fancy math and determine where on earth it could be in relation to that one satellite.

Earth From Space

Now I want you to imagine that you are a man floating out in space looking down on the earth. You have the black expanse of space ominously looming behind you as you gaze at that beautiful blue ball that we call home. Looking down (you have super eyesight) you notice some interesting things about points on the earth in relation to yourself. First, there is one point just below that is the closest point on the earth to you. The second thing is that all the points that are not right below you have other points that share their distance with that point. All the points that share the same distance from you can be connected together and they will make an “o” (circle) shape on the ground. Having more than one point as the distance from you is the norm when looking down on the earth from space.

Now back to our GPS vehicle tracking – specifically our understanding of how many satellites are needed for a tracking chip to know where it is in the world. Just one satellite message is probably not going to give you your exact location. Unless you are directly under a satellite (only around 32 points on earth exists just like this) your GPS chip is going to need to get some help from other satellites to determine where it is. The magic number is 4 total satellites are needed to get a really solid position.

What has been described above is the standard way all GPS devices work. They all require access to the signals from these satellites to figure out its position. If it cannot get these signals (i.e. it is in a cave, an underground parking structure, at the bottom of a lake, river, or ocean, or it is being jammed by a GPS blocker) then it will not be able to be tracked. This is important for those thinking about how they want to use their vehicle tracking device.

The next thing that we should understand about any tracking system is that is needs a way to communicate the location information that the tracking chip calculates to you, the person who is using the vehicle tracker. This is something that standard GPS devices simply do not do. For example, you cannot take your standard GPS navigation device, say a Garmin nüvi 265WT, stick it in a car, and expect to be able to track it. It just doesn’t work that way because these devices have no way to communicate information to people outside the vehicle they are in.

Instead, you are going to need a device that is specifically made for tracking purposes. Car tracking devices generally have both a GPS chip built into it as well as some sort of communication hardware. In most cases this is going to be a cell phone modem for communication over the wireless networks that paint themselves across America, but there are a few instances where the tracker could communicate via commercial communication satellites. Chances are though any tracker you are going to use will use a cell phone network, so we will focus on how that works.

Your vehicle tracking system will now take the information that the tracking chip has calculated and send this out over the cell phone network much like a person would send a text message (SMS) or email. This data is sent from the device to the tracking provider. The tracking provider will make this information available to their users – in this case you and whomever you decide to share it with – through a clean web interface that will either be Google Maps or at least closely resemble it.

That, in a nutshell, is what GPS vehicle tracking is – it is the seamless combination of GPS location technology and wireless communication technology into one powerful device.

GPS Vehicle Tracking Devices

There are many different devices out there from a wide range of manufacturers and distributors. We cannot go through each of them and talk about the different vehicle tracking devices that they offer and how you can use them. That would take up too much time and would probably be pretty boring to read. Instead, what we want to do here is briefly describe the two main categories of devices and discuss some of the various pros and cons for each of them. The two types of GPS vehicle trackers out there are built-in device and standalone device.

Built-in GPS Vehicle Tracking Devices

These are the most commonly used devices for fleet vehicle tracking. Being built in to the vehicle gives them extreme flexibility and power, enabling almost constant tracking for vital performance metrics for businesses. Also, by being well tied into the internal workings of the vehicle also has its advantages. For example, some GPS vehicle trackers allow remote control of certain functions of the car.

Is your driver idling the car for too long at a service call? Simply cut his engine for him! Did your delivery person accidentally lock the keys in the ignition of the delivery van? Unlock the doors remotely for her! You can many of these things with fleet tracking devices built specifically for the purpose. And these features are not just limited to commercial applications, many consumer oriented trackers also offer these feature to their customers as well.

Most built in trackers do require a professional install since theses devices do become integral part of the vehicles electrical and computer systems. Some trackers just plug into a special port under the steering wheel (called an OBD-II port) and don’t require any special attention from a professional installer, which means that you can install it yourself once you get the piece of equipment in the mail.

I did want to clear up on point of possible confusion before going on to talk about standalone trackers. By using the phrasse “built-in” I might have given the wrong impression. I do not necessarily mean something like OnStar. It does not have to be built into the car when it is made or even shortly after it is made. It just needs to get its power from the vehicle. Another phrase I could have used was hard-wired.

Other possible applications:

  • Teen driver tracking
  • Theft recovery
  • Catching a cheater
  • Business mileage calculator

Standalone GPS Vehicle Tracking Devices

Standalone trackers are usually versatile GPS tracking devices that are not necessarily bound to a single function. Take the Zoombak line of products. There are two main trackers that they sell. The Advanced GPS Car & Family Locator and the Advanced GPS Universal Locator. These devices are essentially the same, the only difference being the branding that they’ve done. This is pretty much going to be the standard for all portable, standalone trackers.

One thing that you have to be aware of is that standalone trackers cannot really compete with the built-in vehicle tracking systems because they are not set up for real time GPS tracking in the same way. While a built in tracker can produce an avalanche of data and never run out of batteries a standalone tracker can only track as long as the battery has a charge. The Zoombak can give 150 locates before it runs out of battery. This is a pitiful number when compared with fleet tracking devices.

But what they lack in longevity these devices make up in versatility. A built in car tracker isn’t going to be much good once you take it out of the car. In fact, you can’t really take it out of the car to be used on your teenage daughter as she goes through Central Park. Devices like the Zoombak provide comprehensive tracking support for most personal tracking needs.

Another feature of the portable trackers is that they are often easily concealable. If you are trying to track a vehicle incognito then something small is definitely going to be what you want to go with. While it still isn’t the very best money can buy for this type of application, you will still get a lot of bang for you buck.

Other possible applications:

  • Most non-vehicle GPS tracking functions, including:
    • Sport tracking
    • Pet tracking
    • Child tracking
  • Covert tracking of cars

The Cell Phone As Vehicle Tracker

Sony Ericsson w995 cell phoneA word here needs to be said about the ubiquitous cell phone. Did you know that these devices are the most common GPS trackers on the planet? They can easily be utilized to become full fledged vehicle trackers. Even if you don’t have a cell phone to spare you can install some sweet (and free) cell phone tracking software for your phone. If you are looking for a good program for your phone then you should check our list: free GPS cell phone trackers.

Do I Need A Vehicle Tracking System?

Now that you have gotten a little bit more information about the devices that are going to make up your vehicle tracking system you have a decision to make. Is GPS vehicle tracking something that you actually need? The costs associated with this type of real time tracking is certainly not cheap. The cheaper devices start at around $100 and they only go up from there. Then there is the monthly subscription fee that all tracking providers require to operate correctly. In the first year alone you can reasonably expect to spend around $500.

Businesses obviously have the most to gain by implementing these devices as part of a fleet management system. Private individuals may save some money on insurance premiums by having a tracker, but the real offset is the value that you receive from having one of these devices. Is it enough to justify purchasing a vehicle tracker?

Real Time GPS Tracking

When most people think of tracking someone they think of real time GPS tracking. They want to know exactly where a person or object is at any given moment of time. They want to sit at their computer and be able to follow the tracker’s movements on a Google Maps like interface. In essence, people want to be a little like God – knowing where someone is at any given moment in the day.

If you haven’t tried it, you should.

What follows is a look at some of the common questions people might have about real time GPS tracking. Its not a definitive list, its just a start.

What Is Real Time GPS Tracking?

Real time GPS tracking is the process where a device communicates its position over a wireless communication network to a 3rd party. This third party then makes the information available on the Internet for the user to access.

Essentially the device is a combination of a GPS and a cell phone. Once the GPS figures out where you are the cell part of the tracker sends that information to the tracking provider. The provider takes the raw data, puts it on a map, and then lets you look at the map online in a slick interface that often uses Google Maps.

Like I said before, if you haven’t tried it yet you should.

How Does Real Time GPS Tracking Work?

The process is called trilateration and it involves some math. Some fancy math at that. But what you need to know is that there are dozens of satellites in orbit around the wolrd right now put up there by the folks in the United States Airforce. These satellites put out a constant stream of low energy radio signals that have data encoded in them.

Your GPS tracking device receives these signals and is able to calculate how far it is away from each of the satellites it receives the message from. Once it has 4 of these distances calculated it can determine its location on the surface of the earth to within just a few meters.

Now that it has calculated its position it will now try and broadcast the information to the tracking provider. Some real time trackers use cell phone networks to do this transmission while others use communication satellites. Both have their place, but most tracking devices that work in real time are going to work off of a cell phone network.

Once this information is calculated and transmitted the tracking provider gives you access to the information through a website. Sometimes they will let you share the info in a widget on a personal blog or Facebook, or they might let you send secure text messages or emails with your location to a select group of people.

Can You Block A Real Time Tracker?

Yes. And blocking is actually much easier than you think. Let’s say that you think you are being tracked by someone against your will and in an illegal way. Perhaps an estranged ex-boyfriend is showing up in strange places. Definitely call the police and have them do a once over of your vehicle, but then go out and buy a GPS blocker. (Update 4/16/2012:  GPS jammers are illegal and should not be used.  After several events in recent years the US government has really began to crack down on GPS jammers since they pose a significant risk to public safety and  national infrastructure.  Consumers should not buy these devices unless they are approved by the FCC.  Any jammer in use should be retired and an alternative method to ensure location privacy should be employed since penalties for jammer use could exceed $100,000 and include jail time.)

This small device will scramble the incoming GPS signals so that they can’t get to the device. The tracker will be unable to tell where it is and the tracking will stop. These devices generally have to be plugged into your car and have an effective sphere of several yards. They are illegal in some places, so be sure to check to see if you are allowed to own and operate them in your car.

There are other ways to stop real time tracking that don’t involve owning a potentially illegal device. If the device is your cell phone then turn the phone completely off (and take out the battery if needed). This will prevent anyone from using your phone as a tracking device.

Types Of Real Time GPS Tracking:

There are a few different types of real time tracking. Here is a brief synopsis of each of them to give you an idea of what exactly they are.

Car tracking devices

Real time car tracking devices come in two main varieties: hardwired and stand alone. There are benefits to each of them, but in most applications a hardwired device is going to be the way that you want to go. Hardwired real time trackers benefit from getting their power from the vehicle itself, making nearly continuous, long term tracking a possibility.

This is incredibly important for tracking a teen driver, recovering a stolen vehicle, or improving fleet performance. Some hardwired trackers do require a professional installation or some familiarity with vehicle electronics. Others are so easy to install you can do it yourself. Just slide it into the OBD-II port and you are good to go.

Stand alone real time trackers will work just like the hardwired variety and have the same costs but will need to constantly have their battery recharged. Let’s use the popular stand alone tracker, the Zoombak, to get some sort of bearing on the difference between the two. According to the Zoombak website, the tracker can perform 150 locates (determining the device’s position via GPS and then transmitting that information over a wireless network to Zoombak) before the battery runs out. If you only do 1 locate every 3 minutes you only have 7.5 hours of constant, real time tracking with the Zoombak. You will need to recharge the device a lot if you want to use it for certain applications.

Don’t get me wrong, it will still work and may even work better in certain applications. You just want to make sure you know what you are getting into.

Cell phone tracking software

Did you know that cell phones are the most widely used real time GPS tracking devices in the world? Its true. It was on CNN:

Pretty much any cell phone can be located in real time just by being turned on. Not all cell phones can be located by YOU, but they can be located by your cell phone carrier who can then give that information to the police or some other government agency. Some cell phones have the capability to contact third parties if special software is installed on them.
It is this software than can turn a cell phone into a real time tracking device for normal people like you and me.

There are two types of software out there that let you track a phone in real time. The first is free GPS cell phone tracking software. Some of these free tracking programs are actually incredibly powerful and let you do tons of things with them. Most free trackers are designed to be used by willful participants and are not necessarily going to work as secret real time GPS trackers. Things like Google Latitude, InstaMapper’s GPS Tracker, and Lookout Mobile Security can give you pinpoint locations for the cell phone – they just all require account creation and are easily accessed from any smartphone.

Paid real time GPS tracking programs are also available, but these only should be purchased if you are trying to do something very specific that a free tracker will not allow you to do. One thing that a lot of paid services provide is cell phone monitoring in addition to the real time tracking. These services let you see incoming and outgoing calls, read text messages, and see Internet usage. These programs are extremely powerful and can be set up to run “silently” so the user of the phone doesn’t know that they are there.

Personal GPS trackers

Iceberg
Don't get trapped adventuring without a real time GPS tracking device!

Personal real time GPS tracking devices are generally about one thing – safety. If you can imagine a group or community that might benefit from having their position readily accessible by concerned loved ones then you can rest assured that there is probably already a tracking devices for that market. There are real time trackers for kids, for teenagers, for Alzheimer’s patients, and for outdoor adventurers– just to name a few.

None of these trackers can hold a candle to the sheer amount of data that they can collect when compared to a built in GPS tracker in a car, but in a pinch these devices can save a life. They suffer from short battery life since they try to be small and concealable. Some only have a real time battery life of a few hours. However, most of these devices are better when used on demand. You simply find there device when you actually want to.

The Future of Real Time GPS Tracking

Everyone is going to be using this technology in the future. If not for themselves then in some other way that benefits them. Governments are becoming increasingly aware that providing real time data on public transportation improves user’s experience. Companies are realizing that tracking data is fun and interactive. And privacy barriers are being increasingly eroded by childhoods saturated in Internet culture. The question that still remains for use to determine is how we will own this new technology and make it integral parts of our lives in the future. Real time GPS tracking is the future. Is that a future you are looking forward to?

Mobile Phone Tracking

There are a lot of options out there for people looking for a mobile phone tracker. It seems as though everyone has some reason to know the location of a cell phone – either their own or someone else’s. A lot of the reasons are good and straight forward. Other reasons are often less than noble.

You could be the parent that is trying to make sure that your family is able to stay in contact with each other and keep each other safe. Or you could be an employer who is seeking a solution to improve company logistics, reduce costs, and create revenue opportunities. Or you could be a creepy stalker trying to find out where someone is. Whatever your reason, there are some things that you should know about tracking a mobile phone.

What is mobile phone tracking?

Wikipedia defines it this way:

Mobile phone tracking tracks the current position of a mobile phone even on the move.

Simple enough. Another way to put it is this, it is the process where you use the natural working of the phone in order to tell the exact location of the mobile.

Anyone looking for ways to track a mobile phone probably already have an idea of what it is due to the countless number of times a cell phone is tracked on a TV crime drama. But what you see is a caricature of how it actually works. For starters, law enforcement does need to request the information from a carrier – they just don’t type into their computers and get the info. Heck, they may even have to get a warrant!

However, there is some truth to the way it is portrayed. Many tracking programs do have a web interface that will display the exact location of the person (give or take a few metres) that has already consented to having the tracker installed on their phone. This is really powerful stuff and all you need is a computer to now exactly where someone is.

How does mobile phone tracking work?

Without getting too technical, its magic. Just kidding. It can get pretty complex, but the tracking mechanics either use GPS satellites or cell towers to find out the position of the mobile. The technical name for the process is called trilateration, but some people refer to it as triangulation (which is wrong, technically, but works fine for most people).

What this mathematical process does is takes the position of some fixed objects – like satellites in space or cell towers on the ground – and draws big circles around 3 or more of them. The points where all the circles come together is the point where the phone is. Here is a pretty good video that explains it perfectly:

The guys voice is a little monotone, but he’s a scientist – so that makes it okay. Simple enough, right?

Are there free mobile phone tracking options?

Yes! There are tons of different free mobile phone tracking programs out there on all types of cell phones. The real question that you should be asking is which tracking program is right for me?

Unfortunately, the only one who is going to be able to answer that is you, but here is some things that you should consider. There are a few main types of tracking programs for mobile phones. There are social trackers, sport trackers, family trackers, and business trackers.

Social mobile phone tracking programs are designed to keep friends in contact with each other. Programs like foursquare and Gowalla allow users to share their position information with their friends to earn “cool points” from each other. A conversation could go something like this:

Dude 1:  Hey, man.  I just checked in at hipster bar #3.  I’m hip.

Dude 2: Dang bro, your the coolest.

Dude 1: Yeah.  I totally know.  That is why I posted it on the Internet.

Pretty deep stuff, I know.

Other social trackers, like Google Latitude, let your friends know exactly where you are whenever your phone is on and it is getting a good location from the GPS satellites. This is very creepy, but only if you give even mild friends access to know where you are at all times. If you just use it for family (and maybe very close friends) it is not that crazy.

Sport trackers can be used by the physically adventurous to record their exercising. It will do all the normal things that you might want a GPS to do for you. It will log the time when you started the run and then give you the time you stopped so you have the total time exercised. They are even good enough that they can add up all your time stopped at traffic lights or at duck crossings and find your actual run time.

In additional to this pretty rudimentary stuff they also give you an average speed, altitude changes, and peak speeds. All this information can be used to look at your exercising routines and determine where you can improve. Most people will just use it to keep track of their exercising.

Family mobile phone trackers are designed to help families stay connected and safe. Some family trackers are social trackers that have been hijacked for the purpose. Google Latitude is one such example. It is billed as something for friends to use – but it is really better for families.

Then there are apps like Life 360. This app is for families and pets and lets you keep track of your children. It also displays the known addresses of sex offenders as well as safe places to go if you feel like you are in danger.

Business mobile phone trackers still work like all the other tracking programs they just have specific business applications. Businesses might need dispatcher support as well as ways to push information out to the mobiles on the field. These programs are certainly not free, but they do provide businesses with powerful personnel command – making them leaner, meaner, and more productive.

Who can use mobile phone tracking?

Anyone who is smart enough to install it. You also have to have access to the mobile phone in order to install the tracker and get it working properly. This is all pretty easy. If you need some help you can check out our article on how to download cell phone tracking software for help.

Can you secretly track a mobile phone?

The answer is yes and no. If you are looking to do covert mobile phone tracking on someone else’s phone without their knowledge then the answer is NO! You should never, ever, ever, ever, ever track someone’s mobile phone without their consent. If the police find out about you will be faced with stalking charges. Private citizens have no power to secretly track someone else without their knowledge.

It also doesn’t pass the common sense test. Would you want just anyone to be able to track your mobile phone to know where you are?

But I did answer the question with a yes, but it is a qualified yes. The only way that you may (consult your attorney to determine what the law in your state is) is if you are the owner of the property being tracked. Businesses, spouses, and parents all potentially have the ability to track another individual without their knowledge or consent as long as they are tracking their own property.

For example, a business issues mobile phones to their employees as part of the job. Without the employee knowing the owners of the business can install tracking software on the phone to ensure that the employee is doing their job. Parents can also activate parental control tracking features through their mobile carrier without the consent of any of the lines on their plan. This could be a teen, a spouse, a friend, or even a boyfriend or girlfriend. As long as they are on your plan you have the ability to track them without their knowledge.

The real question is should you use a covert mobile phone tracker? Most cases probably don’t warrant it, but I know that some do. Tracking a cheating spouse is one that comes to mind.

Can I type in a number on a website and track a mobile phone?

GPS mobile phone tracking does not really work that way. Now there is a way if you are in Europe to do this, but you have to have the consent of the person for it work – and most people hardly will get the person they are trying to track to approve their request.

Now you can access a website and see the location of the phone if you already have the program installed on it. Just log in with your credentials and you will see exactly where the phone is, give or take a few metres.

If you have any more questions about mobile phone tracking just leave them in the comments below and we will be more than happy to do our best to get them answered for you. Thanks!

Car Tracking Devices: Considered and Evaluated

Car tracking devices are anything but cheap. If you are going to buy one of these high tech, expensive products there are several things that you should know about them before committing your finances (and in some cases, your security) on a device that you know will work in theory, but have no experience in practice.

The first area that this article is going to examine is the different ways that people often use car trackers. After a brief examination we will examine some of the tracker characteristics that any potential customer should evaluate before making their final decision.

Ways To Use a Car Tracking Device

There seem to be four main reasons to use a GPS tracking device inside a car. They are to track inexperienced, immature drivers, verify suspicions of infidelity, improve business operations, and recover property.

Teen Drivers

We have gone into great detail about the different reasons why a parent would install a tracking device in their teen’s car. We have even discussed some of the ways that a tracking device for cars can be leveraged to help make teens safer drivers. Needless to say we won’t go into a lot of that stuff here. You just need to know that more teens die each year from automobile accidents than any other cause. These are all preventable deaths and are often the fault of the teens themselves.

If you knew that a tracking device would save your teens life, would you spend the $400 for it?

Catching Cheaters

Cheaters suck. They often lie. They also need to be caught. Most of the time the person being cheated on needs help in pinning the cheater into a corner so that they have to admit their infidelity. GPS tracking can often help them in this endeavor. Simply install a tracker in the vehicle of the suspected cheater (but only if you own that vehicle – tracking another person’s property without their consent is illegal) and you can know for certain if they are staying at work late or doing something a little more suspect.

Fleet Vehicle Tracking

Car GPS tracking has a long and proven track record in commercial applications. It has been shown to improve worker productivity, reduce costs, enhance the customer experience, and improve vehicle maintenance. What more could a business owner want?

Theft Recovery

Theft happens. Having a device that will tell you where your car is in real time when you wake up in the morning and your car isn’t out front can be invaluable. It is also nice to know that the crooks that stole your car are going to prison rather than profiting off of your property.

Considerations For Choosing A GPS Car Tracking Devices

If you come to the conclusion that you need a device to track a car then you have to take several things into consideration when making your decision. These devices are anything but cheap, so making sure you pick something that is going to meet your needs is very important. Here is a list of some of the main things you will want to think through:

Hardwired Vs. Stand Alone

This may not sound like that big of a decision, but it is probably one of the most important decisions that you need to make. The main reason for this is battery life. Tracking devices, especially real time tracking devices, run through battery power very quickly. Some GPS car tracking devices, like the Zoombak, only have an active tracking life of several hours. That is extremely low if you need to track the vehicle for longer than that.

Hardwired car tracking devices have the benefit of getting their power directly from the vehicle itself. As long as your battery is live your tracker will be able to give you the position of the car. Some hardwired trackers can be installed covertly so that they are not easily seen or accessible. Others are installed under the steering wheel in the OBD-II port and can be easily seen if you know what to look for.

Stand alone devices do not benefit from the car’s power source and must rely on their own battery. This means that you can have an active tracking life of several weeks to just a few hours depending on the type and size of the tracker you are using. This can be fine – it just depends on what you are using the tracker for and how much money you want to spend on it all.

Real Time Vs. Data Loggers

GPS logger

Probably the next most important thing for people to think about when going with a car tracker is whether or not they want to see the position information in real time or if they are alright with recording the data and looking at it later, after the device has been retrieved from the vehicle. Most people want to do the tracking in real time. There is just something special about being able to watch your asset move from location to location.

The price tag on real time car tracking devices is nothing to sniff at. They are often much more expensive, two to three times as expensive, than their data logging counter parts – and that doesn’t even take into consideration the monthly subscription fee required by most tracking providers. When that is taken into consideration it can cost four times as much just in the first year alone!

But if your need is for a real time tracker then you are going to fork out the cash.

Web-Based Vs. Software Based

Many people looking for GPS tracking want something that they can access from any web enabled computer. This is most often available with real time GPS tracking devices. This is because the tracking device will transmit the position and vector data over a wireless network to your tracking provider. The provider will then make this data available to you on a secure website available on the internet. Only you are going to be able to access the information since you are the only one with the user name and password for the tracker.

Here is a graphic of how this all works:

How web based tracking works

Software based car tracking devices are generally data loggers. Most of the time the data logger comes with a CD that contains some sort of tracking software that you need to install on your computer to make sense of the data the device records. For example, the i-Got U GT-600 comes with this type of software on a small mini-CD. The software works with the device to display your trip data on pretty Google-based maps and helps you integrate photos into your journey. The software then lets you post this information out on to the web if you want to share the data with friends or family.

While most car tracking devices don’t need some of the features available on the i-GotU (that device is designed to help people share vacations, hikes, or other fun excursions), they will have some sort of software that will help you make sense of the data on the tracker. This is helpful for users because it means you don’t need to know a ton about telemetry in order to make sense of your tracking information.

Covert Vs. Open

You are wanting a car tracking device for a certain reason, and that reason is going to determine whether or not you want to use a covert tracker or something that is a little more easily seen and accessed. Above we mentioned 4 different applications where are GPS car tracker would be useful. Here are some of the defining characteristics of a covert vs. open deployment in each category:

CovertOpen
Teen Drivers
  • Engaged in or suspected of illegal activity
  • Extremely rebellious and likely to destroy or bypass car tracker
  • Acts also as a good theft recover device
  • Parents have a relationship of trust and mutual respect
  • Teen sees tracker as safety device and is clearly aware of consequences of bad driving
Catching Cheaters
  • Cheater is suspicious of you knowing
  • Cheater could turn violent and abusive if your search for truth is discovered
  • Cheater is observant or tech savvy
  • None
Fleet Vehicle Tracking
  • Acts as an excellent theft recovery device
  • Catches wasteful employees in the act
  • Reminds employees to work their best all the time
  • Allows for integration with dispatchers, increasing efficiency in workforce
  • Promotes healthy employer/employee relationships
Theft Recovery
  • Hidden trackers will be overlooked by less accomplished criminals
  • Ability to work as long as the battery is still giving power to the car
  • None

As you can see, there are some applications where having an easily accessible car tracking device is not really in your best interest. You can still use it in these instances, you just run the risk of wasting your money.

Should You Use A Car Tracking Device?

Not everything labeled as a car tracking device is going to be what you are looking for for your particular needs. Be sure to carefully consider the purchase you are making. Ask questions of yourself and the potential supplier. The more questions you ask, the better informed you are going to be and the more successful you are going to be in your desire to track a car with GPS.

How To Download Cell Phone Tracking Software

If you are thinking about putting cell phone tracking software on your phone you might have several questions before you get started. Probably the very first thing you want to know is which program you should download. There are several great places to find some lists of tracking apps. We recommend this one: Free GPS Cell Phone Tracking

If you follow the link you will find a long list of tracking applications that can be downloaded on many different types of smartphones. All the major brands are represented – iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. If you don’t have a smart phone then you might want to take a look at some of the other tracking apps that we covered in our post about free GPS tracking applications and software. There is plenty there that can be used on many different types of cell phones.

What you will find in these links is free cell phone tracking software. There is a lot of paid software out there. These can cost you anywhere between $5 from your app store to $60 for full fledged cell phone spy software. Some of these are worth the money and then some. Others are not worth the crap the monkeys who coded the software evacuated from their bowels while mashing away at the keyboard. This might be because they are worthless programs or because you can do the same exact thing with free apps that cost you nothing (the unnecessary reiteration is intentional!). Choosing the right software for your needs is obviously important, so take your time in determining exactly what you need the cell phone tracking software for and educate yourself on what some of the different free options are going to be able to do for you. They are often extremely powerful and capable of doing exactly what you want without having to fork out any more cash.

Once you have picked your app then the next question is going to be how to download the cell phone tracking software. This really depends on what type of cell phone you have. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect for each type of phone:

How to Download Tracking Software To A Smartphone

Smartphones benefit from being better than other, normal cell phones. They are, after all, smart. Almost every major brand of cell phone has an app store that you can go to and download the software to your phone automatically. The best part is, once it is downloaded, all the installation is taken care of for you. You don’t need to know a ton of stuff to get it work. Just choose what you want, tell it to download, and you are done.

Here is an example from an Android cell phone. There are two main ways that you can download the ever popular InstaMapper cell phone tracking software. You can go to the Android market and then search for “GPS Tracker.” Then look for the result withe InstaMapper, LLC as the publisher. Click on install and you will download and install the app seamlessly.

If you have a QR code reader just scan this:

InstaMapper Cell Phone Tracking Software QR Code

It really is that easy to download software with a smart phone.

How to Download Tracking Software To A Regular Cell Phone

GPS tracking software becomes a little more difficult when you are not working with the easy, breezy smartphones. Don’t take my word for it. Here is what the folks at InstaMapper recommend for downloading their software when using one of the Motorola iDen phones that you can get on the cheap:

The easiest way to Install InstaMapper on your phone is by loading it over-the-air using this tool provided by Sprint:

http://144.230.114.35/adp1/FUN/index.jsp?output=100

The tool will ask you for a .zip file, which you can get here.

Then go to Menu -> Games & Apps -> Download Apps. Click on “New Purchases”. If you don’t see the app there, navigate to Menu -> My Info on your phone and hit “Edit”. If Line 1 is empty, enter your full phone number there (starting with the area code). Then try downloading the app again.

Alternatively, you can install the app from your PC using a regular USB cable and Motorola’s iDEN Java Application Loader (JAL) software. The latter can be downloaded directly from Motorola here (free registration required; click “join MotoDev” when they ask you for your login information). After JAL is installed, connect your phone to the PC with a USB cable, start JAL, and hit “Connect to phone”. Unzip InstaMapper tracking software to a folder on your PC, then hit “Download” and select “GPSTracker.jad” from that folder. Hit “Disconnect” when the transfer completes.

Now start the app you just downloaded — it will be under “Java Apps”, possibly on the second screen (hit “More”). The app is called “GPS Tracker” and has an icon that looks like a satellite. Enter the device id from your InstaMapper account. Click “Save”. The phone will ask for your permission to access the GPS chip. Say “yes”. When the status message changes from “Locating…” to “Tracking…” your should be able to see the location of your phone on InstaMapper.

Note: the app will pop into foreground during the first few days of operation (the intention here is to discourage covert tracking). Unfortunately, on Motorola phones a notification sound is played whenever an application requests to be run in the foreground. We recommend leaving the app in the foreground during the first few days that it’s running, or muting notification sounds in the phone’s settings.

This is certainly doable, but it does break down significantly for someone who really is not too certain what they are doing.

Special Note On “Cell Phone Spy” Software

Unfortunately, the experience users have to go through to install cell phone spy software is a lot like installing something on a regular cell phone. This is because a lot of the publishers out there for this type of software don’t go through app stores and just sell them directly to customers. This makes these things notoriously difficult to install and get running. To me, this is their greatest failing. How can you use this type of spy software if you can’t even get it loaded on a phone?

If you are going to go this route I would urge extreme caution. Only buy something with a solid money back guarantee so you can recoup your money if you can’t get it installed correctly or if your phone isn’t supported.

How To Download Cell Phone Tracking Software

If you are trying to download and install mobile phone tracking software then you should hope that you have a smartphone. 🙂 In reality, it is very easy to download most trackers to your cell – even if you just have a regular old phone. If all else fails, follow the instructions on the website for the software you are trying to download.

A Warning About GPS Tracking Devices

When it comes to GPS tracking devices you need to understand one thing right off the bat. If you don’t learn this you could end up spending hundreds of dollars on a device that isn’t going to meet your needs by doing what you think it is going to do. If you are like me then you want to avoid spending money (that you don’t have) on something that isn’t what you need.

You need to know that there are two main types of GPS tracking devices. There are real time tracking devices and there are data logging devices. While they both are in fact GPS devices and they both track a person’s location they do no provide the same tracking experience for the user.

If you are looking for a device that will let you find out where a person or asset or vehicle is at any given point in the day then you are looking for a real time tracking device. This is what most people think about when they go searching on the internet. They want something that will let them type in a cell phone number and they will be able to pull up the exact location of a friend, a boyfriend, a lover, or a child. While a real time tracking device doesn’t do that exactly, that is the type of experience that you are going to get with that type of device.

Most real time trackers let you use their website or software to pull up the exact location of a person (really the device) at any given moment in time. This usually uses something like Google Maps and give you a location that is normally really accurate. There are things that can interfere with this, but it is usually really good.

Data loggers, on the other hand, find the devices position at predetermined intervals. This could be as short as 3 seconds or as long as 5 minutes. The interval doesn’t matter. The data logger will simply find the position and then record it on its hard drive to be downloaded later by the device owner.

With a data logger you actually have to have the tracker in order to access the data. You cannot know the location of the tracker remotely. You have to have it your possession in order for it work. With a data logger you can only ever know where the device has been.

The distinction between the two is very important to understand as each of them has its own positives and negatives. Let’s see how each of these would be used in the following applications:

Vehicle GPS Tracking Devices

There are three main reasons that people are going to track a vehicle with GPS. There are business reasons, safety reasons, and relational reasons.

Fleet Tracking

Fleets can cost companies thousands of dollars to maintain and effectively run. Studies have shown that implementation of fleet tracking benefits small businesses by increasing profits, reducing driver waste, and increasing on-time deliveries/visits.

All fleet tracking is real time. This allows dispatchers to route vehicles and personnel in efficient ways. Efficient businesses make happy, repeat customers and end up making owners more money. But just because it works in real time doesn’t mean that the data is not available for managers to go over when they need to (say, in the case of a trouble worker no completing jobs or showing up late to appointments).

These tracking devices are most often installed directly in the vehicle and are hardwired to the power supply for constant tracking capabilities. It is concealed, provides theft protection, assists police with vehicle recovery, and promotes an efficient workforce.

Data loggers would be a mess in this application and would give practically no benefit to a company trying to improve its operation.

Track A Teen Driver

Tracking a teen driver is a little different than fleet tracking, but not necessarily so. Real time tracking still provides all the benefits that it does with fleet tracking. Parents can determine the speed of their child as they drive, receive updates if they exceed a certain speed, know when they travel outside certain predetermined boundaries, or make sudden brakes. All of these are features offered on many different teen driver trackers on the market and they are only available for real time trackers.

One must be particularly careful when choosing a real time tracker. The very best option is to get one that will hardwire into the car. This will make your job as a parent easier because you won’t have to charge the battery constantly (most real time devices are power hungry!). Devices like the Zoombak – though cheaper than other devices – suffer from this very fault. A device that will not hardwire is no good as a theft recovery device and does you no good if your child is in the car and it gets car jacked! If you are concerned about your teen’s safety then why not give the best protection possible?

A data logger will still work to track a teen driver, but it is going to work much differently. You’ll still know when your child brakes suddenly or goes way too fast – you just won’t know until well after the fact and you plow through the data to figure it out. I recently tracked my wife secretly for a month and that much data is very difficult to work through – especially if your teen is driving everyday. It can be done, its just no fun.

Another thing to mention here is that data loggers are often significantly cheaper than real time GPS trackers. A good data logger might cost you $100. A real time device might cost $200 and then cost $15 a month with a year minimum contract. That is certainly more expensive. You’ll just have the weigh the pros and cons yourself about this one.

Catching A Cheater

What type of GPS tracking device is best to track a cheater? It all depends really. We have already seen that a real time tracking device is going to cost you a pretty penny. If you have the money then I would recommend going this route. That way you can verify whether or not they are at work when they say they are “working late” or if they are shaking up with the hussy from accounting at a hotel off the interstate.

You’ll probably want one that can be installed secretly in the car and that won’t be easily detectable. Unfortunately, most fleet tracking devices are either right there in the cab (under the steering wheel) or easily detectable if you look under the hood. This is fine if you are tracking someone who never really takes a look under the hood of the car. There are some other real time trackers that will work in this capacity that have a battery life of several days – but these always run the risk of being discovered while planted on the vehicle (like in a wheel well) or while they are being swapped out to recharge the battery.

Data loggers are most useful in catching a cheater than any other vehicle tracking application. They have a significantly longer battery life so they can remain in play for much longer. They are also often smaller than real time trackers so they are more suitable for the covert nature of this particular tracking application. You just have to go through the data once you get the logger back. This isn’t the most fun in the world – but neither is being cheated on! That is plenty of motivation to sift through the data.

Personal GPS Tracking Devices

When it comes to personal tracking applications there are two main reasons to have a device on your person. They are for sport and for safety.

Sport

GPS watches are one of the most visible examples of personal tracking devices used in a sport application. Whether you are running or cycling these devices provide powerful information for anyone trying to make the most out of their training regimen. They are not cheap, but they sure are cool.

Interestingly enough, these devices are almost always a data logger – despite the steep price tag. However, something like the i-Got U pretty much does a comparable task as something like the Garmin Forerunner 405 and is $200 cheaper. Sure, you certainly get more with the Garmin so you are going to have to decide for yourself if the more is really $200 more. All data loggers are pretty much equal in terms of GPS tracking capabilities – they just have different software that lets you interact with the data.

I personally have never seen a real time sport tracking device. To be honest, they are unnecessary and would be super expensive.

Safety

The second type of personal GPS tracking devices are used for personal safety. These are the the child tracking devices that will save your child if they get abducted, or the GPS tracker for Alzheimer’s suffers, or the SPOT satellite messenger that alerts your family and friends of your hiking accident. All of these devices do their tracking in real time.

Small GPS Tracking Devices

As you can imagine, many of the applications mentioned above call for small devices. You don’t want a huge, bulky device strapped to your wrist while you run. That just wouldn’t be fun. Similarly, covert tracking is best done with the smallest device possible.

What is the difference in size between real time GPS tracking devices and data loggers?

Well, the answer isn’t that simple, but generally speaking data loggers can be much smaller than real time trackers. This is simply because real time trackers also have to find a place to put its cell phone modem to let it talk over the wireless network in your particular country. Real time trackers also suffer from reduced battery life given that they have so much more to do than a data logger. If a real time tracker and a data logger have the exact same battery the real time tracker will run out of battery first – often long before the data logger.

This is why small real time trackers have a terrible battery life. One industry leading child GPS tracking device had an effective battery life of one day! That is a lot of battery charging for parents and really pushed the viability of the product as a safety device for children.

Real Time or Data Logger?

What is best for your particular tracking needs? You are the only one who is going to be able answer that question. Now you know the issues between the two types of GPS tracking devices and how they affect three of the main applications for them. If you have any questions I’ll do my best to answer them in the comments below.