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GPS Locator for a Person or Vehicle

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We live in a time where you can track a car, a driver and even speed by using GPS tracking. This is a technology that is in huge demand, and it is not just because of higher rates of theft; but also due to technological advances and frankly, people “just want to know”.

vectuFBI reports show that in 2014, approximately 700,000 vehicles were stolen in the United States. This equates to a vehicle being stolen about every 46 seconds. Additionally, estimates from the U.S. Department of Justice show that approximately 2,000 children are reported missing each day. However, if you could track your vehicles and your children with one cheap, inconspicuous device, we can all change these statistics.

Tracking Devices are Available and Affordable

Fortunately, companies such as Aspenta’s Vectu Portable Vehicle Tracker have created a comprehensive range of products that include vehicle and personal tracking, and these products offer a high level peace of mind at an affordable price. People such as parents who have students abroad, the caretakers of children or the elderly, or even those who want to monitor their motor vehicles locally or far away, all can stay connected when using Vectu.

Today, your peace of mind is more affordable than ever, and these devices are some of the best portable GPS/GSM vehicle tracking systems. The issue with most of the tracking systems available is that they come with expensive monitoring fees. This is not the case, however, with the Vectu system.

Details About the Vectu Vehicle Tracking System

 The Vectu system is quite affordable, and there is never any monthly fee. The first annual service fee is included in the cost of the device, and after that, the cost is only $36 each year. This system has the following features:

  • Service fee includes free roaming and worldwide coverage.
  • Live vehicle tracking with updates every minute when the person, vehicle or luggage is in motion.
  • Small tracker that can be concealed when necessary. It is smaller than a smartphone.
  • Has an arm feature that creates an alert instantly should the vehicle move from where it was left.
  • The ability to connect several devices to your account with no limit.
  • Instant phone and email alerts for up to five people.
  • Alerts to notify you if excessive speed is discovered.
  • Easy to set up. This system works with both Android and Apple devices.

This is one of; if not the most cost effective GPS locators I’ve seen. It’s easy to set up, intuitive and it definitely works well.

Amber Alert GPS: Say Hello to Smart Affordable Child Locators

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The AmberAlert GPS,  is “The Intelligent Way to Keep Families Connected and Safe”,  today unveiled an infographic that explains how Smart Locators make it easier for families to stay connected and protected.  In the course of raising a family, over 90% of parents will at some point lose track of a child.  Kids are curious beings, so it’s not surprising that every 40 seconds a child goes missing in the US and close to 50% of autistic kids wander each year.  These panic stricken moments are usually the result of a child misunderstanding directions, being lost, running or wandering away.

With today’s busy schedules and dual-working parents, it’s not only about locating the whereabouts of family members that’s important, but also staying connected. Smart Locators, unlike tracking devices, have two key additional functions.  In addition to providing the known location of a person, they have 2-way mobile voice capability, and can be pre-programmed to send specific types of alerts to parents and caregivers.

“These are important distinctions”, said Alan Baratz, CEO of Amber Alert GPS.  “Tracking a set of car keys or a misplaced phone is very different from knowing the location of a person. The ability to receive an alert when, for example, your child is entering or leaving a designated area, or is within 500 feet of a registered sex offender’s home can provide invaluable information to a parent.  For little kids who are still too young for a cell phone, a smart locator allows them, with the push of a button, to get a hold of you or send an SOS alert if they feel threatened.  From a kids perspective, it’s like a modern day walkie-talkie, but so much more powerful”.

“Preventing the wandering away or loss of our kids is priceless,” said Robert Siciliano, a national expert on personal security. “A lot can happen in five minutes when dealing with a child. Making sure the device provides GPS reporting on a five minute interval without draining the battery, is crucial. Using an innovative tool like the Amber Alert GPS Smart Locator, enables families to easily locate loved ones and keep track of their kids anytime, from anywhere”.

The Amber Alert GPS Smart Locator is a trusted device used by thousands of families and caregivers nationwide, in a variety of ways.  It not only provides peace of mind for kids going to-and-from school, but is also used by families during sleepovers, after-school sports practice, playing on the beach and traveling internationally.  Furthermore, family members prone to wandering due to autism, Alzheimer’s and other disabilities, use the Amber Alert GPS Smart locator as an additional set of eyes and ears.

The same level of innovation that goes into the Amber Alert GPS Smart Locator is also used in the accompanying smartphone mobile apps. Available on iPhone® and Android™, they allow you to keep track of your kids anytime, from anywhere. Families can download the free mobile app and purchase the Amber Alert GPS smart locator here or at AT&T stores nationwide. In addition, Amber Alert GPS is making it more affordable than ever for families nationwide to purchase a smart locator. For a limited time, families who purchase an Amber Alert GPS smart locator from AT&T will receive $100 bill credit from AT&T when they activate a new line of service – at less than $30 dollars for the smart locator, it’s a great way for families to stay connected and safe.

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Location-based GPS Services are Risky

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It’s pretty simple: Your mobile’s global positioning system (GPS) functionality allows location-based services to locate and publish information about your whereabouts on various applications and within the code of photos posted online. Various applications allow you to “check in” using your mobile and share your whereabouts with the world. These applications tap into your device’s GPS longitude and latitude data.

GPS certainly can be useful, such as with directions or when trying to find a local restaurant, but letting the world know where you are and where you aren’t every minute of the day is a little insane to me.

For example, when your location is broadcast on social networks, anyone can see it. An example is when you check into a hotel while on vacation. Thieves can see you’re not home, do an online search for your home address and burgle your house. Not cool.

Adults, teens and some kids use these services to meet up, but what could happen if your child’s exact location fell into the wrong hands? Parents now have to be particularly vigilant if their children use location-based services.

Freaky stalkers use GPS to track their victims. A stalker may not necessarily be a stranger but instead a family member, ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend using his or her personal access to manually turn on GPS tracking.

Always be aware of an application’s policy and access permissions. GPS data is also used in geotagging, which tracks exactly where photos and videos are taken by including data in the image file that records locations.

Many of us are unaware of this tracking feature, even though sharing images online has become immensely popular. Websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and YouTube are filled with pictures and videos that include location information. Always keep in mind this is personal information that you may be sharing inadvertently.

By using a VPN (virtual private network) appsuch as Hotspot Shield VPN, your mobile’s IP address is masked; this confuses some of the functionality in geotagging. So if you’re going to go without it, think before you turn on GPS and start snapping pictures to post.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures. For Robert’s FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247.

Don’t Let Location-Based Services Put You in Danger

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Location-based services utilize geo-location information to publish your whereabouts. In some cases, these services can also provide discounts or freebies as a reward for “checking in” at participating businesses and gathering “points.” These services can also be used to share photos and other media in real-time with your friends and followers.

Geo-location or geo-tagging can be used on PCs, but is primarily applicable to mobile phones. The geo-location software usually obtains its data from your device’s Internet protocol (IP) address or your global positioning System (GPS) longitude and latitude. Many of today’s social networking sites are now incorporating location-based services that allow users to broadcast their locations via smartphone.

Carnegie Mellon University has identified more than 80 location-sharing services that either lack privacy policies or collect and save user data for an indefinite period of time.

Some companies have even adopted the technology, which they’ve dubbed “GPS dating,” to connect singles with other local singles anywhere, any time. These dating services make it easy to find other users by providing photos and personal descriptions.

This technology is immensely useful to predators, thieves, and other criminals, since it makes it so simple to determine where you are, and where you are not. They can access a full profile of your itinerary, all day, every day. Someone who is paying unwanted attention to you can see your exact address each time you “check in.”

One of the most extreme examples of the dangers posed by GPS-locators is the issue of domestic abuse victims who seek safety at a shelter; volunteers have adopted a policy of removing batteries from women’s phones as soon as they arrive, so that abusers cannot track their victims to the shelter.

Thieves use geo-location to determine whether you are home or not, and then use that data to plan a burglary.

Stalkers who use the phone’s GPS are usually close to the victim—a family member or ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, for example—and use their personal access to manually turn on GPS tracking.

To protect yourself from broadcasting your location, you should:

Turn off your location services on your mobile phone or only leave it enabled for applications like maps. Most geo-location services are turned on by default.

Be careful on what images and information you are sharing on social networks and when. For example, it’s best to wait until you are home to upload those vacation photos.

Make sure you check your privacy settings on your social networking sites that you’re sharing information on to make sure you are only sharing information with your friends and not everyone.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Evangelist to McAfee. See him discussing GPS Dating Security on Good Morning America. (Disclosures)

How To Steal A Car: Hack It!

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No more jimmying doors with a Slim Jim, bricks through windows, extracting lock cylinders with a dent puller, or hot-wiring ignitions. Automobiles today are being built to include wireless capabilities that allow for remote unlock, remote start, and of course, there’s global positioning systems (GPS) and services like OnStar and ATX, which offer “telematics,” or information and communications technology. While these services appear relatively secure, researchers in controlled environments are searching for vulnerabilities.

OnStar offers “RemoteLink,” an application for the iPhone or Android, which allows Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, or GMC owners to view real-time data including fuel range, gallons of gas remaining, lifetime miles per gallon (MPG), lifetime mileage, remaining oil life, tire pressure, and account information. Chevrolet Volt owners can view their car’s electric range, electric miles, MPG, and the battery’s state of charge. Users can also use the application to remotely perform certain commands, such as unlocking doors.

While all this new technology provides us with convenience and useful information, it may also leave use open to risk. Researchers in San Francisco have been able to access a car’s central computer processor through an Internet-connected car alarm, and in Seattle, researchers “blacked out the make and model of a car that offered multiple pathways for hackers a thousand miles away to send out GPS coordinates, open the doors, and have a colleague drive away without a key in the ignition.” And a New Jersey man has developed an iPhone app that lets him unlock cars and start engines by voice.

As with most technological advances, functionality and form come well before security. But now that researchers have demonstrated the frightening vulnerabilities inherent in cars’ computers, automobile manufacturers are working with companies like McAfee to develop firewalls that will protect the latest high-tech vehicles from hackers and thieves.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Evangelist to McAfee. See him discussing identity theft on YouTube.(Disclosures)

The Rise of Smartphones

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More consumers than ever before are buying smartphones. A smartphone is an Internet-enabled mobile phone with the ability to purchase and run applications. Smartphones are generally equipped with voice, data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS functions. Operating systems include Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS and Windows’ Mobile 7. Most function on a 3G wireless connection and can switch to Wi-Fi when it’s available. Newer models are being built to accommodate the upcoming nationwide deployment of 4G wireless networks.

“Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totaled 417 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 35 percent increase from the third quarter of 2009, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales grew 96 percent from the third quarter last year, and smartphones accounted for 19.3 percent of overall mobile phone sales in the third quarter of 2010.”

In the U.S, there are 293 million cell phone subscribers and cell phone penetration is  over 93%. In 2010, more than one in four households had cell phones and no landlines, which is an increase of 2.1% over 2009. Almost one in six households use cell phones exclusively, despite having a landline. Wordwide, there are 5 billion  smartphones in use.

The number of mobile broadband subscriptions surpassed the half billion mark in 2010, and in 2011 broadband subscriptions are expected to exceed one billion. As more and higher speed networks are built, more consumers will gravitate toward the mobile web. Smartphone users are downloading billions of apps and spending millions via mobile payments. In fact, for the younger generation, smartphones are used for a majority of ecommerce transactions. Many of these people haven’t been inside a bank in years!

Taking Security Measures.

As more people switch to smartphones, mobile security concerns increase. Here are a few reminders to help keep your data secure on your phone:

1) Use a PIN to lock your phone: 55% of consumers do not use a PIN to lock their phones. Mobile content is especially vulnerable to hackers and thieves.

2) Don’t store banking passwords on your phone: 24% of consumers store computer or banking passwords on their smartphones. 40% of consumers say losing their phone would be worse than losing their wallet, and two million mobile phones are lost or stolen every year. That’s one every fifteen seconds.

3) Register for a service that can remotely locate, access and wipe your phone: There are services that can remotely access a lost phone, pinpoint its location, and, if necessary, wipe the data from the phone. Now is the time to consider investing in one, before you lose your phone.

Robert Siciliano is a personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. (Disclosures)