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US Agencies Boost Spy Satellites Use
2007-08-17 11:14:00
BBC News reports that the US is opening up the use of spy satellites for use by Domestic Agencies (so FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), etc) to boost national security efforts, improve disaster response and for law enforcement. The DHS particularly wants to use the satellites for monitoring borders and ports that pose problems with immigration. They also intend to monitor bridges and other infrastructures that might be targeted by terrorists. With what feels like an increase in the frequency of natural disasters, the satellites can be used to help get aid to isolated or vulnerable areas. However, there are still controls to ensure that the CIA and Pentagon do not abuse the satellites for spying on Americans. So really, it’s a sensible way to use technology in my opinion. There’s always the issue of privacy, but in all fairness, most people are too dull to spy on anyway!! For a bonus point, who can tell me what part of the UK the satellite image shows? Copyright...
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Spy Review featured on G4 - Attack of the Show
2007-08-16 11:48:00
Recently I had a large spike in traffic on Spy Review , but I couldn’t work out why. Everyone was searching on Google for “Spy Review” to get to the site. Today, I finally found out why, and it was due to an article featured on G4 - Attack of the Show . It was absolutely fantastic to hear Spy Review being featured in such a way! Copyright © 2007 Spy Review. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@www.spyreview.co.uk so we can take legal action immediately.Plugin by Taragana
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Spy Camera Hidden in Earphones
2007-08-15 11:10:00
Maplin are definitely making a move towards providing a large rank of electronics devices, and are making movements in the spy gadgets arena too. They’ve indicated that they are expecting the arrival of some very exciting new spy cameras. The first new camera due to arrive soon is a spy camera hidden in a pair of standard earphones! At £300, it won’t be cheap, but its frightening how small they can make cameras these days. The second camera is one that’s smaller than a 1p coin, with a diameter of 8.5mm. Basically is roughly equivalent in size to your small finger! At £200, its still expensive, but its probably one of the smallest cameras in the world (available to the public of course). Button cameras are not that new really, but the button camera at Maplin’s is sturdy device with a builtin microphone and spare button fascias. I expect that the device is of a higher quality compared to most cameras available on eBay though. So there you go. Th...
More About: Camera , Hidden , Video Surveillance , Earphones , Earphone

Vote for Spy Review at Blog Interviewer
2007-08-14 10:15:00
Spy Review has been interviewed on Blog Interviewer.com, and I would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to vote for Spy Review. There are prizes for the top blog too. If you have any suggestions or ideas for Spy Review, just comment on this post. Any ideas are very much appreciated. Thank you! Dan Copyright © 2007 Spy Review. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@www.spyreview.co.uk so we can take legal action immediately.Plugin by Taragana
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Hiding Your Valuables - With Your Crown Jewels!
2007-08-13 10:31:00
It was only very recently when I was talking about hiding your valuables and then I stumbled on these Security Briefs. They are fitted with an ingenious Velcro pouch so that you can store your cash, jewelery and other valuables. So if you’re staying in a hotel or a youth hostel, you can be certain that your valuables are safe! If there’s a rather attractive thief trying to steal your valuables, then they’ll have to get past your Crown Jewels * first… and that might not be such a bad thing! *Crown Jewels = A wonderful British slang term for the male genitals. Copyright © 2007 Spy Review. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@www.spyreview.co.uk so we can take legal action immediately.Plugin by Taragana
More About: With You

Hiding Your Valuables in a Can of Beer
2007-08-10 11:04:00
The old saying “out of sight, out of mind” is very true when it comes to security. If you have something valuable, make sure you hide it. That’s why I like the Fosters Safe Can, as it hides you valuables in a place that a thief would not expect. However, the thief might still steal your beer, so you might want to get a Baked Bean Safe Can instead! If you have something valuable, hiding it is not enough. You also need to ensure you’re not giving any clues to its existence too! Here are some examples: e.g. You get an expensive plasma TV screen for Christmas. Don’t leave the packaging in full view outside your house. Otherwise you are advertising to potential thieves about your expensive TV! Take the packaging to a recycling facility that’s well away from your home. If you have a GPS navigation device, don’t leave the cradle, wiring, or any other accessories visible in your car. They give vital clues to thieves that you might have a GPS device...
More About: Security , Beer

Super Mini Spy Camera - As used in a crime!
2007-08-08 10:37:00
This tiny spy camera, which is only slightly larger than a pencil packs a high quality CCD image sensor ideal for body-worn and covert camera installations. The camera is only 12mm x 12mm (smaller than a sugar cube) and exploits a pinhole lens to make hiding the camera as simple as possible. What amuses me about this camera, is a friend of mine at Eyetek Surveillance was recently in court due to this item. You may have heard about the massive £4m heist that happened in the UK in 2006. Eyetek was asked to hide one of these cameras inside a belt, which was purchased by Mr Hysenaj, who is accused of using the camera to gather intelligence at a security depot for the heist. Eyetek were not aware of the actual reason the customer wanted the camera hidden in the belt, and its likely the customer would have lied anyway. But it just goes to show, there are individuals who are quite happy to use surveillance equipment for their crimes! Copyright © 2007 Spy Review. This Feed is for perso...
More About: Crime , Camera , Super , Mini , Video Surveillance

Motion and Voice Activated Infinity Bug
2007-08-06 09:27:00
I’ve talked of infinity bugs before, and so I won’t repeat it here. However, this great little gadget adds a new edge to the ever popular GSM bugs. The Motion and Voice Activate d GSM Bug has external microphones and IR sensors that allows the can detect voices and movements up to a distance of 7 metres. When triggered, the bug will automatically call you and can also send you text messages too. This is a fantastic feature, as you save a fortune on phone bills compared to conventional units where you call the device up yourself. Since the device is triggered by sounds and voices, it means you also conserve battery power for when there’s actually something to listen to. The bug is a dual band device (900MHz and 1800MHz), and therefore can be used it most countries, except the USA which uses the 1900MHz band. I imagine that tri-band variation of this GSM bug will be developed in the near future. The device is very small, at 80mm x 50mm x 20mm weighing only 52g! That&...
More About: Infinity , VOIC

Stun Gun hidden in a Mobile Phone
2007-08-03 10:25:00
This is a fun gadget, which hides a stun gun in this rather fake-looking Nokia-shaped mobile phone. The phone does not work as a normal phone at all, but looks similar enough that no-one should give it a second glance. It packs a powerful 800,000 Volt electric shock, which should knock any attacker off their feet. Rather interestingly, the device is powered from just 2 lithium 3V cells, which is a surprisingly small battery pack. The basic circuit for a stun gun involves a capacitor (to store the charge for a single jolt), a voltage step-up circuit (to convert the 6V to 800,000V), a couple of switches, plus a few other bits. So the device is easily concealed within the mobile phone casing. Stun guns are restricted in a large number of countries, and the website gives a fairly long list of them. What I find really shocking (sorry! had to say it) is the price… only $40 for their cheapest model! I am rather relieved that these devices are restricted, as I’d hate to get a su...
More About: Mobile , Phone , Mobile Phone , Hidden , Bile

Spy Camera hidden in a Nokia 6610
2007-08-01 10:45:00
When I’ve talked about spy phones in the past, I’ve referred to phones that you can use to listen to conversations. This variation of spy phone actually has a covertly hidden spy camera within a Nokia mobile phone. The phone is actually disabled, to make way for the electronics for the spy camera. The spy camera is completely wireless and can transmit on 2.4GHz or 1.2GHz with a range of around 20 to 50 metres. It’s rare to find a wireless spy camera with a microphone, but these spy cameras feature a microphone wired to the base of the phone in the charger socket. However, I guess that you cannot charge the phone battery with a normal phone charger due to the microphone being in the charger socket though. The neat feature of this spy gadget is that the spy camera is powered by a standard Nokia phone battery, which helps the illusion that the phone is a normal non-working mobile phone. With a working life of 6 hours, it beats most wireless cameras which typically hav...
More About: Camera , Hidden

Rechargable Covert Bionic Earpiece
2007-07-30 10:58:00
The bionic earpiece is a blend of technologies but is fundamentally a form of hearing aid. You use it as if it was an audio amplifier like the toy spy ears, but the bionic earpiece has been designed to hide inside the ear much like an inductive earpiece. With a built-in sensitive microphone and powerful amplifier, you can hear distant sounds clearly and discretely. The bionic earpiece has an adjustable volume control and a number of ear fittings. This allows you to tailor the earpiece to fit into your ear comfortably. The main unit is rechargeable, therefore saving you a small fortune in expensive batteries. I would expect that this device has limited audio amplification, since it would be difficult to orientate the microphone in the direction of the target. I would prefer to use a directional microphone and then use earphones traditionally used with an MP3 player, such as an ipod. Just as covert, and much more flexible in an operational situation. You can find the bionic earpiece o...
More About: Bionic , Ionic , Piece , Earpiece , Char

Listening Device Hidden in Spectacle Case
2007-07-27 11:00:00
TrackerShack are doing it again with their creatively hidden GSM bugs. I recently reported their GSM bug hidden in a wall clock, and now they have a brand new GSM bug hidden in a SpecSavers Spectacle Case . I’ve had the opportunity to play around with their GSM bugs, and I know that they fit very nicely into this glasses case. The new SpecSavers Spectacle Case bugs have been recently seen in the national press and used by local police forces for investigations, so they have their uses. I don’t want to even imagine what Rob did to secure a stock of these spectacle cases, though the site does say the stocks are limited. And Rob will fondly remember the time he investigated the possibility of concealing a tracker in a empty bottle of shampoo so that you could locate lost luggage! I think I was the one that gave him the idea in the first place! I’m looking forward to see what object Rob can stuff a GSM bug into next. Be sure that when he does, you’ll hear about i...
More About: Site News , Device , Hidden , Listening

World?s Smallest 2.4GHz Video Spy Transmitter
2007-07-25 11:00:00
It’s a treat to find really miniature spy equipment these days, and the World s Smallest 2.4GHZ Video Transmitter is a great example of tiny technology. It measures only 5mm x 6.5mm x 8mm and weights only 1 gram! It runs from a 3V power supply, and only draws 8mA, which means it will last for days on a pair of AA batteries. Quite a bit smaller than other commercial 2.4GHz video transmitters! As you might expect, the output power is limited, but it can be concealed in almost any device you like. If you can relay the signal using a transceiver system (a receiver with the output pushed into another transmitter on a different frequency), then you can easily extend the range of this device. I’m surprised that you can even select what channel it transmits on, especially as most of its size could literally be the switch. At $900, its far from cheap. I think I’ll stick to the £80 / $160 wireless spy cameras you can get from Maplin. It’s not that much larger really, a...
More About: Video Surveillance , Mitt , Mitte

GSM and GPS Based Personal Tracker and Alarm
2007-07-23 11:00:00
This GSM and GPS-based personal tracker is a refreshing variation of the GSM trackers available on the market. The gadget is a simplified version of a mobile phone, with a panic mode and a GPS tracking device built into it. If you call the tracker or send the tracker an SMS message, it will respond with a text message containing the device’s GPS coordinates. You can input these coordinates into a tool such as Google Earth to find the exact location of the tracker. The personal tracker needs a sim card, but you can use a Pay-As-You-Go sim card with just a few pounds credit to do the job. This means you have no monthly subscription costs! A great feature is the alarm function. This function makes it particularly suited for vulnerable individuals (or those prone to getting lost!). When the alarm button is pressed, it sends text messages with the device’s location to up to 3 different mobile phone numbers. Then the receiver of the message can contact or locate the individua...
More About: Personal , Curious , Alarm , Persona , Tracker

Cell Phone Interceptor Device - Government Agencies Only!
2007-07-20 09:49:00
In a few of my stories in the past, I’ve mentioned that you cannot use a standard radio scanner to intercept mobile (cell) phone conversations. The only equipment that does exist is extremely expensive and only available to government agencies such as MI6, GCHQ (UK based), NSA, CIA, FBI, etc (US based) and other intelligence agencies. The Cell ular Interceptor Device is capable of monitoring several targets at once. The device can log the dialled phone number, the calling telephone number, the IMEI number of the phone, time and data information of the call, and even recording both sides of the conversation itself! This is why products such as the encrypted phone conversation device exist. Before I get any emails or comments, I do not stock, sell or make the GSM Interceptor equipment. I do get asked this a lot, but I really do not sell this kit! Copyright © 2007 Spy Review. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news ...
More About: Government , Phone , Cell Phone

Maplin Sells Professional Surveillance Kit
2007-07-18 09:52:00
It appears that Maplin is getting in on the professional end of surveillance gadgets, as they have just started stocking a GSM bug hidden in a 3-way mains adaptor. The concept is similar to the mains adapter I reviewed recently, or the version with a standard FM bug. The adapter is non-working, and conceals a GSM listening device usable for UK and EU GSM networks (so therefore I guess its 900MHz and 1800MHz i.e. dual-band). I wonder how out of place a mains adapter with nothing plugged into it would look? And what would the target think if they could not plug something into the adapter if they saw it? There are huge advantages to Maplin selling surveillance kit, and I’m pleased they do. One slight issue is that they are a touch too expensive in places, but very cheap in others. The advantages from a consumer’s point of view are: Maplin are a reputable company, and if there’s an issue with the device, you can be certain that you will get help resolving the issue - ...
More About: Surveillance , Professional , Veil , Fess

Comparing GPS Location Loggers - Tracking Every Movement
2007-07-16 11:01:00
Trackstick II There are two kinds of GPS trackers when it comes to GPS Tracking . Some work in real time, giving you a live indication of the location and movements of the tracker; while others will log tracking information that can be played back on a computer afterwards. Real time GPS trackers require a SIM card and communicate by SMS or GPRS to a central server. Usually a web-based application is used to render the locations on a map. Real-time trackers usually have a monthly fee usage fee, in addition to having to purchase the tracking equipment itself. GPS data loggers on the other hand are a one time investment, no extra software needs to be purchased and no monthly fees are involved. In this article, I will be focusing on the GPS data loggers, and I’ll compare a few different variations of the Trackstick model. Trackstick I A GPS data logger allows you to track any moving object, such as a car, boat, bike, or even a plane! The logger will record where it w...
More About: Location , Compa , Trac , Loca