Q&A Time - GPS Trackers
This question comes from a novelist working on a plot.
We also receive similar inquiries from other folks
– corporate security directors to scared spouses!
Q. If a bad guy places a real-time GPS tracker on my hero's car, and knows my hero is a skilled investigator...
• Where might they put the tracker?
• Where might investigator not look for it, or find it?
• And, is there a detector that would allow him to find it? The car is parked either outside or in a parking garage, and the bad guys have lots of access to it.
A. The best answer could come from Lo-Jack mechanics. They do this type of covert installation daily.
Real-time GPS trackers are very cool devices. They are small and may be secreted anywhere in/on a vehicle (in hollow body panels, atop gas tanks, inside bumpers, under seats, within dash panels, etc.). The real trick hiding the power connection and the two antennas properly.
For long-term tracking, a connection has to be made to the car's 12 volt power bus, preferably where the connection can not be seen and the new power wire to the GPS device can not be seen. This part is fairly easy.
Next, get two radio-frequency signals to/from the tracking device...
• The satellite signal (to the device).
• The cellular signal (to/from the device).
A GPS antenna is required to receive the weak satellite signal...
(Either a standard size GPS remote antenna, or a much smaller GPS antenna)
Ideally, this antenna needs to "see" the sky. However, this doesn't mean the antenna will be visible to you.
A GPS antenna can "see" it's signal through non-metallic materials, like: back seat windows and decks, rubber material on bumpers, plastic tail-lights, etc. Make the antenna connecting cable look like the factory installed wiring and you're in!
The cellular GSM antenna is not as hard to position since it will work wherever a regular cell phone will work.
Again, hiding the cable is important. Imagine, embalming the antenna and cable in a car's undercoating; making it 100% invisible!
Caution: Do not position the GSM antenna cable near any of the car's audio wiring or you may hear the GSM transmission noise through the car sound system... a definite tip-off that something ain't Kosher.
(small GSM antennas)
How to detect a real-time GPS/GSM tracking device?
• Physical search.
• Take car to an isolated area and use a real-time spectrum analyzer and look for the cell site registration burst transmissions.
• Keep a cell phone detector in the car. If it alerts on a regular basis, and there are no other cell phone users in the area, the problem might be a tracking and/or listening device in the car.
And, then there is the 'ol sharp stick-in-the-eye approach...
Blockers!
• GPS Blocker
• GSM Blocker
• GPS/GSM/GPRS Blocker
(all are illegal, but available, in the U.S.)
~Kevin
We also receive similar inquiries from other folks
– corporate security directors to scared spouses!
Q. If a bad guy places a real-time GPS tracker on my hero's car, and knows my hero is a skilled investigator...
• Where might they put the tracker?
• Where might investigator not look for it, or find it?
• And, is there a detector that would allow him to find it? The car is parked either outside or in a parking garage, and the bad guys have lots of access to it.
A. The best answer could come from Lo-Jack mechanics. They do this type of covert installation daily.
Real-time GPS trackers are very cool devices. They are small and may be secreted anywhere in/on a vehicle (in hollow body panels, atop gas tanks, inside bumpers, under seats, within dash panels, etc.). The real trick hiding the power connection and the two antennas properly.
For long-term tracking, a connection has to be made to the car's 12 volt power bus, preferably where the connection can not be seen and the new power wire to the GPS device can not be seen. This part is fairly easy.
Next, get two radio-frequency signals to/from the tracking device...
• The satellite signal (to the device).
• The cellular signal (to/from the device).
A GPS antenna is required to receive the weak satellite signal...
(Either a standard size GPS remote antenna, or a much smaller GPS antenna)
Ideally, this antenna needs to "see" the sky. However, this doesn't mean the antenna will be visible to you.
A GPS antenna can "see" it's signal through non-metallic materials, like: back seat windows and decks, rubber material on bumpers, plastic tail-lights, etc. Make the antenna connecting cable look like the factory installed wiring and you're in!
The cellular GSM antenna is not as hard to position since it will work wherever a regular cell phone will work.
Again, hiding the cable is important. Imagine, embalming the antenna and cable in a car's undercoating; making it 100% invisible!
Caution: Do not position the GSM antenna cable near any of the car's audio wiring or you may hear the GSM transmission noise through the car sound system... a definite tip-off that something ain't Kosher.
(small GSM antennas)How to detect a real-time GPS/GSM tracking device?
• Physical search.
• Take car to an isolated area and use a real-time spectrum analyzer and look for the cell site registration burst transmissions.
• Keep a cell phone detector in the car. If it alerts on a regular basis, and there are no other cell phone users in the area, the problem might be a tracking and/or listening device in the car.
And, then there is the 'ol sharp stick-in-the-eye approach...
Blockers!
• GPS Blocker
• GSM Blocker
• GPS/GSM/GPRS Blocker
(all are illegal, but available, in the U.S.)
~Kevin
Labels: advice, amateur, book, cell phone, detection, GPS, GSM, product, spybot, tracking, wireless
posted by Kevin D. Murray, CPP at
4:58 PM
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