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Some Popular Cell Phone Locating and Monitoring Programs

Oct 102011

mobile spy There is plenty of cell phone tracker software available, both for sale and for free. The paid programs offer more services than the free ones, though in truth most free programs are simply limited versions of paid products that are offered for free in order to lure someone into buying the rest of the package. Understanding what the various programs are capable of is key to figuring out which one is suitable.

Cell Phone Locators

The following three services are simply used for identifying the location of a cell phone. The cell phone trackers that have monitoring applications are discussed a little further below. You can read my article on the different cell phone tracker features to understand more about the differences between a tracking program and a monitoring program.

BuddyWay

BuddyWay is a free application that allows you to track any phone or PDA that has a built-in GPS device. It requires a simple installation of the software and then the information on the cell phone’s location will be updated on Google Earth so that friends and family can check up on the phone’s owner at any time.

Sprint Family Locator

This program is an offered service of Sprint (for a low extra fee, of course) which allows people to locate friends and family from any mobile phone or from any computer via a website. For the truly neurotic, Sprint’s software also has a “safety check” service which allows one to set a day and time to automatically locate a given person.

Google Latitude

Google Latitude provides the regular tracking abilities with Google Maps, but has the added bonus of allowing you to block people or regulate how much information any particular person has access to about you. This makes it great for dealing with ex-boyfriends.

These are just a few of the standard tracking options. Each service provider has their own programs that they like to use so they can add a little bit to the monthly bill. The following programs, in contrast, are independent and provide the legally ambiguous spy options that so many people are interested in.

Cell Phone Monitoring and Spying Software

MobileSpy

MobileSpy works on most smart phones and costs about $100 annually to use. MobileSpy is one of the best reviewed software packages out there and claims to be almost completely undetectable. Some of MobileSpy’s abilities include:

Call, text and email monitoring.
GPS location finding.
Web monitoring.
Photo/video monitoring.

FlexiSPY

FlexiSPY allows a little more control over the target phone than just monitoring calls and messages. The costs are much higher than many other applications and are based on which services are desired. FlexiSPY works with a wide variety of phones, all of which are listed on their website. Some of the more notable features that can be used with FlexiSPY are:

Standard monitoring of calls, web activity, texts, photos/videos and emails.
Call interception.
Black listing.
Remote control of target phone.
Spy calls.
Chat monitoring.
Keyword searching in recorded emails and messages.

MobiStealth

MobiStealth is everything that other programs are with a little more added. This software is sold based on the phone that it is going to be installed on, so different phones will often require separate purchases. One of the most interesting features is its ability to record calls in addition to monitoring them. MobiStealth offers the following features:

Monitoring of calls, emails, web activity, photos/videos and messages.
Location monitoring.
Spy calls.
Remote recording of calls and spy calls.
Remote phone wiping.

There are plenty of other programs out there in addition to these few, each with its own set of features. Each of the spy trackers comes with its own website account where the information obtained from the phone is stored so that it can be looked over any time the software’s purchaser wishes. The ability to run undetected is one of the key features to look at when purchasing a tracking program, because if the software is found, it pretty much defeats the point of installing it in the first place.

Different Methods of Cell Phone Tracking

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Oct 102011

Cell phone tracking has been around in one form or another for many years, though recently it has gained quite a lot of popularity. Formerly, tracking someone through their cell phone generally required access to equipment and resources that only the service providers could offer, and they were pretty unlikely to hand that information over to anyone who thought their spouse might be cheating on them. Nowadays, tracking can be achieved through either a service offered by cell phone providers themselves, or, more covertly, by installing some software directly onto the phone itself.

A cell phone needs to be turned on in order to track it, but it is not required to be in use. There are several different methods used to track phones, though nowadays it is mostly via GPS. When GPS is not available, some of the other methods may be used.

The three basic methods that are used to track phones are:

Cell Towers

cell tower triangulation

Signals from a cell phone are picked up by the cell towers that transmit them. The cell towers then decide (through a series of fancy software calculations) which one is closer and route any activity from the phone through that one. The other towers receive a smaller signal from the cell phone. There are programs that allow you to track the location of a cell phone by triangulating the position of the phone using three cell towers (pretty cool right?).

GPS Tracking

GPS uses a similar technique, but instead of using cell towers it uses satellites to triangulate the position of the phone. The satellites send signals to the phone and the GPS device inside it picks them up. Then the phone sends the information from the satellites to a main server via an internet connection. That server makes all the necessary calculations and sends the final result back to your phone which uses a handy application to let you know where the person you are looking for is located.

Using GPS is much more accurate than using towers, though large objects blocking the sky (including walls and roofs) can tend to mess it up a bit, as it requires three strong signals to get a proper positioning. GPS location also does not work if the phone cannot connect to the internet, as it has no way to send its information to the server.

Wi-Fi Tracking

This method uses a Wi-Fi connection from the phone to place it at the location of a specific Wi-Fi access point. Each access point is registered and so by looking at which location the phone is getting service from, it is easy to pinpoint the general location of the phone.

Depending on conditions, one or more of these options might not be available at any given time, making tracking either vague or difficult. The best phone tracking systems are going to be capable of using all three of these methods in order to get the most accurate location.

Installing cell phone tracker software on a phone enables you to utilize these tracking methods. Don’t worry; you won’t need to set up your own cell towers or satellites. All you will have to do is login to your phone and look at the end result of all the triangulation calculations. In other words, you’ll see a map or a specific address of where the person you are tracking is at.

Conclusion

There are different types of cell phone tracking systems out there. Some of the methods used to track the location of a cell phone sound like they are out of a futuristic sci-fi movie. The truth is, you don’t need special technology anymore to track down a cell phone’s location. You just need to install some software.

Cell Phone Tracker Software: How it Works and What it Does

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Oct 102011

Keeping Track of Each Other is Important

Cell phone tracking software is becoming more and more popular. Friends and family are eager (well, most of them anyways) to let other people know exactly where they are at all times. Most providers will offer a special service which allows families who share a cell plan to take advantage of cell phone locating. Other tracking programs allow you to identify anyone’s location, as long as you are on their approved list. While this technology may seem like the perfect solution to not getting lost in the mall or making sure the pizza guy knows exactly where you live (assuming he’s on your list), there are many more uses for it.

How Does a Cell Phone Tracker Work?

The first step is to install the software in the phone that needs to be tracked. If it’s part of a friends and family-type plan then it will most likely already be installed. These phone locating programs need a “smart phone” to work, so those of you still using the same phone you got in the 1980s will need to upgrade if you want to take advantage of phone tracking.

how cell phone trackers work

After the software is installed, the phone will periodically contact the server with location information which will then be put up on a site that those with access can look at to get one’s current location. This means it’s really easy to check on the location of your children and/or spouse. Anywhere you have access to the Internet, you can check on them (it’s a simple as logging into your email account).

With the more “friendly” tracking programs, your children or spouse will be notified when you query their position. However, there are “spy” software programs specifically designed to run in the background and not let people know what you are doing. Obviously, most providers do not offer these spy programs as a standard service.

What Can You Do with It?

The basic function of these programs is to let you know where the phone’s owner is at. For parents, this can mean knowing whether a child is really staying the night at their friend’s house like they said. For the innately curious, tracking someone can tell you where they went to buy your Christmas or birthday present.

If you like to travel, these phone tracking programs can be a great way to let people know exactly where you are at, from the top of the Eiffel Tower to the deepest jungles of the Amazon. It can be a fun and entertaining way for people to share in the experience of a journey. It can also let people know when the traveler is getting close to their neck of the woods so they can make time to meet and maybe have a drink or two.

Tracking programs are also great when stuck in a traffic jam. Roadside assistance can use these programs to figure out where a stranded motorist is even if the person stranded has no idea where they are. The same goes for those that find themselves lost in the wilderness.

What about the Sneaky Stuff?

Private software designed to monitor a cell phone can do almost anything you would want. Many of them have added features that allow you to do quite a bit more than just finding someone’s location. There are a few things to remember when going this route, however:

Installing the software requires some ninja skills. The phone that one wants to be tracked will have to be confiscated for a few minutes to do the installation.
The software needs to be compatible with the phone being tracked. Most software manufacturers are very up-front about which phones their programs work on.
If your friend or spouse discovers that their phone has been tampered with, you should expect some unfriendly retaliation. If your child is the owner of the target phone, expect some extremely rebellious years ahead.

After the software is installed, an account is created. This is usually provided with the fee for the software itself and is hosted (securely) by the software manufacturer. The account keeps logs of all the activity and information that the stealth software provides, to be perused at one’s leisure. From there, one can monitor the location of the person they are tracking and find out a variety of information concerning their phone habits. To learn everything that these monitoring phones can do, you can read about the features of phone tracking systems.

Photo of Family Courtesy of Photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Features of Cell Phone Tracking Programs

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Oct 102011

There are two types of features that cell phone tracker software provides: basic tracking features and spy features. The basic tracking features are the ones that most people do not mind having on their phone. They are generally useful and non-obtrusive to the majority of people (hermits excluded). Spy features, while they can still be considered useful, are usually less welcome by those who have them installed on their phone. This is assuming that they ever find out, of course.

Tracking Features

Some of the more common things that tracking programs can be used for are:

Locating a lost phone.
Sharing location with friends and family.
Locating friends and family.
Making sure a friend made it safely home after a long drive.
Helping guide someone to a location when they are lost.
Checking in on children if they fail to show up somewhere or come home at night.
Finding one’s location when lost or stranded.

These are just a few things that one can do with cell phone tracking. Other programs, ones that are designed to spy on a cell phone without being noticed, offer a much wider variety of options.

Spying Features

For those of you who desire a little more information on those they are tracking, a spy tracking program is the way to go. These programs have a number of functions that cannot be found in standard, service provider installed software. Spy programs provide a way to track people without them knowing as well as offering options that allow access to the person’s phone and private details.

Some of the features that spy trackers offer are:

Call information – Incoming and outgoing phone numbers, times and duration of calls.
Messaging information – Incoming and outgoing text messages and emails.
Contact information – Names, phone numbers and other details regarding every contact entry in the phone.
Web activity – What websites are visited, how often, and what pages are bookmarked.
Photo/Video viewing – The ability to see any photos or videos that have been stored on the phone.
Phone data – Battery levels and applications that have been downloaded and installed.
Spy calls – Making a stealth call that allows one to listen in to what’s going on around the phone.

All this comes in addition to standard tracking abilities so that one knows where the target phone is at all times.

Some more questionable options are also available through many of these programs:

Black listing – Making calls from certain contacts always be ignored.
Call interception – Allows a person to be added to a call without the phone’s owner knowing.
Remote phone wipe – This one is particularly nasty, as it completely wipes all information from a phone.

So Why Use Tracking Programs?

If one listens to the sales pitches on some of the websites that sell these programs, everyone needs these programs desperately. Your spouse is cheating on you, your children are watching porn on their cell-phones all day long and your employees are stealing from you. In reality, while these things may happen, they are certainly not happening to everyone, every day, all day long.

The simple truth of it is that these programs are good for monitoring people when there are legitimate concerns to be addressed. A cheating spouse, a child that may be putting themselves into dangerous situations, or an employee that acts suspiciously are all potential candidates for the spy tracking treatment, as long as the concerns are more than just paranoia. Optionally, one could simply choose to spy on a friend and mess with their head a bit by “randomly” running into them wherever they happen to be.

To Parents: A Warning!

Parents who monitor teenagers without telling them about it are walking on thin ice.

Children are very tech-savvy nowadays and would probably be very unappreciative of their parents spying on them and monitoring their calls. Chances are they know more about these programs than most of those that are trying to use them. Using a spy tracking program could be seen as the same thing as going through a child’s diary or hiring someone to follow them. Beware, for an infinite amount of trouble awaits the “just-curious” parent who gets caught messing with their kid’s cell phone. If you decide you want to monitor your children, be upfront with them and tell them about it. That way, they will know they need to act appropriately when using their cell phone.

Cell Phone Tracking Software: The Debate About Privacy

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Oct 102011

cell phone tracking privacy

With all the power that cell phone tracker software possesses, it was bound to happen that people would become concerned about issues of privacy. In an increasingly monitored world, being tracked and having one’s emails and other information potentially accessible by an unwanted individual can create a fair bit of paranoia. This is understandable given that cell phone tracking is not always going to be used for the most honorable and legal of purposes. Some people are just downright snoopy and want to keep tabs on their loved ones out of sheer paranoia.

Some of the concerns people have involve being tracked down when not wanting to be. Children are the obvious example of this, feeling like parents are always breathing over their shoulders as long as their cell phone is around. Spy programs can be even worse, as parents go through the kids’ private messages to make sure they are behaving.

Many employers use these sorts of programs to monitor their employees. So far this type of intrusion is completely legal as long as the employer can show that monitoring was necessary. The problem here lies in that the employee may not always know that they are being monitored. Thus, a bored boss can look around as much as they want as long as they do not get caught.

Overeager Employers may be Abusing Cell Phone Trackers

More serious concerns revolve around issues of stalking. If someone managed to put a tracking program on a phone without the owner knowing, then they can figure out where that person is at will and intrude on their personal data. This gives new power to creeps and stalkers to harass people.

Dodging Cell Phone Trackers

The easiest way to get around people digging into one’s phone is to turn the phone off. This is not always the most desirable option, but certainly the most effective. The simple truth is that tracking software will not work if the phone is off.

GPS can be confused by large obstructions that block satellite transmissions. If one wants to get around without being located, narrow alleys and dense forests are the perfect places to go. This is not always the most practical way to do things, however, and one may quickly find that he or she does not even know their own location if they manage to get lost in the woods. Hiding out inside buildings can sometimes block GPS signals as well.

Keeping an eye on one’s phone is probably the best way to avoid being tracked without consent. If the phone remains in one’s possession at all times then the chances of someone sneaking a program on to it are low. Around the neck of a vicious dog might be one of the safer places for a phone when not in use.

Detecting Cell Phone Trackers

detecting cell phone trackers Aside from searching deep in the phone and looking for anything that looks out of the ordinary, there are a few indicators that can give away the fact that a cell phone tracker is running.

Tracking programs have to access the internet on a regular basis to send information, which leaves a trail behind. If a phone is on a pay-by-the-minute plan then one may notice a sharp increase in the amount of Internet minutes used. Alternately, a large increase in air-time may be a dead giveaway that a phone has been violated.

With all the connecting to the internet, one may begin to notice that the phone seems to have a mind of its own. If the cell phone starts to display signs of independent thinking like this, then it may have a tracker on it.

These programs also put a drain on battery life since they are constantly running in the background. Most cell phone batteries are notorious for draining quickly, however, so this might not be the easiest way to tell.

Ultimately, the responsible use of tracking software is in the hands of those who purchase it. Legality of these programs is still a bit vague, but as time goes by rulings will be made that help clarify the law on this issue. Those with genuine concerns will find these programs to be a great help in resolving potentially serious issues. Those who just want to be nosy will find that they have a restraining order against them.

Cell Phone Tracker Free

Some Popular Cell Phone Locating and Monitoring Programs

Different Methods of Cell Phone Tracking

Cell Phone Tracker Software: How it Works and What it Does

Features of Cell Phone Tracking Programs

Cell Phone Tracking Software: The Debate About Privacy

Dodging Cell Phone Trackers

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