GPS Tracking

Privacy Debate Goes On and On

Protect Yourself, but Use to Your Advantage

Any time someone brings up the issue of privacy and security one of two reactions is almost always observed:  anger or apathy.  This polarizing topic has many up in arms these days because there are more ways to breach your privacy than at any other time in history.

GPS Tracking systems are also in the mix of these debates.  In fact, talking about the vulnerabilities of using GPS Tracking is a good thing.  You need to know that you are vulnerable and at what point you are being put at risk so that you can take measures to protect yourself.  Here’s what you should know about GPS’s dark side:

Here’s What You Should Know

GPS Enabled Cell Phones Make You Vulnerable.  When you turn on the GPS feature on your smartphone, you can be tracked.  This means that you need to be aware of the times when you need it and when you don’t and then turn it off.  Or, just face the prospect that someone could hack into your phone and monitor your location in real time.  Turn the feature off, and be sure to password protect your phone’s functions.

GPS Tracking of Your Vehicle Makes You Vulnerable.  Movies used to be the only place that we saw devices that were used to track a car’s movements.  That is no longer the case.  Devices can be attached to your car without your knowledge (it only requires two wires).  If you are in a legal dispute with someone, in a divorce for example, it would not be unheard of to have your car tracked by a spouse or ex-spouse for the purpose of collecting information that could be used against you.  Be extra aware if you are in these situations. (more…)

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Those Who Travel Can Find Many a Treasure

Both Fun and Engaging, Geocaching Has Caught On Big Time

It’s a new twist on an old game that was adapted by the invention of a new technology.  GPS Navigation devices have provided many with information that they need in the way of maps, etc.  But, one of the best reasons to have one is to join in on the fun of a high-tech version of treasure hunts.

Makes Trips Fun

Geocaching for RV owners and operators provides them an exciting reason to keep travelling the open roads.  Finding and adding to the game makes it engaging and a great part of any trip.

Furthermore, being able to track and log discoveries on www.geocaching.com makes it even more exciting because of the sharing opportunities with other ‘geocachers.’ (more…)

In the “There’s a First Time for Everything” category, an unusual news item.

A young man, accused of a random, possibly gang-related, shooting in Baltimore, MD is using the GPS tracking report from his court-ordered home monitoring device as an alibi.

Lamont Davis, 17, is behind bars, accused of the July 4 shooting of a 5-year-old girl and her female teenaged cousin. Raven Wyatt was shot in the head and her cousin (who was only identified by the name “Reds) was shot in the arm with stray bullets as they were walking one afternoon on South Pulaski Street. The two survived.

A blue light surveillance camera, set by police at strategically-placed high crime parts of the city, captured some grainy footage of the shooter. Witnesses identified the male figure as Davis.

However, the accused, whose trial is now underway in Baltimore Circuit Court, claims he was home at the time of the crime and submits his GPS tracking records as evidence. The tracking system report does record the GPS receiver at his home address at the time of the crime.

But a GPS expert in law enforcement and one in the consumer manufacturing industry dispute the criminal’s claim. They say the GPS tracker was at home at the time of the shooting, but Davis was not. He allegedly slipped off the ankle bracelet committed the crime and returned home later to put it back on.

Davis, while though only 17 years old, could be considered a career criminal. He has been arrested more than 15 times as a juvenile. At the time of the crime, he was on house arrest, out of detention for assaulting a teenage girl, and ordered to wear an ankle GPS tracking device.

Both the prosecuting and defense attorneys agree on one thing in this case. Davis was good at slipping out of the GPS tracking anklet. He was caught by a probation officer “not where he was supposed to be” on about 100 occasions in the month’s time he was on house arrest.

It is uncertain if Davis will get off, but it is obvious that state authorities have to admit the GPS tracking system they had on Davis’ ankle was flawed.

Points made in court at the trial:

• The GPS tracking and monitoring company, based in state in Nebraska, is supposed to report all violations to Maryland State, but they don’t always do it.
• Criminals have nothing better to do than figure out how to outsmart the system. They then tell companions in crime. The end result is some people are masters at escape.
• The GPS tracking device can’t relay GPS tracking data if it is out of range of a transmitter.

GPS tracking systems were originally designed for vehicle tracking. They are very effective and location readings are accurate within a few feet. But technology advances very quickly, and in this case, the courts in Maryland might be relying on an older model system.

Sources: The Baltimore Sun , WJZ13

Monitor Your Mu Shu with a GPS Tracking Device

“Where is my mu shu pork? I must have placed that order an hour ago.”

Just about everyone knows by now that a GPS tracking system is really good at telling you where something is. But the technology doesn’t have to be restricted to your car, your spouse, your teenager or maybe your luggage at the airport.

Leave it to manufacturers to constantly come up with new and innovative ways to use vehicle tracking. Apparently now you can use it to monitor the progress of your Chinese takeout.

A London, U.K. software designer is selling a GPS tracking solution to the food service industry that lets restaurant managers see where all their pending orders and drivers are; and also lets customers know exactly how their food order is progressing. The delivery process is documented on a map on a computer, with real-time GPS tracking.

The tracking system is designed specifically for home delivery operators. But, the manufacturer said, it could easily be adapted for food delivery wholesalers, taxi cab companies, police or public works vehicles or a number of other fleet management applications. The company likes to call this new frontier “delivery solutions.” The tracking system is suitable for companies ranging from single-store operations to international corporations. (more…)

Business and leisure travelers across the U.S. are expressing support for a new regulation approved by the federal government Jan. 26, 2010. Effective immediately, it is illegal for drivers operating commercial trucks and large passenger vans and buses to text while their vehicles are in motion. While many people admit it will be difficult for police to catch disobedient drivers in the act of texting, the mere existence of the law makes many feel our highways will be safer to travel. (more…)

A motorist tracks a speeding bus. New players in the car track market are offering prices as low as Sh15,000 to cover a car for a whole year. JACOB OWITI

Competition is intensifying globally in the vehicle tracking market, with increasingly tech-savvy consumers enjoying falling prices and preferring around-the-clock real-time tracking systems to those that are prompted or “pinged” in the event of a vehicle heist.

Business Daily Africa, an online version of the newspaper Business Daily, published out of Kenya, Nairobi, reports vehicle tracking system manufacturers are reviewing their price structures because the world market is being inundated with products from North America, China and Europe.

The main solutions in the tracking system game in Africa are Stolen Vehicle Recovery Systems (known as SVRS) and those that are based on the Global Positioning System and Global System for Mobil Communications (GPS/GSM). (more…)

SANTA CRUZ, CA – A vehicle tracking device in a stolen Mercedes was instrumental in uncovering a holiday burglary ring in affluent central California.

A young couple, Timothy Staley, 27 and Katrina Adamich, 21, were arrested in tourist hotspot Santa Cruz, CA, after police tracked the stolen vehicle to the parking lot of a beachside motel, with the aid of its GPS tracking system.

A Santa Clara County family reported to police that their home was burglarized and their vehicle was missing on Thanksgiving, after they arrived home following a holiday celebration with family. In addition to the brand new Mercedes, a digital camera, computers, jewelry and clothing were taken by unknown persons.

Luckily the sedan came from a car dealership that provides live GPS tracking as standard equipment. A live or real-time GPS tracking system calculates its exact position on earth with the signals from orbiting satellites. Those regular position readings are then transmitted over a wireless network to the Internet. The user can access data about the vehicle’s GPS tracking location at any time, from any Web-enabled computer or smartphone.

Vehicle tracking devices are known for their incredible accuracy. GPS tracking coordinates are usually within a few feet of the object’s actual location.

Within hours of the reported burglary, police used GPS tracking to find the swiped Mercedes. It was parked in the lot of the Paradise Motel at 300 Second St. The motel surveillance camera fingered Staley as the thief. He gave no resistance as police approached him. Staley allowed the authorities into his rented room, where they found his accomplice Adamich and numerous pieces of expensive electronics, jewelry and clothing.

Santa Cruz police said they believe the couple was responsible for a series of break-ins in the area.

Methamphetamine was also found in the rented room. The couple, who were transients, now have a permanent address in local jail. The GPS tracking system in the stolen car gets credit for the bust.

Police say the holidays are a time when burglaries, muggings and shoplifting are at their peak. Shoppers and retailers, wrapped up in the busy season, are easy targets, because their guards are down.

GPS tracking systems can be used for all sorts of asset protection, not just vehicle tracking. Tiny GPS tracking units can be attached to major electronics, appliances, furniture, Christmas decorations and even clothing. If the items are stolen, GPS tracking will lead to their recovery, just as it did the Mercedes; a common vehicle in California perhaps, but unique because of its vehicle tracking system.

-          Source: Contra Costa Times

A livery service is one that has vehicles for hire. This is a transportation category that includes limousines.

Traditionally, a limousine driver and his dispatcher stayed in touch by radio or by cellular phone. A route was planned over a paper map, progress was marked in a hard copy log book and the home office did not know with certainty that a job was complete until the driver called in his status. It was impossible for a shift manager to follow each vehicle in a fleet wherever they went.

Vehicle tracking with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has changed all that. Dispatching a fleet has gotten easier because that ability is now possible in a virtual world: in real time, on a map, on a computer or Web-enabled cell phone.

What is a GPS Tracking System?

A real-time GPS tracking system integrates a GPS receiver, some firmware and a mobile phone modem into a single device. Location data, which includes direction, speed, miles driven and the time and place of all stops, is obtained through radio satellite readings. The vehicle position is recorded at regular intervals. In a real-time GPS tracking device, the location data is transferred by cellular data network from the tracking system to a central server, which can be accessed from an Internet-connected computer or wireless communications handheld. The GPS tracking data interfaces with mapping software and databases for a high-tech, reliable tracking and navigation solution.

GPS tracking systems can monitor hundreds of vehicles at the same time over a single map. That is a feat nobody had imagined possible, even a few years ago. They also have a feature called geo-fencing. That gives the user the ability to program a geographical boundary or boundaries into the tracking system. When the vehicle moves beyond that boundary, the user receives a text or email alert. (more…)

Fun Meets Security When GPS Tracking is Used at Halloween

GPS tracking was originally a project launch by the U.S. Military. In fact, the U.S. Department of Defense still manages the constellation of satellites used for GPS tracking worldwide.

The attraction of GPS tracking technology is twofold. First, it allows someone to instantly locate a person or an object. Second: it will navigate a person from one place to another with surprising accuracy. With that basic knowledge, most people draw the conclusion that GPS tracking is useful for fleet management, police investigations, yachting and so on. Those applications are all valid, but GPS tracking today goes beyond the obvious. It is quite a beneficial tracking system for the average consumer as well.

A growing number of families are using tracking systems to monitor the whereabouts of their children. GPS tracking is especially handy when children attend events with large attendance, such as festivals, carnivals, theme parks and Halloween. When children are outfitted with GPS tracking devices, they reduce their chances of getting lost or being abducted.

GPS tracking for Halloween is an unusual, but practical application for GPS tracking. It is one of the most fun holidays of the year and children want to enjoy it to the fullest without being controlled by elders or their parents.
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