You are not a star, but unless you have been living in a cave, you have been on TV. That is, closed circuit TV or CCTV. The number of surveillance cameras has grown out of bounds over last few years. You can expect to be watched in airports, shopping malls, parking lots, factories, banks, theaters… and you may not expect but still be watched in hotels, condominiums, offices, nightclubs, streets and even in your own home!
Hidden surveillance equipment is as available as a mobile phone today. That is, you do not need to obtain any permission to buy and own it (though, using in some cases may be considered illegal) and the prices are quite affordable. If to think about it, there are two sides of the same coin.
Video, audio and internet surveillance equipment truly amazes with its boundless capability. You can maintain security and prevent crime at your work place or home; you can keep an eye on a cheating spouse or your not so professional employee; you can even get access to a very personal information like email passwords and confidential conversations. With modern technology hidden surveillance equipment becomes tinier, less visible and more powerful from year to year.
On the other hand, common sense of the surveillance equipment’s owners sometimes fails to work. Like, hidden cameras can be found even in private areas, such as changing rooms, toilets, showers, hotel guest rooms and other places you obviously do not expect a watching eye in. The more so, often such breach of privacy is justified as a “security reason”. And while some establishments at least are considerate enough to post a warning, others are simply not bothered. There are numerous evidences proving that hidden surveillance equipment was misused as a means of entertainment or even with criminal purposes.
How to Find Hidden Surveillance Equipment?
Naturally, people started getting concerned about how to find hidden surveillance equipment. And where there is a will, there is a way. If there is surveillance equipment widely available, there is anti surveillance equipment as well! That is, to detect if you are being monitored is not always easy but possible. While you can try and find spy cameras yourself, special anti surveillance devices will make it much faster and simpler.
One of the most popular means of video monitoring a room is surveillance equipment for wall mirrors. Though a camera hidden behind the mirror can be found quite easily if you can closely inspect it or place flashlight against the mirror surface in the dark room, in many cases it is not possible as you are in a public place. One simple tried and true way to detect any kind of surveillance equipment for wall mirrors is to press your fingertips against the surface. If the reflection is touching or very close to your finger, it is safe. But if there is a large gap between your finger and its reflection, the mirror is very likely two-sided and used for hidden surveillance. You can also check if there is a chamber behind the mirror by knocking and listening to the sound the surface gives. But you cannot rely on this method as 100 % effective.
Other common hiding places for spy cameras are smoke detectors, paintings, clocks, ceilings… actually, the list can be endless. With wireless cameras using pinhole lens installing and concealing becomes no problem at all. Detailed inspection in attempt to find hidden surveillance equipment may not bring any results even if you spend a lot of time trying to spot a spy camera lens. Listening devices are even trickier, so it becomes impossible to detect them without anti surveillance equipment.
Surveillance and anti surveillance equipment shares the same principles of work; that is, basic methods used for hidden surveillance are applicable to anti surveillance as well. So, if you suspect you are being monitored and wonder how to find hidden surveillance equipment, try and determine what kind of monitoring is used and then go for appropriate anti surveillance equipment.
For spy video cameras there are anti surveillance devices capable to detect various transmissions, vibration, tape recording, infra red radiation, etc. Each device may be a separate detector or kind of two (three, four, all)-in-one, giving more chances to find hidden surveillance equipment. While some detectors only warn of the presence of cameras, others are able to interrupt camera systems within a certain radius or even tap and view what hidden cameras watch. Though the method is perfect for counter surveillance, some detectors have their disadvantages like scrambling and interfering into other devices’ signals – mobile phones, for example.
Similarly, there is anti surveillance equipment designed to detect and prevent eavesdropping making your telephone and fax lines safe. Even if you have nothing to hide, will you like the idea that all your conversations are tapped by somebody? Telephone scramblers and tap nullifiers allow protecting the privacy of your conversation and making them secure no matter from where you are calling. Another way of private conversations’ protection is by creating noise in microphones and audio transmitters.
And at last, there is advanced anti surveillance equipment which can perform almost all kinds of protection from audio, video and Internet surveillance. Naturally, such multitaskers are not cheap but in case you want to secure your privacy most effectively, you will need one of those devices. Abundance of surveillance and anti surveillance equipment in the market makes you remember that if you can get somebody’s secrets, somebody can get yours with equal ease.
