While some argue parental control software is an invasion of children’s privacy, they probably didn’t see a recent survey of over 1,500 children, ages 10 to 17, which concluded that approximately 25% of those children had undesired exposure to images of people who were either nude and/or having sex. Or that approximately 20% of those children had been the recipient of some form of unwanted sexual solicitation. Or that 22% of targets for online predators were between the ages of 10 and 13.

The good news is that parental control software is inexpensive, easy to set up, and robust. It’s easy to install, impossible for the kids to discover (and subsequently shut off) or change, and can be set up to email parents in real time when their kids are engaging in behavior online which could pose a risk to their safety.

One product we frequently recommend or help clients implement is e-Blaster by Spectorsoft, which is a great example of the amazing functionality available in the parental control software market. E-Blaster can be configured to email parents exact copies of all their children’s online activity, including their chats and instant messages, emails, etc. It also enables parents to remotely block websites, specific user ID’s or profiles which they believe to be unsafe. It also provides reports detailing the child’s Facebook-related activity, which may highlight the fact that their child has an “alternative” Facebook profile which they weren’t aware the child used (sometimes children forget to mention those things).

1.  The private investigator is anonymous to the subject.

One of the main reasons most people hire a PI is because they know they are likely to be recognized and caught if they try to do the work themselves. If you are trying to follow your cheating spouse, it is almost certain that he will recognize your car or spot you, and your cover will be blown. Not only will this result in embarrassment for you or suspicion by him, but it will jeopardize the entire case. If your spouse now believes you are suspicious of his behavior, he will be more cautious in the future, making it more difficult to catch him.

2.  Private investigators can legally conduct surveillance.

Clients often mistakenly believe they can follow their spouse and use any evidence found in subsequent court testimony. However, in Connecticut for example, your spouse or significant other can have you arrested for stalking if you are following them. If you are charged with stalking, any evidence you find would’ve been obtained illegally and could be inadmissible in court. Only the police and private investigators are exempt from this law and legally allowed to follow individuals and record their activities.

3.  Private investigators are skilled at investigative work.

Being a private investigator requires many skills beyond knowing how to drive and take photos. If you’ve ever tried following a friend’s car to a restaurant, for example, you know how easy it is to lose them on the highway or at a traffic light – and this is when they want you to follow them! So imagine trying to follow someone who doesn’t want to be followed, you may not know the intended destination, and you’re trying to avoid being obvious and getting caught. A private investigator has to be not only constantly aware of a subject’s every move, but also able to anticipate likely actions. Because moving surveillance is so difficult, it is sometimes recommended for multiple agents to be on the case at the same time or, at the very least, for a private investigator to change attire or even vehicles during a surveillance case. 

Besides being surveillance experts, private investigators must master many technologies. They need to know how to use overt and covert cameras, install and download surveillance software, keystroke loggers and GPS trackers, perform counter surveillance, retrieve deleted computer files, find elusive background information online, and much more. Above everything, they know which investigative technique is best to use when and how to handle themselves if their cover is blown, to avoid jeopardizing the case. 

4.  Private investigators know the law.

Gathering evidence is of little use if it’s not admissible in court or, even worse, if the activity is illegal and lands you in jail. A private investigator knows what is and isn’t legal and the proper way to gather evidence in order for it to be admissible in court. For example, you can place a GPS tracker on your spouse’s vehicle as long as the vehicle is registered in your name or is intended for use by the family. This usually means you cannot place a GPS tracking device on your girlfriend or boyfriend’s car. The same law applies to installing surveillance software on a computer. In a situation where a client wants to perform an activity that is illegal, a professional private investigator will know of and suggest an alternate solution which is legal.

5.  Surveillance is time-consuming.

Surveillance is often time-consuming and, to the surprise of many, can be very boring. In an average surveillance case, a private investigator might spend an entire evening sitting in a vehicle watching a building door for a subject to emerge. It is unlikely that the first time you conduct surveillance on a subject, that person commits the very activity you were hired to catch. More often than not, a private investigator will need to conduct surveillance on multiple occasions in order to catch someone in the act. It’s just the nature of the work. Most clients have a full-time job or other responsibilities preventing them from spending large quantities of time following their spouse or significant other.

Computer Data Recovery – Almost all past computer activity is retrievable. Most computer users assume that when they delete a file, it is permanently destroyed. In reality, the deleted files remain stored on the computer’s hard drive until the hard drive is full. As the hard drive needs more space, it starts to destroy the deleted files. Until that point, our private investigators are able to retrieve deleted files, emails, instant messages, and history of Internet activity, including websites visited.

Keystroke Logger – This small hardware device discreetly plugs in between your computer and your keyboard. It records everything typed on the keyboard in a file on the internal flash drive. After the device is removed, our private investigators download and process all the data, accessing everything that was typed, including user names and passwords. This solution works for desktops or laptops that are used with docking stations, but not laptops that are used alone.

Surveillance Software – After one of our private investigators installs the surveillance software on your computer, it will record all computer activity. Different types of software allow you to view the activity in different ways. You can choose to receive reports of the activity via email and/or watch a recording of the screen snapshots taken of the activity. What you choose depends on your ease of access to the computer and the level of detail you wish to see.

Our private investigators work with you to determine which of these computer forensics and surveillance solutions will work best for your situation and goals.

Patrick Troy on "Connecticut Style"

I was recently on WTNH Channel 8’s new show, “Connecticut Style”. I explained different tech gadgets that private investigators use for surveillance: a GPS tracker, computer keystroke logger, portable hard drive to install surveillance software, and digital voice recorder. I’ll describe these gadgets in detail in future posts.