Is Your Computer Router Being Used to Spy on You?
When someone conducts surveillance, they are trying to collect certain information about their target. Frequently, this information includes communications in text messages, phone calls, or emails. However, they could also be eavesdropping on conversations or secretly taking photos or videos with hidden cameras and microphones. If so, how are they getting the information? Generally, transmission data is available through the routers’ log files. A router analysis can detect surveillance by identifying hidden spy devices on your network.
Decades ago, to get this information, a person would sit in a vehicle down the street, eating donuts and drinking bad coffee, while trying to overhear conversations using archaic surveillance equipment. Today, getting this information is relatively simple and easy. Using readily available hidden equipment, like cameras, microphones, and GPS trackers, someone can record this information.
Once the surveillance information is recorded, it needs to be transmitted to the individual. Frequently, people use a cellular connection on a mobile phone to send the information. However, surveillance information is also transmitted to an individual using the internet via the home or business computer router.
For this reason, when doing a bug sweep of a home or office, we recommend router analysis to detect surveillance. As computer forensic experts, we check all the settings on your router to make sure your router is secure and determine whether or not there has been any exploits or surveillance.
Information We Can Find in Computer Router Log Files
We review the internet and computer router log files to uncover surveillance or other information.
We download all of the log files into our database. We’ve written books on database programming, introducing database queries, and stored procedures. We analyze and review all the data to find suspected surveillance.
All Devices that Have Connected to Home or Office Internet
A computer router will record in the internet router log files all devices that connect to the network. For example, we will see the iPhones, Android phones, and computers of anyone that has connected to the home or business’ internet connection.
Today, more and more devices are “internet” enabled. This means, in addition to phones and computers, there may be video equipment, alarms, and even common appliances that are accessing the internet in our homes and offices. It’s important to separate safe internet devices from “surveillance devices”. The internet router log files will identify devices accessing the internet even if they weren’t found in a physical bug sweep.
Unknown devices connected to your internet connection may be a hidden camera or microphone collecting surveillance.
Inbound & Outbound Internet Traffic
We also evaluate the computer router logs for outbound traffic. Most people when they use the internet, use inbound traffic. For example, when you check your email, you’re downloading the email. When you are visiting websites, you’re downloading website information. When you watch a Netflix, that’s N-E-T-F-L-I-X video, you’re streaming inbound traffic to your computer, phone, or tablet.
Surveillance involves uploaded traffic, not download traffic. For example, audio files, photographs, and video files are often very large files, which can be found in the computer router. If someone is spying on you through a hidden device, they are probably sending themselves those files over your internet connection.
Large amounts of outbound traffic can indicate surveillance and should be of great concern.
Who is Spying on You?
Sometimes, when a client contacts us, they already suspect who is spying on them. For example, an ex–spouse; an employment manager; a business competitor; neighbor; and many others. We’ll collect this information from you before we begin our investigation in order to do the most thorough job.
In analyzing the computer router, we can often obtain the IP address of where surveillance information was sent to identify who is spying, what information they received, and when.
Router Recommendations From our Forensic Expert
Sometimes we find a homeowner or a business owner that has an outdated or ineffective computer router. We will recommend you a better router to use that is more secure to prevent surveillance and provide enhanced log files for later use if surveillance is suspected.