Cool Tech Tools that Protect your Privacy

Posted by Pamela S. on Friday, August 24th, 2012

Everyone wants your information. Some want to know you for nefarious reasons. Others, like long lost friends, just want to find you on Facebook to see what has become of you. People in our business want to be able to find that kind of information without being discovered. Check out some of the newest and tried and true apps and devices to protect your privacy.

Spooftel

I would be lost without Spooftel. I have been using it for years. If you don’t know what Spoof calling is, you probably aren’t a private investigator, so look away.

Actually, anyone can use it. Spooftel is a Canadian company, but you can use this service anywhere in the world. Spooftel allows you to make a telephone call and protect your number. With this service you can input any telephone number and name in the system and that is what will show up on the call display of the person receiving your call. It works on any landline or smartphone.

The service also has a desktop and iPhone app. You can also send a fax, or a text message. At present, calls are only 10 cents a minute. If you desire, Spooftel also allows you to change the pitch of your voice and add sound effects in the background, for an extra charge. You can also record your calls on the system. This is a very secure site and in all the years I have been using Spooftel, there has never been a breach.

The Smart Burner for iPhone

This Smart Burner app also creates temporary phone numbers for making private calls. It is only available for iPhone. At $1.99, it is more expensive than Spooftel, and not as flexible.

 The Cloak VPN

If you want to keep your computer safe in public, the Cloak VPN is a service that works with Apple devices to secure your computer when using public WiFi. This app is free to use for up to 1 GB of data or two hours. After that, you have to pay for a plan. Android and Windows versions are in production.

Wickr

“The Internet is Forever.” That is Wickr’s tag line. The technology was founded by a team of security and privacy experts. Wickr provides secure communications by allowing you to destroy your message after it is sent and removes all traces. You can determine who gets to see the message and for how long, before it is destroyed. Wickr encrypts your messages and destroys metadata by writing over your data. The data then becomes unrecoverable.

The Dunhill Biometric Wallet

This item is pricey, but if you want to make sure that your identification and credit cards are secure, you may be willing to shell out over $800. If you dress like someone on a GQ cover and have that kind of money in your wallet, you need a wallet that is secure and stylish.

The Dunhill Biometric Wallet has a built in finger print scanner and an alarm that goes off if the wallet is moved more than 5 meters from your presence. The device can be linked to your mobile phone through Bluetooth. The wallet is made of carbon fibre and according to Dunhill, it is almost impossible to open.

 

 

Former FBI Assistant Director Tom Sheer has recruited the best from the FBI, DEA, IRS and Secret Service to build a formidable team at Sheer Investigations. Our private investigators have the sensitivity and experience to handle the most delicate investigations.