Michael Zimmer.org

I just received a (spam) e-mail asking me if I’m interested in becoming a reseller of the TrackStick or TrackStick Pro. Um, no.

TrackStick is a GPS tracking device featuring software integrated with Google Maps to enable tracking of oneself (I suppose) and amateur surveillance of others (more likely). The device records its location, time, date, speed, heading and altitude at preset intervals. With over 1Mb of memory, they claim it can store months of travel information. Downloading the data to their software allows the user to trace the devices activity via Google Maps and even Google Earth. The screenshot to the right reveals that a device was at a shopping mall on Sept 16 at 4:33pm and stayed there for 6 minutes.

The basic version looks like a typical USB flash drive. You can simply drop it in your wife’s purse or kids backpack, and they’d probably never know. The sales pitch touts various applications:

• Find where your kids have been
• Verify employee driving routes
• Review family members driving habits
• Watch large shipment routes
• Know where anything or anyone has been

The Pro version is meant to be permanently installed on vehicles and features tamper resistant labels so you know if your employee or loved one has become suspicious and tries to remove the device.

Amateur surveillance has never been so easy…