The Nano Hummingbird has been five years in the making by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and AeroVironment Unmanned Aircraft Systems. This hummingbird can fly up, down, sideways, can rotate clockwise and anti-clockwise and even hover. It is sized slightly bigger than a real hummingbird, weighs only 19 grams and even looks real.

It is equipped with a front facing camera and is a mini spy plane. It can fly for eight minutes at a time. This spybot is an example of advanced nanotechnology, is battery powered and built specifically for spy missions. It is capable of flying through open windows or sitting on power lines, capturing audio and video without any raising any suspicion that it is not real.

The nano hummingbird can withstand wind speeds of 5 mph. It is remote controlled and the person manning the computer will be able to see what the bird sees and hear what it hears (via the camera feed).

Some critics say that a hummingbird is not found in all areas on the world and the technology would be better used in the guise on another bird. Of course, it is still in the prototype stage and can take up to 10 years for it to be available.

Video of it in action

Anybody who uses the internet has to use a browser to surf the web. While some browsers are better than others, it seems that almost all of them have internet security issues. Internet Explorer’s security issues are well known. Even Mozilla’s popular Firefox browser has just launched a new version as the earlier one had many holes in internet security.

Unfortunately switching browsers may be more trouble than it is worth because all security vulnerabilities may not even be known to all users. Firefox – and other browsers – release security patches from time to time in an attempt to counter this problem.

Google has launched a software, Skipfish, which scans all web applications for flaws which can compromise security. This web security scanner can used to make a sitemap annotated with interactive crawl results, highlighting flaws, after a recursive crawl and dictionary-based probing of the target site.

It is similar to Nikto and Nessus which are used for the same purpose, but is supposed to deliver a better performance. Google developer Michal Zalewski warned that this application does not satisfy all the requirements of the Wasc Web Application Security Scanner Evaluation Criteria. Nor does it have an extensive database of all security vulnerabilties which would have been of greater help.

Google has asked people to use the application responsibly and only for sites where they have permission to do so. However, with security problems rampant on the internet it remains to be seen what people actually do as there are no safeguards against any misuse.

As a thanks to our growing number of readers, I thought it would be a good time to give the readers of this blog a chance to win a spy gadget that they might have read about. The winner can choose any gadget they wish up to the value of £80 (approx. $110) from our store at Spywarehouse.

To win, you simply need to blog about this competition on your blog/site with a link to this blog Spyreview and another link to our store at Spywarehouse (with any anchor texts of your choosing) and then mention it with a link to your post in the comments section of this post (below). We will give as many people as possible a chance to win this (completely free, of course), so will let the competition run for exactly two months. All communications regarding this competition will need to be made in the comments section below.

Entrants welcome from all countries. The winning entrant will be whoever writes the best post, as judged by us.

Good Luck!!

Note: I have extended the competition to run for 2 months.

Here is a link to the Radio Five Live interview

The spy coin is rather clever invention that allows anyone to carry small items hidden away secretly such as a MICRO SD card or a sheet of microfilm. These small SD cards can hold 1 GB of text or even photos.

The spy coins are actually replicas of various coins that have been hollowed out to conceal any small device. No one will be able to tell the difference between these coins and other coins you may have in your pocket. This is more than likely one of the best ways to transport important information through customs, airports, and other security checkpoints as the coins will be sent through just like all the coins.

The coins you can purchase include the Peace Dollar, the Washington quarter, Eisenhower “Ike” dollar, USSR 50 Kopek, Kennedy Half Micro SD Card version, Kennedy Half dollar, SD Micro nickel, 1967 Large English Penny, and the US Jefferson nickel. All are hollow in the centre to conceal any item that will fit. All of the coins are replicas of the extra coin, so no one will suspect they are hiding secret information. For any spy, this is one great way to allow you to carry all those secret photos.

Thank you

Question

My cell phone is being used by some well organized people as an electronic “collar” so they may follow me throughout EACH and every day. Is there a device which might allow me to KNOW through countersurviellance who these people area? (This has been going on for years).

Brian

Answer

There is no facility for discovering who might be tracking you without a warrant that specifically requires your mobile phone company to release details of who is performing the tracking. Typically law enforcement agencies have powers to request such information.

It begs the question why you are being tagged, as to what you can do about it. Simple changing to a pre-paid sim card and a fresh unregistered mobile phone will avoid you being tracked. However, if it’s a legal requirement that you must be tracked, there’s nothing you can do about it.

Question

If I purchase the wristwatch walkie talkies will they work in USA. Going to Florida theme parks and concerned we get seperated from our kids. Please advise.

James

Answer

Walkie talkies will work in any country, as they are conventional radios. They do not depend on any kind of phone networks like mobile phones do. However, be aware that certain walkie talkies have transmission frequencies that may be legal in one country, but illegal in another country. Your best bet would be to pick some up in the US (which will be cheaper than the UK anyway), which will definitely be US legal.

Question

How can I block the electronic pulse harrassment I have been recieving from my neighbor for the past months. It is difficult to describe the gadget since I have not seen it.It emits a stinging pinprick that really hurts, when he places this thing under my floor, the magnetic pull is so strong it shakes the bedsprings.please help as it is driving me mad-he is doing this intentionally, I imagine it has a dish on it as he can direct this electric pulse where he pleases, thank you.

Gary

Answer

This seems like a very strange thing to be doing. Have you tried just chatting to him? If your neighbor is causing a nuisance, you do have legal rights and you should be able to have the police intervene. Often writing a formal letter requesting information on what he is doing or a cease and desist letter carries some legal right. I suggest having a chat with your local police and possible a legal team to find out what you can do about it.

There’s not a great deal you can do to block the electromagnetic field, although you might be able to find some equipment to prove that it’s being used.

Question

I am currently conducting research for a book I am writing. Given your knowledge & expertise on spy gadgets, would it be theorietically or remotely plausible for an audio bug to be concealed in an artifical tooth or bridge
of a person’s mouth, given current 21st Century bug capabilities, or is that a completely sci-fi, ludicrous notion?

I would appreciate any comments or feedback you may have on this question.

Mike

Answer

There are lots of myths surrounding such technology, and it could theoretically be achieved if the bug’s power source could be powerful enough to transmit, yet small enough to hide in a tooth. A major limitation of any transmitter is the practical size of the battery. You would need to spend vast amounts of money designing a small enough battery, or at least a device that was able to be charged by movement (like the kinetic watches). However, I don’t think you’d be able to get anything small enough to fit inside a tooth. About the size of a coin, yeah, sure, but not a tooth.