Long story but I was complaining about my partner to a friend which my partners doesn’t know. The next day he was angry like he knew what I had said.
My first thought was maybe he has some recording device, so I downloaded this app which is meant to find these devices connects to WIFI.
It came up with the Router, my phone and some device called ‘Generic’.
What do you think this could be? We got nothing else connected to the WIFI we are pretty old fashion.
How to find a hidden camera?
Jumpup on 24/02/2020 - 16:02
Last edited 24/02/2020 - 16:34 by 1 other user
Last edited 24/02/2020 - 16:34 by 1 other user
closed Comments
Knowing most forum posts, there will be no big reveal.
OP -> DisabledUser is more likely.
In order for me to give you an expert psychological advice, I need to know…Whit kind of a partner? male or female, dog or a cat, a horse etc?
Now you have me concerned that my cat is talking shit about me to the dog.
So taking a different approach to all the comments here, find out what the MAC address is of the “generic device”. Your router should list all devices connected to it and it’s MAC address. In someways, you can think of a MAC address as a unique serial number which devices use to communicate and identify each other. All manufacturers have a prefix in the MAC address so you can narrow down who made it and what kind of device it is.
After you obtain the MAC address, go here and let us know what result you get.
https://www.wireshark.org/tools/oui-lookup.htmlThank you Dark turtle
Wow, the OzBargain comments jumped immediately to gaslighting and "the problem here is probably you".
Guy knew something he shouldn't have known. OP has doubts. The best policy would be trust but verify.
DarkTurtle actually trying to help. Do that.
And then there's a relatively simple test. Next time you have a conversation at home in the same location mention that you keep something your partner doesn't know about in x location, somewhere he would never normally look/open. Set up a thing to see if that location has been opened, google for options, there's plenty of low tech methods like this post-it trick: https://imgur.com/a/lnbna
There is no reason a recording device needs to be connected to your wifi.
A simple voice recorder could run all day on batteries, or simply be plugged in somewhere random behind a cabinet.
Counterintelligence tradecraft will be required to get to the bottom of this. In this case I would suggest employing a form of the Canary Trap.
Craft a new story that your partner will surely react to, now leak this story to the friend and see if you hear anything back from your partner.
Also the friend cannot be simply trusted, leak another crafted story to a different person and see if that comes back.
name checks out
So Lady complains about Man, man finds out, lady accuses man of installing secret hidden camera…somehow its always the man's fault…. Maybe stop complaining and start appreciating.
It’s always some man’s fault. In a woman’s world there are no conflicts.
Woman asks for help as her partner made an accusation with no proof and no way of knowing what the real conversation was. Post has DV red flags all over it. Woman cops it on Ozb for daring to question the man.
There is no proof man had no way of knowing. Woman making accusations of man installing hidden cameras. Other women jump on the bandwagon and assume man is automatically guilty and throw around the DV accusation because of course that’s what it is. Anyone who doesn’t agree is at fault also apparently. How about it being DV against the man. Being accused of things with no proof.
Yes, because anyone who agrees with OP or suggests DV, is a female. No one is saying the guy is committing DV, there's just red flags.
She's asking for help mate. Those of us with any DV training or experience is trained to recognise red flags and it's not just women on here pointing that out. Then there's those telling her to stop complaining and start appreciating…and you wonder why 1 woman a week is dying from DV in this country.
@MessyG: Mate I have DV experience. It's also no wonder why the male suicide rate is so much higher than the female. Because when females commit DV on males it's socially acceptable these days… DV goes both ways. People need to understand DV before they through it around.
What exactly are the red flags? Let's actually list the facts:
1) Woman talks crap about man to a friend
2) Man is upsetThis literally seems like a normal relationship to me. If there are signs of DV here, then every relationship has "red flags".
In terms of OP's suspicion about cameras, that may well be true, but the guy's innocent till proven guilty. Even then, out of all of the possible explanations that can be given, I'd say that cameras are pretty low on the probability scale.
It's much more likely that OP's friend is a loudmouth who's told someone who knows OP's husband (happened to me before), or OP has non-verbally communicated to her partner that she's unhappy with him…etc.
In general, anyone accusing someone else of something should be questioned so that they come up with the evidence. It's not OP copping it because she "dared to question a man", it would have been the same response if OP was a guy, or if they were both guys or both women.
He probably overheard you…
Bugs, tracking devices can be hidden anywhere. they don't need wifi to operate. You could use a burner sim with data.
Hi there,
If you find that your partner has a hidden camera, that's a red flag and should seriously consider leaving the relationship. He is trying to control you. Moreover, you already know he was following/ stalking someone else.
He was trying to make sure his bro in law wasn’t cheating on his sister. Does that raise a red flag? I thought it was because he cares about his sister.
I've never heard or met anyone who would stalk a brother/sister in law, I find it very invasive of someone else's privacy. The only way I'd justify it is if his sister actually asked him to do it.
Domestic violence has many faces. I've met several women in abusive relationships who had the red flags from the start but unfortunately dismissed them thinking he loved them too much.
The women I met left them too late and already had deep physical and psychological wounds.
Hindsight is always 20/20. Any and all insecure bad behaviour is now being tagged "domestic violence" which cheapens the label and makes a mockery of the suffering battered women go through. Insecurity is not always a sign that a man is going to snap and set his family on fire. Sometimes it just requires some honest communication and working through it. Working through it requires both people willing to examine their own actions and modify their behaviours. Not every man is a monster or monster in the making. Not every relationship needs to be discarded at the first sign of trouble.
Repeated controlling behavior, gaslighting, constant put-downs are a different matter altogether and may well constitute a form of psychological violence. Whether willing to admit it to themselves or not, most people know when their partner has their best interests at heart because if so they try to build them up even if they have specific complaints.
I am so goddamn sick of misandry mascarading as social justice.
@syousef: I'm confused by this post. You've mentioned psychological violence as repeated controlling behaviour, gaslighting, put-downs etc - and then you've mentioned 'insecure bad behaviour'. What exactly is the difference between these forms of emotional abuse? All the information we have on emotional abuse (the formal term for this kind of domestic violence) has come from research and people on the ground working in this field. And not one person on here has said this guy is going to snap and set his family on fire, multiple people have recognised red flags which are just that. DV exists on a spectrum and rarely starts out extreme - it escalates over time and usually starts out as what you would call 'insecure bad behaviour'. Whether or not it progresses is another story but early recognition is one of the very few tools we have to stop it(and no, not just women, this is a disease that affects everyone) getting worse. If you're seeing it everywhere and defining it, in your personal opinion as just 'battered women' then you're part of the problem. It is far more insidious than that, it is far more widespread than that, and usually does start out as that bad behaviour you mention. Not one person on here has said that every man is a monster or that every relationship needs to be discarded - these things are not all or nothing, but red flags should be recognised and people warned. This protects potential offenders too because early on in the piece is their best hope for change too.
@MessyG: What's the difference between a controlling jerk that puts down his partner constantly and a guy that has doubts about his partner and snoops on her once in an anxious moment? Are you actually serious?
Tell me is it "domestic violence" if a woman continually rubbishes a man to her friends? What if she puts him down to his face? Or is that just fine and dandy because men don't matter? What about the stereotypical woman gas-lighting her man telling him that "nothing" is wrong while seething because "he should know"? That's certainly controlling behaviour. Is that also domestic violence? Are those red flags? Or do those flags only turn red when a female is the target of the action? Should the relationship end there and then?
Exactly what double standards are you supporting here?
And at what point should you throw away a relationship? Is it the first time your partner says a cross word? Is that a warning sign and you should run away right there?
I'm sorry but what passes for "research" in the social sciences these days often amounts to nothing but confirmation of ideological bias.
No one wins a gender war. No one wins if the standards are perfection or there are double standards. Not every indiscretion is a sign that a man is about to snap and become homicidal. Expecting perfection is a recipe for injustice and loneliness just as accepting a partner who doesn't have your interests at heart is.
Before I continue, tell me what you think of the Amber Heard situation. Was that Johnny Depp's fault too, given all that's come out.
Worse than that.
If there is a just a suspicion of a hidden camera, both parties are at risk and should immediately end such toxic conflictive relationship.
It will never develop into anything good.OP and partner: both, count your losses and split.
Otherwise is a masochism.
What are your qualifications that you think your opinion based on an incomplete and one sided assessment of the situation is enough to give people definite and immediate advice on what they must do?
Which one is your qualification that you dare question my assessment?
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/s@LFO: My advice has been to go seek professional advice. I don't need a qualification to defer to the experts.
Why are you still in such a conflicted, toxic, un-trusted relationship?
What router do you have?. Model? The newer ones, you can login into your router via a webpage, and then you can see what is connected etc.
Type the ip address into your web browser.
Sometimes that gets you to the login page with brand and model of the device.It’s asking for a log in and I don’t know the details
Usually it's user: admin and password : password pm me if you want help accessing your modem
R U OK?
If ur using android phone and he knows ur password, he can install a spy app which can record ur location, calls, camera, photos, sms, ur real time screen shot of phone, notifications to him instantly. worst thing is he can hide the app from the app drawer.
https://www.androidlost.com/iPhone but that’s scary!!!!!
If it's the same Apple account it's all shared (SMS and photos at least). Plus find my iPhone…
There are tracking software that could also be secretly installed.
If you're concerned about this, take your phone into Apple and ask them. They can show you how to check (I hope).
If you think this could be happening I'd be concerned about the relationship (and your safety). Find some support.
@hopper
You are being misleading here.
While that app can do some of the things you state, it cannot record calls. And this is the most important of the things you were scaring the OP about.
Further, you call this a 'spy' app. Again this is rather misleading. It is simply a remote access app.
Finally, the user has an iPhone, not an Android. To be fair, you may not have known that when you replied with your useless information.
My bad. But it can record using microphone. U can test it. Comments are subjective is all I can say
It was the cat. Cat ratted you out, dawg.
That would be pawfect if this was the case.
If you think it is a camera:
At night
Turn all lights off
Stand in the middle of each room
Open your camera app on your phone
Spin around slowly, investigating any small, bright circles on your phone screen (IR camera, or 'night vision' camera)
Turn on your phone's flashlight mode on and hold your phone screen against your chest (to light the wall in front of you)
Spin again, slowly, looking for any sparkles or flashes (This time looking for phone's flash light reflecting off a camera lens)If there is a camera you will have shown him that you have lost all trust in him. But you already have.
As others have said, audio recorders are far easier to hide.
Better advice is to work out why you don't trust your partner, work out if you want to continue with the relationship then either work on fixing your relationship or end it.
this guy bug sweeps.
Na, I just remember being woken up by a Microsoft connect and trying to diagnose if it was recording me naked once I realised is was moving in my bedroom at 2am in the morning. IR lights were on…
you know what, when I first posted that comment, I honestly did not see your username. I was just making a "Silicone Valley" show reference. Lol.
Thanks for the tips.
@Andard: I picked my name as the 'That Guy' meme was starting to gain traction as less of an insult and I liked the idea of a 'more' self absorbed take of it.
why were you talking crap about him behind his back?
Looks like you've been downvoted for stating a valid point. Sure it's a red flag to allegedly have a secret recording device planted. It's also a red flag to be talking badly about your partner behind their back rather than actually communicating with them.
Either way, if it's true, this relationship is toxic on both sides and both partners need to learn how to communicate.
Thank you both. People down-voting need to take a good long look at themselves and ask if they're actually interested in justice, equality, fairness or just what's popular.
Everyone vents to people they trust. How many Ozbargainers have complained about their nagging partners on here? That's pretty reasonable behaviour. Spying and recording OTOH…
There is a difference between saying "hey you know my partner's snoring is driving me crazy, I wish he'd see a doc" in amongst discussing other things (including hopefully some positive things about your partner) and complaining bitterly about what a miserable human being you think your partner is and how hard done by you are. I don't get the feeling OP was doing the former. The latter is a betrayal. And makes you look bad. If your partner is so damned bad, why did you choose them and why do you choose to continue to be with them.
Spying and recording are a different kind of betrayal. Not that we have proof of this (which is what OP's after). It's just as likely the person she confided in couldn't keep her mouth shut. But you're absolutely assuming that the guy did this without that proof and advising her on that basis.
Both don't bode well for the relationship, but they don't mean it's unsalvagable with work if that's what both people want and if both people actually still care about the well being of the other.
If the camera has wifi, it could be plugged into an outlet in some way. Otherwise they won't run long. Take a look around the house and examine plug adapters to see if there's any pinholes on them. Image search hidden cameras to get an idea of what is currently popular and look for them
Have you been watching Shane Dawson's conspiracy vids again?
Are you a contestant on MAFS? Is there a camera crew and producer over your shoulder?
"hiding" behind a plant
Why are you so worried that it's got to be a camera… He could have installed a spying app on your/ partner;s phone…
It could also be your partner blabbed about it/ or your friend could have been upset about something totally unrelated.Um how angry was he? What did he actually say to indicate he knew what you said? Are you very very sure it was anything to do with what you said to your friend and not something else you did or said or the way you dressed or the fact you had friends and went out…
There is a stand-alone device which can find camera lenses or something but I didn’t look much into it. It’s like a personal security kinda device I saw coming out of China or Japan.
Just sleep with your friend where you think the camera is hidden and wait for your partner's next move.
Next OzBargain post: I slept with my friend which my partner doesn't know. The next day he was angry like he knew what I did. My first thought was he is going to kill me. Where do I find the hidden dagger?
the person you spoke to probably told on you
More often than not, this. Or told someone who told someone…
Human nature is terrible. Many people can't keep a secret to save themselves.
Just start a tantrum when you are alone at home screaming I know you're recording me and all that stuff.
See his reaction when he comes home. You'll know if he seen it or not.
End the relationship. Sounds toxic and beyond repair. Once trust goes it's tough getting it back. (Source: life experience)
I know right, it's hard to find a partner that will discuss their issues directly with you.
Safe to say they missed that boat. They're at the spying, suspicion and OzBargain posts stage now. I stand by my advice, that or extensive relationship counselling.
That you're willing to give that advice with so little to go on, and one side of the story, tells me what your advice is worth.
Maybe lower your voice next time you're bagging out your partner.
OP next time consider using the cone of silence.
LOL
There very well could be some sort of tracking app on your phone that allows your partner to turn the microphone on.
@frondono
There very well could be some sort of tracking app on your phone that allows your partner to turn the microphone on.
Yes, and maybe there's also a magic unicorn floating around sending telepathic messages back to the OP's partner.
People, this is reality not NCIS, or Alias. Hidden cameras, tracking apps on iPhones (ummmm… unless jailbroken, how???), all way too paranoid and complex and technical.
(Yes, frondo, you and others here, are probably uber-geeks, and smarter than Elliot Alderson, and can probably shut down the power grid, and start world war three, and get naughty pictures of Angelina, all from your Nintendo console. But most people are Muggles, you know. And if the OP has to ask the question she asked at the start, then there's no way she has the required technical know-how. And if her partner did, she would have been 100% aware of his super-geek capabilities.)
There has been a lot of cases where there are hidden cameras in air b&b homes and they are quite easy to purchase off Amazon or eBay so not that impossible
How do you locate anything, hidden or otherwise..?
You search for it!
I know, I know.. I'm a genius.
On the one hand you've had the thought and should probably find out to satisfy your curiosity. On the other hand, the human mind is so good at finding patterns and making connections that it will do so even when they aren't actually there. It's why we had to develop the scientific method.
Generic could be anything. Don't have a cheap TV connected by chance? I have one that show up as something like that.
Not all cameras use wifi anyway but there are five methods that can be used to detect them.
1. Detect the glint/reflection from the lens.
2. Detect the radio signal (assuming it transmits).
3. Detect semiconductor junctions.
4. Manually search every square inch of the room.
5. Ask your partner.Jaycar sells a device to detect cameras using the first two methods but it's $99. Devices using the third method are quite a bit more expensive again. The fourth and fifth are free but the fifth is a lot less manual effort. Your OzB credentials are at stake. Choose wisely.
This is a seriously wicked answer my dude / dudette, and it totally deserves more love!
Thanks. I'm still amazed by all the value judgements in this thread with respect to both OP and the partner based on so little information. It seemed to have become an opportunity to grind many axes.
OP says the partner is harmless. I'd say ask in those circumstances. If I was in the partners shoes, assuming I hadn't set up a camera, I might be a little taken back at first but I'd be able to laugh about it pretty soon.
Chances are if OP was complaining about the partner then there had been some recent difference of opinion which said partner was salty about. Pretty normal on the odd occasion in a serious relationship. So the partner may have concluded that there was a likelihood of a conversation about it with a visiting friend if the air hadn't been cleared. A failrly normal conversation amongst friends so perhaps a slight overreaction but none the less it's hardly enough to conclude that we're dealing with a monster.
There's also a small chance the OP is correct about the camera and I think it would be pretty obvious from the reaction if the partner was spying.
Too true, too true.
Whether or not he spied on you, your relationship is in trouble. Spying and counter spying gadgets aren't the answer. Neither is venting to your friend, which is also a betrayal. If you're not both willing to change, your relationship is doomed.
The first thing you should do is have an honest discussion and see if you're both willing to work to save your relationship. Then from there work out if you need professional help doing it, or professional help splitting. If you're at all concerned about your safety, make sure your discussion is somewhere public and have someone close by for help in case needed.
Good luck.
He won’t be seeing your map of your state in the near future
I wonder if he is on OzBargain reading this… 🤔
Jumpup you deserve better than this. You deserve to be able to have a vent about your partner (and this is normal behaviour from both sexes!) without being afraid of being recorded, without your partner randomly getting angry about something they think, but have no proof you said. And stalking someone to see if they're cheating isn't 'caring', it's stalking. Caring is listening and offering sympathy when that relationship breaks down. I know as women many of us have been conditioned into believing that men are supposed to behave like this, but this is not normal behaviour. Caring is someone who listens, who you don't feel nervous around because you don't know how bad their mood is going to be, who don't tell you that you're crazy when you question their behaviour, who don't tell you that you're being silly when you question things.
Have a look at this link and see if it feels familiar:
https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/understand-domestic-violence/…
Then have a look at this picture and decide which relationship you have:
https://i.redd.it/e88kc200wvy31.jpg
You deserve better than this and you need to start telling people around you about this persons behaviour. I know it's so normalised by many but you deserve better. You deserve love and peace trust and respect and someone who doesn't make you feel like a criminal for doing normal things.
Thank you for this info. Sounds familiar especially with my friends partners. Makes me wonder how common this is.
Are you sure you ladies are okay with men "venting" about you? I'd bet my bottom dollar you'd classify that as abuse too. Put downs are a very real form of betrayal. And there's a difference between complaining about a bad habit or irritation and focusing on those things so that you describe your partner as scum.
Btw, the first 2 on the left hand side of your image reminds me of behaviour that's portrayed and encouraged in any romance movie. Number 3 is Sex in the City. So is that TV show a recipe for women becoming controlling manipulative monsters, or is it a feminist show about sexual liberation?
But go on, set up impossible standards, call any man that doesn't meet them a monster, then wonder why no one meets them. See how happy that makes you.
This is the bottom line:
In a good relationship people do their best to make each other happy and raise each other up. They do their best to find solutions both can live with. And sometimes they don't get it perfectly right, and when they do get it wrong the mistakes tend to be small and tend to get forgiven because they are corrected and on the whole the relationships is great for both people.
In a bad relationship people do their best to get what they want and use and put each other down to do it, only occasionally taking care of the other person when it meets their agenda. They're only nice when they think they'll lose you otherwise and then return to putdowns and controlling behaviour the moment they think it'll go their way.
The hard part is being honest about what you have, what effort you will put in, whether you really believe (rather than just want to believe) your partner will put in the effort too.
sounds like someone has personal experience
Is you're friend and partner the same person?
If the trust is gone, it's to to go.
He’s on this forum reading these comments
Classic case of chinese whispers, your "friend" tell your complaint to another friend and so on until your partner heard the news
maybe you should talk to your partner rather than your friend
if you can't communicate then maybe you are better off leaving the relationship
then again if he was spying on you then you guys sound perfect for each other
You could use this if you want to find a hidden camera:
https://www.jaycar.com.au/camera-detector/p/QC3506
I personally haven't used it, but its the best I can do with a quick google search.Or you could just talk to your partner and ask them….
Thanks, this could come in very handy for future Airbnb/hotel stays.
Whilst I'm a fan of jaycar, that cost is excessive, especially when you can get something a 10th the price. They gotta do something about that.
See here: #Aliexpress AU $12.25 33%OFF | Multi-Function Wireless Camera Lens Signal Detector CC308+ Radio Wave Signal Detect Camera Full-range WiFi RF GSM Device Finder
https://a.aliexpress.com/_d6TGLLR
(Unrelated but went to jaycar yesterday to pickup an optical input 3.5mm analog to digital converter and again cost was crazy, went to audio store and half price).
true, they are expensive, but you are paying for the convenience.
This.
I think you should talk to your partner and voice your concerns/issues with him, rather than telling other people (so far I count your friend and the collective Ozbargain community) about this.
If you can't/won't do that, it spells a bigger issue than just a (suspected) hidden camera. I would be deeply hurt if my partner tells a group of strangers on the internet that she suspects I installed a camera to spy on her, without even talking to me to sort any issues out.
p.s. Anyway, to answer the topic, change your router password to something else. Resetting your phone might be drastic but will definitely flush out any hidden software.
Anyway, to answer the topic, change your router password to something else
No no no, change your patner to something else !
If you're able to log into the admin portal of you router check the leases generated by the modem and Network card identifiers of any active connections. Try to work out what's connected at that time. Any device that connects to wifi will usually have its unique network card identifier. Common things people miss out on counting are Google Chrome or Apple TV, smart speakers, video Game consoles, smart switches or plugs, smart lighting or other electronics, old mobile phones, etc.
In for the big reveal, partner is spying, breakup incoming.