Eavesdropping equipment: How to keep your home or office free from them.

So often when I do sweeps at a home or business people ask me, “How can I prevent eavesdropping in the future?”

Let me share a few tips:

Make sure you know everyone who comes into your home or office. If a telephone or cable company employee comes in, check their identification, or call the company to see if they belong here.

Do background checks on employees, even household employees. They may not be who they say they are.

Don’t accept electronic gifts, such as clock radios, lamps, calculators, or other instruments, especially from people you don’t trust.

If overnight mail or a package comes from someone who is on vacation, put it in a soundproof room, not on the person’s desk. Some eavesdroppers have been known to send a Fedex to someone they know who is on vacation -- with a bug in it. They can here all the conversation in the office.

Finally, If you see an unaccounted cell phone, remove the battery. Cell phones are the biggest bugs right now. They can listen to everything within 30 feet.