Robert Hardin is a special agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. When he goes out these days, he is careful to look over his shoulder.

He's seen his share of bad guys, so there's nothing wrong with a little caution.

But Hardin isn't so worried about a gunman. Instead, he's concerned about the growth of spying equipment that ranges from wireless cameras to audio bugs to phone-tap equipment.

Maybe you should be looking over your shoulder, too.

If you use the Web, there's almost no way you could avoid seeing ads for the X10 wireless spy camera, being sold for $79.95. The ad coyly positions the hidden video camera as a good way to keep an eye on the family swimming pool or as a way to check on the sitter while you're away.

But many of the people who order these devices are high-tech Peeping Toms.

It's an example of high tech gone mad - of spy equipment that, a few years back, would have been on the leading edge of what law enforcement had available. It's not so much a case of a new technology as it is of a technology that's become affordable to the ordinary person.

Nowadays, your next-door neighbor, or your boss or even the people who run the motel where you stay could be using one of these wireless cameras to watch you. Sometimes that watching is legitimate. Sometimes it's not.

" The X10 wireless video camera - based on reviews - falls toward the low end in quality. But there are wireless cameras that sell for hundreds of dollars and offer almost broadcast-quality video. One camera, available from Spy Co., comes disguised as a clock radio. The color version sells for $749.

Some of the hidden cameras (including those found at the Spy Co.) come disguised as smoke detectors, motion detectors or wall clocks. You'd be hard-pressed to see anything out of the ordinary.

Because the cameras are so easily hidden and so hard to find, most undoubtedly go unnoticed. But there are reports that show that some people use cameras in ways that ought to worry you.

For instance, in South Elgin, Ill., a man has been charged with using a hidden video camera in his bathroom to tape young women. In June, also in Illinois, a teacher admitted to placing a small, wireless camera in a bathroom used by teachers of both sexes at an elementary school.

If we've learned anything about the history of science and technology, it is that we can't expect each new advance to bring only joy.

But we also have a new set of worries - hackers, computer viruses, electronic Peeping Toms and electronic leashes such as cellular phones.

The same technology that created the problems provides the cure. The same Web sites and online stores that sell these cameras also offer receivers to pinpoint the location of hidden cameras.

The most chilling thought about the new threat to privacy comes from Hardin.

It shows how the erosion of privacy is changing life, even for those of us who are unlikely to be on camera.

"Don't assume that you are alone, not ever," he said.

http://www.charlotte.com/observer/business/pub/clickins0920.htm

Personal Protection Against Unwanted Surveillance