onTRACKERS is our digital beaconing tool and service designed to unmask criminals on the internet.

It is good to be grateful, so first, we would like to thank the magnificent professional Juan Carlos Ruiloba, former head of the Cybercrime group of the Superior Police Headquarters of Catalonia and CEO of Scientific Intelligence Team 1, for the knowledge he imparted to us more than 9 years ago. THANK YOU.

onBRANDING had the honor of using an IP Logger system baptized by Juan Carlos as a Digital Beacon.

The use of beacons (police) is more widely known or understood as part of the physical technical tools used by police forces to locate a person, an object such as a car, etc.

However, digital beacons, or technically known as IP loggers, are also used by police forces, and instead of being hidden under a car, they are placed in emails, behind images, documents, audio files, or on a website.

What is a digital beacon for and what data can we extract with an IP logger system?

A digital beacon or an IP logger system allows us to know much more than just the IP and other data about users who have clicked on the link, such as:

• Origin IP address.
• Whether a proxy or VPN (private browsing network) is used.
• VPN company used.
• Device type (mobile, tablet, iPhone, Android, computer, iPad, etc.).
• Geographical location (latitude and longitude) with a margin of error of about 50 meters.
• Country of origin from where the click occurred.
• User Agent (which browser and version).
• The host name from where the click occurred.
• Internet provider, telecommunications company.
• Device screen dimensions, because often the user may be using a user agent switcher to mislead the cyber investigation team.
• How many times the link has been clicked
• At what hour, minute, and second it was clicked, and from which time zone.

These are some of the data we can obtain if the user clicks. Through a more sophisticated and higher-cost system, we can even prevent the user from having to click on the link.

There are hundreds of IP logger services, and many forensic IT specialists even create their own IP loggers. Each team must use the service that works best for them, depending on the needs of the case, and especially on the client’s resources.

Legal limitations of digital beacons or IP loggers

The use of IP logger systems is only authorized for cases supervised by State security forces and bodies, and with the authorization of a registered private detective. The means of location and tracking by private detectives are regulated in sections 1 and 2 of article 588.quiquies.b of the LECRIM.

The use of these beacons always must be a measure that responds to the principle of opportunity, congruence, and proportionality, whereby investigations must be proportional to their purpose to guarantee respect for human dignity; limits that are established by the entire Spanish Legal System.

When we propose the use of a digital beacon or a more advanced IP logger system in a case, it is because previous cyber investigations have been carried out, we have used HUMINT or classic private investigation techniques, as well as search and analysis techniques in open sources (OSINT), and the required result has not been obtained.

Our team’s private detective, Elisenda Villena, always reminds us: opportunity, congruence, and proportionality. These criteria protect us from legal problems in a potential judicial process.

Use Cases

Daily, we deploy beacons in cases of death threats, repeated harassment, sexting, sextortion, revenge porn, grooming, bullying, and countless alleged crimes that our clients cannot attribute to a specific person. Therefore, to file a complaint against someone, a minimum of technical data is required to initiate a police investigation, a case in the prosecutor’s office, or in a duty court.

Our digital beaconing service

onTRACKERS

It is onBRANDING’s own digital beacon system to unmask the technical identities of alleged criminals on the internet.

• URL Shortener
  Enter any URL or link to any image on the Internet to shorten it and track clicks on your IPLogger short link.
• Invisible Email, WhatsApp, Image, Video, or Audio
  Generate an invisible IPLogger image to obtain statistics on your website’s traffic.
• Advanced URL Shortener
• IP Finder
• Location Tracker

At onBRANDING, we have a multidisciplinary team focused on digital intelligence and cyber investigation. Our onTRACKERS service helps unmask criminals on the internet through various elements.

If you need more information or our help, do not hesitate to contact us.

Other digital beaconing systems

Grabify (onBRANDING official partner)

• URL Shortener
  Enter any URL or link to any image on the Internet to shorten it and track clicks on your IPLogger short link.
• Advanced URL Shortener
• IP Finder
• Location Tracker
• IP logger analytics

Iplogger.org

They offer various types of services

• URL Shortener
  Enter any URL or link to any image on the Internet to shorten it and track clicks on your IPLogger short link.
• Invisible Image
  Generate an invisible IPLogger image to obtain statistics on your website’s traffic.
• Advanced URL Shortener
• IP Finder
• Location Tracker