Law Enforcement Uses Fluke Networks' AirCheck Wi-Fi Tester to Help Combat Child Pornography

DALLAS, Aug. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN CONFERENCE -- Fluke Networks today announced at the annual Crimes Against Children Conference (CACC) in Dallas, Texas that its AirCheck™ Wi-Fi Tester is being used by law enforcement agencies across the United States to help locate individuals suspected of downloading child pornography. Carolyn Carter, a Wi-Fi product manager at Fluke Networks, detailed how the tester is being used during her speech at the CACC, where Elizabeth Smart was the keynote speaker.

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The AirCheck tester, which is an easy-to-use handheld Wi-Fi tool with a simplified one-button interface for technical and non-technical users, allows law enforcement agencies to:

• drive by a suspected location and identify all the wireless networks in use;
• utilize the product's directional antenna to determine if a wireless network inside a suspect's location is secured or unsecured;
• more confidently enter the suspect's location, if they determine a wireless network is secured, knowing that illegal Internet content is being downloaded from within that residence;
• track the suspected client (laptop, smartphone, etc.) location if a wireless network is determined to be unsecured, since there is a chance a non-resident is piggybacking onto the resident's wireless network from a nearby location and downloading child pornography.

After investigating a number of other wireless tracking devices, the City of Martinez Police Department, located in California, is one of the agencies that has selected the AirCheck tester to help track down suspected criminals.

"Combating the growing threat of child pornography on the Internet is a nationwide priority," said Sergeant Dave Mathers, head of the Electronic Crimes Unit of the City of Martinez Police Department. "AirCheck is a simple, elegant, and easy to use tool that aids in locating suspects on wireless networks. The tool easily verifies wireless network settings, providing us with more confidence that we've identified the suspect's location. Using this information, we can eliminate more variables while focusing on the suspect downloading the illegal content."

"This is a terrible crime against society, and the fact that our technology can be part of the solution, is something we're very proud of as a company," said Arif Kareem, president of Fluke Networks. The AirCheck Wi-Fi tester is part of a family of Fluke Networks products that are being used worldwide to help combat cybercrime.  For more information on Fluke Networks suite of wireless tools click here, or click here for additional information on the AirCheck tester and how it can be used by law enforcement.

About Fluke Networks

Fluke Networks provides innovative solutions for network installation, monitoring and analysis within global enterprises and carriers. The company's comprehensive line of solutions provides network installers, owners, and maintainers with superior vision, combining speed, accuracy and ease of use to optimize network performance. Headquartered in Everett, Washington, the company distributes its products in more than 50 countries. More information can be found by visiting Fluke Networks' web site at www.flukenetworks.com or by calling (800) 283-5853.

SOURCE Fluke Networks