While we may have stood still over the last two years, technology certainly hasn't and generally that is a good thing. There is one area of concern for us though as we start to spread our wings.

In the recent past we have seen disturbing stories of hidden cameras in short-term accommodation style apartments and motels.

There was a scheme in South Korea with 42 motel rooms with hidden cameras that were livestreaming 24/7. Members paid to watch the livestreaming on a website.

There was another incident of a couple staying in Florida who discovered a hidden camera in the smoke alarm above the bed.

A man in New Zealand was collecting footage from a camera in a shampoo bottle and posted those videos to an adult site. The list goes on. A quick search for the term "spy camera" will give you 458 million results.

There is no doubt about the popularity of these devices and the technology has improved dramatically. Apart from shampoo bottles, the authorities have discovered cameras in smoke detectors; bedside clocks; wall clocks; TV units; alarm components; water sprinklers; power points and even pot plants. Anywhere that can have a tiny hole facing forward and a small space behind it.

People are concerned about this issue. In a recent survey of 2000 Airbnb guests, 58 percent said they worried about hidden cameras in a property they booked.

The concern was not as high with guests at motels. With individual people owning Airbnb accommodation, it is very easy for an owner to have access to the complete building to set up cameras. Staff at a motel would find it a little harder to explain what they were doing if they were caught.

Luckily, with every nefarious step forward, we typically have a way to block that step.

First, have a look, especially in the bedroom and shower area. Cameras are probably more likely in those areas than the kitchen. I am making a big assumption here, but the creepy minds secretly filming people are not that interested in watching someone make a vegemite sandwich.

The devices only need a one millimetre hole facing forward, so any dot or hole in an object is worth looking at. Look particularly for objects that seem out of place.

For example an alarm motion detector or an alarm clock in the shower area would be unusual. A power point on a wall at an unusual height might be suspicious. Two smoke detectors in a room. That type of thing.

A visual inspection can get you so far but there are inexpensive devices you can purchase that have one function. Detect cameras.

These are handheld devices that use high-powered LEDs that reflect off camera lenses. It is irrelevant what type of camera it is, the LEDs will reflect from the camera.

Using a device such as this, you can walk through an apartment and shine the LEDs at any device or item you are concerned about. If you see a red pinpoint of light coming back at you, you have found a sly camera.

Tell me if you have ever found a hidden camera at ask@techtalk.digital.

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