High-tech gadgets seemed to be all the rage this past year. Were you lucky enough to have Santa bring you a new cell phone with digital camera? How about a Bluetooth wireless headset to go with it? Or did the jolly old elf deliver a digital TV recorder? Or best yet, a brand new car?

New electronics and technology have become our personal window to the world, allowing for convenience and security we have never seen before. But while advances in technology promise to provide greater benefits, some experts say that window to the world can be used by marketers, government agents and even crooks to keep an eye on where we are and what we do.

Privacy advocates say the electronics industry has been slow to integrate privacy features into consumer electronics. In the meantime, what can consumers do to protect themselves? Pull the plug?

"We wouldn't say it's time to unplug from the world, but I think it is time for consumers to put pressure on companies to find out what they're doing to protect privacy," said Ari Schwartz, associate director for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a public policy group based in Washington, D.C.

Schwartz said consumers need to educate themselves on what electronic devices can do.

The ever-common cell phone is one example. New software can now track the location of people using a cell phone's signal. Such technology could literally save lives in emergency situations. In the past, emergencies called in through cell phones were a point of frustration for dispatchers, who were unable to get an automatic location. But the E-911 system is now allowing police to trace the general area of a cell caller. The technology already has hit most major metropolitan cities. Locally, Tooele County is working on installing an E-911 system.

The same cellular technology is also being used in newer vehicles. The most popular wireless-based vehicle service, OnStar, has been credited by its promoters with saving lives. With a push of a button, a driver can contact a representative, who can do everything from give directions to a restaurant to call an ambulance.

What drivers may not know is that such technology can do much more. Across the country, law enforcement has taken advantage of OnStar. In early December, Indiana State Police used OnStar to trace a stolen vehicle within hours of it being stolen. After a brief high-speed chase a suspect was arrested.

Also this past month, police in Omaha, Neb., rescued a stolen Chevy Yukon using OnStar. Potentially, law enforcement could use such technology to listen in on in-vehicle conversations and possibly catch illegal activity.