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IP address can now pin down your location to within a half mile

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Targeted advertising shenanigans.

 

Google collecting your wifi data :-

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/14/google_street_view_cars_were_collecting_payload_data_from_wifi_networks/

 

Apple collecting info on where you have been :-

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/22/apple_iphone_location_tracking_analysis/

 

Seems to be becoming more and more prevalent, I wonder if people realise quite how much data is collected by the likes of google and apple.

 

 

 

Also try this :-

 

http://htmlfive.appspot.com/static/whereami.html

 

The pin appears directly on my house. :)

 

Guess it doesn't work as well in the "back woods". :) The pin for me, showed up about three towns over, 30 minute drive. Close though...

 

Shawn

 

IP address can now pin down your location to within a half mile

 

I find the techniques described in this article brilliant and fascinating.  I find the implications somewhat threatening...

 

Discuss.

 

Very scary. But I would think it would also depend on very good routing by the sources ISP. For instance, where do they route you out to the Internet backbone from their infrastructure.

 

One of the tools we use for clients for testing bandwidth is www.speedtest.net. The interesting thing about this site is it uses various techniques to find the "closest" server to you to test, and you can see an approximation of where "you" are in the map. I have one client here that is on a new range of IP's that Bell Canada just got. When we go to speedtest, it thinks the site is on the northern most point of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut. The closest server to test is in the Northwest Territories... Huh?? Not even close...  Of course for a few days last week, it also thought we were in Manitoba... And I do not doubt the tool as it works pretty flawlessly most of the time for us. I more doubt the ability of Bell to build a decent infrastructure...

 

This all seems to be based on the routing within the ISP's infrastructure. The better the routing, the more accurately people can pin you down.

 

Guess it is time to start using my VPN Proxy more often. ;)

 

Shawn

Who would allow their router to respond to pings?

 

I've never seen any of the geoIP systems come within 20 miles of accurate for me.

Also try this :-

 

http://htmlfive.appspot.com/static/whereami.html

 

The pin appears directly on my house. :)

For me it is not quite as accurate.  It puts me in Palo Alto California.   Only about 2700+ miles off. ;D

 

Me too..and I'm in the UK

For me it is not quite as accurate.  It puts me in Palo Alto California.   Only about 2700+ miles off. ;D

 

Paulo Alto is where it starts...  it should update, its pretty slow sometimes.

 

Who would allow their router to respond to pings?

 

Pretty much all internet routers respond to traceroute, if they didn't, troubleshooting international routing problems would be a bit tricky.

Also try this :-

 

http://htmlfive.appspot.com/static/whereami.html

 

The pin appears directly on my house. :)

 

It's 500kms (over 300 miles) out for me .... but given that this is Philippines, that's surprisingly accurate!

 

I wonder whether it would be more accurate if I enabled ping responses on the public side of my router?

It started  out at Palo Alto then I noticed the top of the page FF had a button asking if I wanted to share my location. Pressed it and it pinned it to my block.

Street in front of my house.

Sheesh. DEAD ON for my house  :o

About a block away from my house.

 

About 3 blocks away from my work.

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