OT: Cloud "solutions" or Orwellian?

musicvid10 wrote on 4/24/2011, 10:28 PM

I came across this today. If you're on wifi, click the Mapper, then click the button to have it find you. If Google's ever been in your neighborhood, it will. Now I know why they were scraping SSIDs and MAC addresses. Felt a bit of a chill.
http://meraki.com/tools/mapper/

Comments

reberclark wrote on 4/24/2011, 11:56 PM

Orwellian.

Grazie wrote on 4/25/2011, 12:54 AM

…… and tools that map them.

Grazie

farss wrote on 4/25/2011, 5:36 AM

Google has definately been in my area and the Mapper couldn't find us. Our WiFi is locked up pretty well though.
Of course if you've got an iPhone then it's pretty easy to find out where you've been.

Bob.

amendegw wrote on 4/25/2011, 6:35 AM

On a related issue: NY case underscores Wi-Fi privacy dangers

Needless to say, always implement security - stronger the better. I turn off "Broadcast SSID".

...Jerry

monoparadox wrote on 4/25/2011, 7:20 AM

Did I hear correctly that one of the browsers, either Chrome or Safari is actually sending information about location, even when installed on a PC?

Also, this bit of ominous news in today's WSJ.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704123204576283580249161342.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews

musicvid10 wrote on 4/25/2011, 8:11 AM

You may not know it, but a wireless router constantly broadcasts the following unencrypted information, regardless of the encryption method used. Not specifying a SSID doesn't "cloak" the router:

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musicvid10 wrote on 4/25/2011, 8:19 AM

Even more ominous is the amount of GPS data your iPhone is logging. A hacker could retrace your every step back to when you activated the phone.

Tracking Your Every Move: iPhone Retains Extensive Location History

monoparadox wrote on 4/25/2011, 8:30 AM

Perhaps the most ominous thing is a lot of people don't seem to care.