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Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Google Streeview spying
Posted by:
EFF
()
Date: October 23, 2010 10:03AM
Why would they need to do this? What was this "experimental" project really about? Any connection to Uncle Sam?
From MSNBC:
Google's cars collected the WiFi data in more than 30 countries between 2006 and mid-2010 so that Google could amass data on WiFi hotspots that could help provide location-based services — a project unrelated to taking photos for Google Maps.
But Google apparently thought it was only collecting a limited type of W-iFi data relating to the WiFi network's name and router numbers.
The collection of the additional, so-called payload data was a simple mistake resulting from a piece of computer code that was accidentally included from an experimental project, Google said.
Google has said that its Street View cars no longer collect any type of wireless information
From MSNBC:
Google's cars collected the WiFi data in more than 30 countries between 2006 and mid-2010 so that Google could amass data on WiFi hotspots that could help provide location-based services — a project unrelated to taking photos for Google Maps.
But Google apparently thought it was only collecting a limited type of W-iFi data relating to the WiFi network's name and router numbers.
The collection of the additional, so-called payload data was a simple mistake resulting from a piece of computer code that was accidentally included from an experimental project, Google said.
Google has said that its Street View cars no longer collect any type of wireless information
Re: Google Streeview spying
Posted by:
trogdor!
()
Date: October 23, 2010 10:16AM
In my mind, this is sort of like the street view cameras catching someone naked in their front yard. The fact that Google captured it isn't really the problem, it's that someone was doing it in the first place. Unless I'm mistaken, if Google was able capture unencrypted wifi payload data, it had to have been unencrypted by the owner.
If you're broadcasting your wifi signal beyond your property and not protecting it with encryption, you shouldn't be shocked when other people start listening in.
If you're broadcasting your wifi signal beyond your property and not protecting it with encryption, you shouldn't be shocked when other people start listening in.
Re: Google Streeview spying
Posted by:
Priapus
()
Date: October 23, 2010 10:27AM
It wasn't a problem until they roamed the streets of DC and started getting gov't data
Re: Google Streeview spying
Posted by:
Not Open
()
Date: October 23, 2010 10:37AM
They were just combining "war driving" with street view imaging. War driving pretty much requires (more or less) collecting some data packets - Google's problem was they didn't get rid of them as soon as they got their "wifi node" datapoint.
War driving results NOT from Google are available at, say, http://wigle.net/ - kind of interesting to surf your own neighborhood on the map and see just how many wireless networks are around, open or not.
War driving results NOT from Google are available at, say, http://wigle.net/ - kind of interesting to surf your own neighborhood on the map and see just how many wireless networks are around, open or not.
Re: Google Streeview spying
Posted by:
really?
()
Date: October 23, 2010 10:49AM
That site has some scary info... can this data be used by websites to geolocate web surfers by their router? I'm guessing not becuase the ISP sits between the router and the web, but I'm no techie.
Regardless, any way to hide your router's MAC address so it won't be scanned into this system?
Regardless, any way to hide your router's MAC address so it won't be scanned into this system?
Re: Google Streeview spying
Posted by:
Already Out
()
Date: October 23, 2010 11:15AM
Your IP address is, of course, already known by every site you visit, for example: http://whatismyipaddress.com/
And, as that site shows, the IP address can be narrowed down to location depending on how much info the ISP releases.
The war driving info can be MUCH more accurate as far as actual location since directional antennas can be (are often) used as the drivers drive around. However, looking at the map on that wigle.net site you'll see a massive concentration of nodes along (right on top of) major roads - that's simply because the war drivers were collecting data while driving on those roads and the non-directional strength of the detected routers only supplied them with "somewhere around here" information.
BTW - when I look at the maps I do NOT see my own network - that easily could be because I'm a quarter to half mile from any major road so the network transmissions simply weren't detected. My own network does not advertise SSID and uses WAP encryption, but there exists lots of software that could find it automatically anyway if the war driver is running it.
BTW, part II - my =TV= uses wireless as well - I have NO idea what sort of info IT is putting out there nor if it can serve as an access point, for example. So that could be a wide hole my own network.
BTW, part III - and, of course, the Wii and DSes around this house also are wirelessly on the network so they, too, could be holes.
And, as that site shows, the IP address can be narrowed down to location depending on how much info the ISP releases.
The war driving info can be MUCH more accurate as far as actual location since directional antennas can be (are often) used as the drivers drive around. However, looking at the map on that wigle.net site you'll see a massive concentration of nodes along (right on top of) major roads - that's simply because the war drivers were collecting data while driving on those roads and the non-directional strength of the detected routers only supplied them with "somewhere around here" information.
BTW - when I look at the maps I do NOT see my own network - that easily could be because I'm a quarter to half mile from any major road so the network transmissions simply weren't detected. My own network does not advertise SSID and uses WAP encryption, but there exists lots of software that could find it automatically anyway if the war driver is running it.
BTW, part II - my =TV= uses wireless as well - I have NO idea what sort of info IT is putting out there nor if it can serve as an access point, for example. So that could be a wide hole my own network.
BTW, part III - and, of course, the Wii and DSes around this house also are wirelessly on the network so they, too, could be holes.
Re: Google Streeview spying
Posted by:
ffu'er
()
Date: October 23, 2010 11:34AM
Not Open Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> at, say, http://wigle.net/ - kind of interesting
> to surf your own neighborhood on the map and see
> just how many wireless networks are around, open
> or not.
Yikes! I searched for my home address on wigle, and one of the networks listed nearby is the extremely unique name of one of this forum's users. LOL. It's such a unique name it's impossible that it's a coincidence.
Don't name your network after your forum name!
-------------------------------------------------------
> at, say, http://wigle.net/ - kind of interesting
> to surf your own neighborhood on the map and see
> just how many wireless networks are around, open
> or not.
Yikes! I searched for my home address on wigle, and one of the networks listed nearby is the extremely unique name of one of this forum's users. LOL. It's such a unique name it's impossible that it's a coincidence.
Don't name your network after your forum name!