10 ms·

They can still geolocate my IP address. I was appalled a few months ago, to find that even though I disabled location services, when I looked up Portland in Go

They can still geolocate my IP address. I was appalled a few months ago, to find that even though I disabled location services, when I looked up Portland in Google Maps, then zoomed in, there was a "stickpin" in the map that was located about twenty feet from where I was. While I haven't had the headspace to deal with it yet, I'm getting ready to tunnel all of my web and dns through a Xen VM that I have in The Netherlands. That won't stop them from geolocating my IP, but it will lead them to believe I hang out in hash bars, as well as ice skate on canals during the winter.

0942v8653 11y ago
GeoIP isn't too accurate, really. You were probably near the center of a city. (GeoIP should not tell anyone more than a ZIP code can, unless in an area with very high population density.) If people decide to track you it is much easier and more accurate to do it over actual phone networks.
- MichaelCrawford 11y ago
  I was in a loosely populated suburb. Either my wireless access point had a static IP, or if dynamic, it had not changed since the last time google's van full of spy electronics drove by.
  - justincormack 11y ago
    They dont need to drive past any more - phones with GPS are constantly mapping wifi locations and adjusting the map.
  - nl 11y ago
    The Google WiFi mapping project would get the SSID, but not the IP address. If someone connected from that WiFi connection point with location services enabled then that would allow the two to be correlated.
    - MichaelCrawford 11y ago
      While I keep location services disabled, I expect that my housemate at the time had them enabled. She spent much of her day online; that would enable Google and friends to keep up to date with our access point's dynamic IP.
imglorp 11y ago
Oh boy, let's see, there's * ip address * utdoa, e-cid, et al (trilaterated on a number of cell towers) * cgi and cgi-ta (from the one cell tower are you talking to) * bluetooth * wifi of course (skyhook etc) * gps * dtdoa from TV/radio reception (a number of phones have receivers; look for the Rosum TV patents) * ambient magnetic field mapping (not making this up; it's pretty accurate) The first five methods require no phone participation other than to have that radio turned on. The others need software in the phone to do the locating. A foil bag is probably the best idea if you're seriously off grid.
- nl 11y ago
  Additionally, carrier-based location services don't rely on any IP or app based functionality on your phone at all. Your location is known merely by the fact you use the network. I'm not at all convinced this is a huge problem. But then, I like the functionality trade-off I get from letting services know my location.
  - MichaelCrawford 11y ago
    "I like the functionality..." I have quite a serious mental illness, one common symptom of which is paranoia. That's why I pay cash for everything, as well as - after a great deal of consideration - why I won't ever drive a car ever again. Not so much the car, but its license plate. This week, starbucks had a half-off offer for frappucinos. I really like frappucinos, but their advertisement led me to believe that I had to purchase with a registered starbucks card. I sadly ordered pike's place instead. But then I had a closer look at their offer, to realize that while they were promoting the starbucks card, it wasn't specifically required. I have since paid cash for three frappucinos. Sometimes a grocery store cashier will ask me whether I have one of their loyalty cards. I tell them that I don't. "Would you like one?" "No. Do you know who Edward Snowden is? That's why I don't use loyalty cards." Quite commonly, they don't know who Snowden is. A few times, I could tell by the looks on their faces, that they were considering calling the cops, to have me tossed into a nuthouse. If I had little or no understanding of the innards of my iphone, it wouldn't get to me, but I am an iOS developer. After reading the linked article, for me to spend much time walking around with my iPhone powered on, really would lead to my spending some time in a psychiatric hospital. I haven't actually looked into it, but assertively conjecture that hospitalizations for paranoia have substantially increased since Eddie skipped off with those half-dozen NSA notebooks.
sidcool 11y ago
20 feet precision with geolocation disabled? That's disconcerting...
- MichaelCrawford 11y ago
  I just realized that it was the Mac OS X Maps application, not google maps.

0942v8653 11y ago

GeoIP isn't too accurate, really. You were probably near the center of a city. (GeoIP should not tell anyone more than a ZIP code can, unless in an area with very high population density.) If people decide to track you it is much easier and more accurate to do it over actual phone networks.

MichaelCrawford 11y ago
I was in a loosely populated suburb. Either my wireless access point had a static IP, or if dynamic, it had not changed since the last time google's van full of spy electronics drove by.
- justincormack 11y ago
  They dont need to drive past any more - phones with GPS are constantly mapping wifi locations and adjusting the map.
- nl 11y ago
  The Google WiFi mapping project would get the SSID, but not the IP address. If someone connected from that WiFi connection point with location services enabled then that would allow the two to be correlated.
  - MichaelCrawford 11y ago
    While I keep location services disabled, I expect that my housemate at the time had them enabled. She spent much of her day online; that would enable Google and friends to keep up to date with our access point's dynamic IP.

imglorp 11y ago

Oh boy, let's see, there's * ip address * utdoa, e-cid, et al (trilaterated on a number of cell towers) * cgi and cgi-ta (from the one cell tower are you talking to) * bluetooth * wifi of course (skyhook etc) * gps * dtdoa from TV/radio reception (a number of phones have receivers; look for the Rosum TV patents) * ambient magnetic field mapping (not making this up; it's pretty accurate) The first five methods require no phone participation other than to have that radio turned on. The others need software in the phone to do the locating. A foil bag is probably the best idea if you're seriously off grid.

nl 11y ago
Additionally, carrier-based location services don't rely on any IP or app based functionality on your phone at all. Your location is known merely by the fact you use the network. I'm not at all convinced this is a huge problem. But then, I like the functionality trade-off I get from letting services know my location.
- MichaelCrawford 11y ago
  "I like the functionality..." I have quite a serious mental illness, one common symptom of which is paranoia. That's why I pay cash for everything, as well as - after a great deal of consideration - why I won't ever drive a car ever again. Not so much the car, but its license plate. This week, starbucks had a half-off offer for frappucinos. I really like frappucinos, but their advertisement led me to believe that I had to purchase with a registered starbucks card. I sadly ordered pike's place instead. But then I had a closer look at their offer, to realize that while they were promoting the starbucks card, it wasn't specifically required. I have since paid cash for three frappucinos. Sometimes a grocery store cashier will ask me whether I have one of their loyalty cards. I tell them that I don't. "Would you like one?" "No. Do you know who Edward Snowden is? That's why I don't use loyalty cards." Quite commonly, they don't know who Snowden is. A few times, I could tell by the looks on their faces, that they were considering calling the cops, to have me tossed into a nuthouse. If I had little or no understanding of the innards of my iphone, it wouldn't get to me, but I am an iOS developer. After reading the linked article, for me to spend much time walking around with my iPhone powered on, really would lead to my spending some time in a psychiatric hospital. I haven't actually looked into it, but assertively conjecture that hospitalizations for paranoia have substantially increased since Eddie skipped off with those half-dozen NSA notebooks.

sidcool 11y ago

20 feet precision with geolocation disabled? That's disconcerting...

MichaelCrawford 11y ago
I just realized that it was the Mac OS X Maps application, not google maps.