tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post6783700523561826592..comments2023-11-03T06:32:28.410-04:00Comments on Staring At Empty Pages: We know where you are...Barry Leibahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14205294935881991457noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-68296734912176983062007-11-30T09:26:00.000-05:002007-11-30T09:26:00.000-05:00Well, we're not just talking about going to Google...Well, we're not just talking about going to Google Maps in a web browser; there's a Google Maps application that runs on the BlackBerry (and I presume the same is true on other phones). Having written BlackBerry applications, I can talk a bit about what they can do:<BR/><BR/>The application can get active network information, which includes the cell-tower ID. It can also get the device's ID and SIM information that includes the phone number. It can transmit all that info to Google's server. I've written a program myself that did that, as part of a location-tracking service.<BR/><BR/>If it sometimes also gets GPS data, and transmits that too, the server can build its tower-location database over time. Then when a request comes in that doesn't include GPS, but has a tower-ID that's in the database, they can make their estimate.<BR/><BR/>Of course, this only works because enough people use their service that they <I>can</I> build that tower-location database over time. In other words, it works precisely because they're already big and popular.Barry Leibahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205294935881991457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-14208247602509084672007-11-30T01:48:00.000-05:002007-11-30T01:48:00.000-05:00I'd like to find a fairly authoritative descriptio...I'd like to find a fairly authoritative description of how they're doing this. All the descriptions I've seen (including the one you quoted) don't ring quite true. At my home it shows a location a few blocks away (not bad!) at which I'm fairly certain there's no cell tower. So it's probably doing some triangulation based on relative amplitude measurement.<BR/><BR/>So how does Google get the information on what cell towers you're near? Aren't they just getting IP packets from the network? Or do they have some special arrangement with cell phone operators? From what I understand, there aren't many restrictions on where this feature works, so it can't be <I>too</I> much of a special arrangement.<BR/><BR/>While I'm not crazy about the idea of Google knowing yet more about me (noting that I'm using a Google identity to post this comment!), I think it's good for people to understand what information is available to at least certain parties about their whereabouts.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05459244944209591455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-13189118517396419712007-11-29T21:48:00.000-05:002007-11-29T21:48:00.000-05:00I wish I could think of something specific, but it...I wish I could think of something specific, but it would seem that one can use the power of a Google mash-up to add their database to the Netflix and IMDB information. And a few Amazon.com reviews and suddenly Barry is getting a text message everytime he walks near a microbrewhaus or a bookstore. Wouldn't that be convenient? Not.<BR/><BR/>And buy a copy of a backup DVD of the British medical disks or, say, some stolen data from the various security lapses in the last year or so that affected millions of people... Could get ugly fast. But I'm sure the private sector is all over this problem and has a ready fix... Government regulation and public law would be so unnecessary.scouter573https://www.blogger.com/profile/10617089494446058172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-76745084474924412612007-11-29T20:30:00.000-05:002007-11-29T20:30:00.000-05:00On the subject of deanonymizing supposedly anonymo...On the subject of deanonymizing supposedly anonymous data, see the recent Netflix + IMDB efforts. Nice summary <A HREF="http://arxivblog.com/?p=142" REL="nofollow">here</A>, and links therefrom.<BR/><BR/>{inw}Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com