Microsoft Exposes Locations of PCs and Phones 96
suraj.sun sends this excerpt from CNET:
"Microsoft has collected the locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other Wi-Fi devices around the world and makes them available on the Web without taking the privacy precautions that competitors have, CNET has learned. The vast database available through Live.com publishes the precise geographical location, which can point to a street address and sometimes even a corner of a building, of Android phones, Apple devices, and other Wi-Fi enabled gadgets. Unlike Google and Skyhook Wireless, which have compiled similar lists of these unique Wi-Fi addresses, Microsoft has not taken any measures to curb access to its database."
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:So? (Score:4, Insightful)
I see you on the street and decide to target you, I sniff some packets and learn your MAC address. I then use this MAC address to find where you are/have been/will be. The point is the connection between you and a set of MAC addresses is random but pretty static which can then be indexed to learn a lot about your locations.
Isn't this just being more honest? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:So? (Score:5, Insightful)
Suppose that there is a method to determine (with reasonable certainty) what your wireless MAC address is.
Suppose this method is just as simple as driving by a location where you are known to be present (ie: at home) while you're using WiFi.
What then?
Or: Suppose that you have legal reasons to be paranoid, and physical access to the device by armed thugs with jackboots is only a warrant away.
What then?
Or. Suppose that an app on your phone calls home with your MAC address [android.com].
What if it also knows your phone number [android.com]?
What then?