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U.S. top court rejects Google bid to drop Street View privacy case [illegal Wi-Fi wiretap]
Reuters ^
| June 30, 2014
| BY LAWRENCE HURLEY
Posted on 06/30/2014 10:07:27 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
click here to read article
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To: ShadowAce
2
posted on
06/30/2014 10:09:21 PM PDT
by
Jet Jaguar
(Resist in place.)
To: Jim Robinson
The first comment at the source alleges that Google designed that in... they did war driving as they videoed, and grabbed neighborhood peripheral data as they went, from people who hadn’t bothered to password protect their networks.
That was pretty presumptuous of Google. I do not know what they hoped to accomplish by doing this. “Dear john@doghouse.com: we took note of your email address while we were going down Main Street in Hackersville, USA. Please look at our photos of this street and let us know if you like them.”
Funny thing, though, a degree of snooping that might get an individual thrown in jail results in a fine that is a pittance for a corporation like Google.
3
posted on
06/30/2014 10:17:30 PM PDT
by
HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
To: All
Does anyone know how to get a job with Google driving around in a camera truck?
4
posted on
06/30/2014 10:46:05 PM PDT
by
VerySadAmerican
(Liberals were raised by women or wimps.)
To: HiTech RedNeck
They were collecting wifi network names (SSID) and their locations so that they could use that data to help user geolocate themselves more quickly. The other data came along for the ride. People should have encryption enabled on their networks anyway. What google did is more analogous to recording CB radio transmissions than wiretapping.
5
posted on
06/30/2014 11:10:24 PM PDT
by
Wayne07
To: MrShoop
They did it to provide mapping of open WiFi access points which many are public on purpose. For example a coffee shop or fast food restaurant.
The bottom line is, if people don’t secure their networks while using the public airwaves they should have no expectation of privacy. I think calling it an illegal tap is seriously bad law.
6
posted on
06/30/2014 11:26:03 PM PDT
by
DB
To: MrShoop
They were collecting wifi network names (SSID) and their locations so that they could use that data to help user geolocate themselves more quickly.
This is not a grammatical statement and sounds like obammy-speak.
7
posted on
06/30/2014 11:38:15 PM PDT
by
867V309
(Don't tread on me, bro)
To: 867V309
Especially since SSIDs are not guaranteed to be unique.
8
posted on
06/30/2014 11:41:30 PM PDT
by
Gene Eric
(Don't be a statist!)
To: DB
They did it to provide mapping of open WiFi access points which many are public on purpose.
I could do that without "accidentally collected emails and other personal data" and I have a whole lot less technology than googel.
The bottom line is, they were data-mining (spying).
9
posted on
06/30/2014 11:44:52 PM PDT
by
867V309
(Don't tread on me, bro)
To: 867V309
At best this is too clever by half. Oh, this guy’s email (which they can see if he is logged into gmail) looks like the chatter we found at the corner of 2nd and Maple, Anytown. We think we’ll bring that corner right up when he asks for Google Maps.
They managed to follow my MAC ID to suggest places I hadn’t been to in a coon’s age.
10
posted on
06/30/2014 11:56:11 PM PDT
by
HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
To: DB; 867V309
They were collecting all the names (SSIDs) of the wifi networks they discovered, public and private, and mapping their location. With your permission, your browser can send a list of all the nearby wifi networks to Google, and then they can cross reference to their list, and estimate your location. It can be surprisingly accurate. For me, it will be within 50ft. Here is the FAQ from the Firefox website on their implementation:
What is Location-Aware Browsing? How does it work?
When you visit a location-aware website, Firefox will ask you if you want to share your location.
If you consent, Firefox gathers information about nearby wireless access points and your computers IP address. Then Firefox sends this information to the default geolocation service provider, Google Location Services, to get an estimate of your location. That location estimate is then shared with the requesting website.
If you say that you do not consent, Firefox will not do anything.
You can test it out here:
http://html5demos.com/geo
11
posted on
07/01/2014 12:05:13 AM PDT
by
Wayne07
To: HiTech RedNeck
They managed to follow my MAC ID...
evil sons of bitches
12
posted on
07/01/2014 12:08:04 AM PDT
by
867V309
(Don't tread on me, bro)
To: MrShoop
Well that’s kind of double-talky misleading.
Share your location? Well, unless my ISP will tell them that, they shouldn’t know.
I happened to be granted a US patent, by the way, on a means of location-adaptive website behavior. It was based on the user’s domain. If some voice had whispered to me that I should use some snooped network information, and hide the description of what I was doing on some other web site, I would have told it that it was crazy.
13
posted on
07/01/2014 12:09:49 AM PDT
by
HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
To: 867V309
I mean how else, a bunch of cookie and Google-stored-data clearings later, would they know I had been in Maryland?
14
posted on
07/01/2014 12:13:06 AM PDT
by
HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
To: 867V309
But somehow, yeah, they did it. On a completely new Linux installation on an old netbook that I had been using in Maryland. My MAC ID is the ONLY thing that would have been the same!
15
posted on
07/01/2014 12:16:27 AM PDT
by
HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
To: HiTech RedNeck
I mean how else, a bunch of cookie and Google-stored-data clearings later, would they know I had been in Maryland?
You're right. And we haven't even started to discuss facial recognition software, EXIF data, and all the other under-the-radar privacy invasion going on. Don't get me started.
Make no mistake, Googel, Fakebook and Twitster are all evil NSA chumps.
16
posted on
07/01/2014 12:26:05 AM PDT
by
867V309
(Don't tread on me, bro)
To: 867V309
But it would be so CONVENIENT to be able to destination-map the truck stop that was next to the motel I stayed in for 3 months while contracting in Maryland 2 years ago...
Google is too big for its britches. When I want Google to forget, I mean it!
17
posted on
07/01/2014 12:28:55 AM PDT
by
HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
To: HiTech RedNeck
Convenience at the price of privacy
Security at the price of freedom
18
posted on
07/01/2014 12:36:19 AM PDT
by
867V309
(Don't tread on me, bro)
To: 867V309
I call this creepy and spooky behavior. Unless I can know how Google knows something I expect it NOT to know!
19
posted on
07/01/2014 12:37:26 AM PDT
by
HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
To: 867V309
I mean, they probably have a record of everything my MAC ID surfed in the Google network, right down to the last grotty You Tube video. A veritable Golem of snoopdata.
20
posted on
07/01/2014 12:39:16 AM PDT
by
HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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