Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Curbs Wi-Fi Location Database

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the neither-here-nor-there dept.

suraj.sun writes "Microsoft has ceased publishing the estimated locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other devices with Wi-Fi connections around the world after a CNET article on Friday highlighted privacy concerns. The decision to rework Live.com's geolocation service comes following scrutiny of the way Microsoft made available its database assembled by both Windows Phone 7 phones and what the company calls 'managed driving' by Street View-like vehicles that record Wi-Fi signals accessible from public roads. Every Wi-Fi device has a unique ID, sometimes called a MAC address, that cannot normally be changed."

7 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Published? by SoupGuru · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Did Google even publish their wifi data? I hope Microsoft gets the same attention Google is getting.

    --
    What doesn't kill you only delays the inevitable
    1. Re:Published? by mike_c999 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes they Did.
      http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20070742-281/exclusive-googles-web-mapping-can-track-your-phone/?tag=mncol;txt

      --
      Ctrl-Z
    2. Re:Published? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "Microsoft has collected ... and makes them available on the Web without taking the privacy precautions that competitors have"
      "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"
      "Google tightened controls last month in response to a June 15 CNET article"
      "Skyhook uses a limited form of geolocation to protect privacy"

    3. Re:Published? by Timmmm · · Score: 2

      No they didn't. They never published a database of MAC address locations. They just allowed you to look up the location of specific MAC addresses. They must still have that, otherwise how does wifi location still work?

    4. Re:Published? by Timmmm · · Score: 2

      Nope. They use (well they used to use) streetview cars (remember that mountain-out-of-molehills story about google hacking wifi?). Now I believe they just use the Android phones themselves to build the database.

    5. Re:Published? by donatzsky · · Score: 2

      You're probably thinking of Apple. They used to use Skyhook, but then decided to use their own tech.

      --
      VPS-like shared hosting, on under-crowded servers.
  2. Re:MAC addresses by blane.bramble · · Score: 2

    Yes, the MAC address is normally burned into the card (although it may be changeable when flashing the firmware). However, some drivers allow you to specify a MAC address, thus when you load the driver (and activate the card), the MAC address is over-ridden. You might want to do this (for instance) to associate a specific MAC address with a specific PC, not the network card inside it, so if the NIC is replaced, the PC retains the same MAC address.