[139537] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: internet probe can track you within 690 m
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Patrick W. Gilmore)
Mon Apr 11 16:37:06 2011
From: "Patrick W. Gilmore" <patrick@ianai.net>
In-Reply-To: <4DA363CB.2030509@emanon.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:36:18 -0400
To: NANOG list <nanog@nanog.org>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces+nanog.discuss=bloom-picayune.mit.edu@nanog.org
On Apr 11, 2011, at 4:25 PM, Scott Morris wrote:
> Aren't they already confused enough when any time I use my EVDO or =
3G
> Tether that someone believes I've been magically transported to New
> Jersey or wherever the handoff is? ;)
> Understand the logic behind it, but you probably statistically have
> just as much chance of being correct as you do incorrect.
Just like the old days with AOL & their proxies. There are not as many =
3G or proxy / VPN users are there are standard users. Therefore, it =
works - mostly. (Or can work, I have no idea if the particular company =
/ tool under discussion is actually useful.)
Data is data. It can be misinterpreted, but it is still data.
--=20
TTFN,
patrick
> On 4/11/11 4:10 PM, Jeroen van Aart wrote:
>=20
> =
[1]http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20336-internet-probe-can-tr
> ack-you-down-to-within-690-metres.html
> "The new method zooms in through three stages to locate a target
> computer. The first stage measures the time it takes to send a =
data
> packet to the target and converts it into a distance - a common
> geolocation technique that narrows the target's possible location =
to
> a radius of around 200 kilometres.
> (..)
> Finally, they repeat the landmark search at this more fine-grained
> level: comparing delay times once more, they establish which
> landmark server is closest to the target. The result can never be
> entirely accurate, but it's much better than trying to determine a
> location by converting the initial delay into a distance or the =
next
> best IP-based method. On average their method gets to within 690
> metres of the target and can be as close as 100 metres - good =
enough
> to identify the target computer's location to within a few =
streets."
> It seems to me to be a rather flaky way of finding out your
> estimated location. But I guess it could be helpful when the
> objective is just to create some global database of demographics =
for
> marketing and privacy invasion purposes, where specifics of an
> individual's exact location don't really matter.
> Besides the latter can always be subpoenaed. ;-)
> One more reason to use VPN and other such techniques to hide your
> location.
> Greetings,
> Jeroen
>=20
> References
>=20
> 1. =
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20336-internet-probe-can-track-you-d=
own-to-within-690-metres.html
>=20
