http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 7:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 8:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
They already know more about you than they will ever get from wifi.

Google on the other hand should NEVER have this kind of information.]]>Jun 4th 2010 8:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
They should be applauded for going after google for this though. They have been pushing the privacy envelope too much, and are only going to get worse until they reach a treshhold where they get resistance.

Even little things are starting to get annoying like on Youtube now Google implemented a feature which totally BYPASSES the privacy and sharing options Youtube has always had.

Even if you have comment/activity sharing etc turned OFF, the new search link they have implemented allows you to search the entire comment history of any individual to track their activity, or just click their @username in any video they comment on.]]>Jun 4th 2010 8:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/I'm absolutely against governments regulating and observing my privacy. But still, it was Google who started this game. I don't see why the article ends in the conclusion that the real bad guys are the governments here. That's just wrong!
And even if the accusation turns out to be not true and the patent wasn't implemented in the Street View code it still was a violation according to many european laws. Google claims that they want to fully cooperate with the regulators to get this subject out of the way but weeks after it was made public Google still hasn't revealed what kind of data they actually collected. There's something foul about that.]]>Jun 4th 2010 8:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 9:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
They came out and told people about the snafu on their own. Why would they do so if it was done intentionally x.x]]>Jun 4th 2010 9:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
I never said it was done intentionally. I personally believe it was a personal and honest mistake but why couldnt they have removed every trace of it instead of passing it on to governments?]]>Jun 4th 2010 9:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 9:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/"They came out and told people about the snafu on their own."

No, they didn't! They admitted it after an audit requested by a german data protection agency.]]>Jun 4th 2010 9:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/You have your time line backwards.]]>Jun 4th 2010 11:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/From Google's company blog (May 17th):
"Nine days ago the data protection authority (DPA) in Hamburg, Germany asked to audit the WiFi data that our Street View cars collect for use in location-based products like Google Maps for mobile, which enables people to find local restaurants or get directions. His request prompted us to re-examine everything we have been collecting, and during our review we discovered that a statement made in a blog post on April 27 was incorrect. "

The statement they are referring to said that they are only collecting SSID and MAC information. After the audit by the authorities they found out that they had "mistakenly" collected private data as well. ]]>Jun 4th 2010 11:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
So you would prefer they just hand information collected over to governments whenever demanded?

Google (or bing or whatever) "Digital Due Process"

With information stored on computers, or paper, or any other medium, the court needs to follow some laws to get the info. Why should digital content be any different?]]>Jun 4th 2010 11:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 12:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/I don't like anything that is disturbing my privacy. But the incident shows that Google's word can not be trusted. And it would not be public if it wasn't for the data protection authority. So yes, I'm glad they dug a little deeper. If there was a violation there should be consequences. Otherwise others will just start to do the same. ]]>Jun 4th 2010 12:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
what year are you talking about, because their official blog doesn't even have a post on May 17th. ]]>Jun 4th 2010 12:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Even several minutes worth of data house by house isn't enough data to be a viable business plan to go from house to house collecting information, they make automated profiles to advertisement targeting. Makes perfect sense.

I don't understand what "private" information you guys are really talking about that you are so scared of losing. Do you think Google cares that you cheated on your girlfriend? Or that your having diner with your mother next weekend? Most everything you throw around on the internet is useless outside of maybe a banner ad in the corner of your screen to give you advertisements at least worth looking at.

It's the internet, if you think that your data is uncollectable or that there is a way to keep it all private from everyone. You're dead wrong. But if you think that Google has all this information on you. Just think about Myspace, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and pretty much anything that has a database of any of your information and they know just as much about you. And if you dont think they have just as much, I think you think your much more interesting than you actually are. ]]>Jun 4th 2010 12:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 12:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/The thing is that everybody knows that you have to give away a part of your privacy on the internet. I use Google search. I use Gmail. And to a certain point I say I don't mind about them. When everybody keeps saying they don't care if it's just here a tiny bit and just there a tiny bit internet companies will try to get more and more and we say it's just a little bit more, it's ok. We have to say 'enough' at one point.
You know this comparison with the frog in the boiling water?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaRtTY0lWZU
It's the same thing with consumers and data privacy.]]>Jun 4th 2010 12:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
Google should never have information that you willingly put out there? I'm sorry I'm having a hard time classifying this information as "private".]]>Jun 4th 2010 12:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
Sure, but why is this enough? All the information that Google has right now is nearly identical to the information that Facebook has. If anything Facebook has more "private" information. The only real thing that is to worry about is maybe in a smaller companies interest. Where maybe they have business plans that could be stolen. But what people fail to realize is that YOU CANT HAVE EVERYTHING FOR FREE WITHOUT GIVING UP SOMETHING. If you want a private internet, its gonna cost ya A LOT more. If you want to store private information that can't be reached by anyone, get your own server, make your own mail client, and get a VPN for your home connection. Yes, all of that cost money, but for some people, thats what they want.

If you want everything for free, expect that what you are using that stuff for is going to generate profit for the company giving you the free product.

So what would you rather have, free web search or completely private information. The buck has to stop somewhere.]]>Jun 4th 2010 1:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
Forgive my ignorance here, but how is broadcast information private? I am a firm believer that if its in the air and unprotected, it is NOT private. That's tv, radio, photons... and wi-fi]]>Jun 4th 2010 1:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 2:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
"Hey lets drive around sniffing public wifi access points and then give the information to the government?"

"Uhm, why would we do that? "

"I don't know, maybe the government will owe us a favor or something?"

"Sounds good! Make it happen."]]>Jun 4th 2010 2:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
]]>Jun 4th 2010 2:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 2:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
Why do you create a new account every couple of days? Are you trying to avoid the banhammer for incessantly advertising/promoting your website? Hiding behind a URL shortening service doesn't cover the fact that you've spammed your articles under numerous accounts:

http://www.engadget.com/profile/4137213/
http://www.engadget.com/profile/4138730/
http://www.engadget.com/profile/4144067/

Those are your user profiles just from this week alone. You've had many, many more prior. Leeching page hits off of ninja links is super lame.]]>Jun 4th 2010 3:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
LMAO this is your latest user account after your "perlobs" account just got deleted! Super lame.]]>Jun 4th 2010 5:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 7:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
That is all.]]>Jun 4th 2010 7:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 8:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 8:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 9:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
You know it was "very briefly" because the street view cars have better things to do than snoop on random people's internet browsing. Seriously, Google is a huge company. WTF do they want with my information? I already use them for 90% of my searches. They have a lot of the information already.

And these were open networks. If you're doing private things on an unsecure network, you sir are an idiot.]]>Jun 4th 2010 9:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
If you stood on the street and said your name over and over, would you get pissed off if someone wrote down your name and where you were standing?

This is ridiculous, your SSID and its location is NOT private information if it is BROADCAST via radio.]]>Jun 4th 2010 11:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/it is forbidden in many countries to use another person;s network without their consent.
and don't blame europe for this law.
it is the same in US: even if I loose my wallet in a public place, for all to see, if are deemed a thief if you picked it up and did not return it to the lost and found.

it was there, unprotected, yet it is not yours to use. ]]>Jun 4th 2010 12:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 2:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
BP
ENRON
Kaiser Permenante

Shall I go on? I'll bet you're one of those teabaggers and think healthcare companies aren't raping the assholes of everyday citizens too right? Because you believe everything a big company tells you.

You're a victim in the making. Your ONLY valid point was that the street cars are moving along quickly. But you really have no idea what the reasoning for this "accidental" data collection is for. You have no idea what intended to do with the data.]]>Jun 16th 2010 1:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 7:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
It wasn't OK for Batman, it aint OK for Google or the government either. ;) ]]>Jun 4th 2010 8:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 7:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
Google is the world's largest ADVERTISING company. Remember that.]]>Jun 4th 2010 8:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 8:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
Congratulations. Google sells advertisements. Not information.]]>Jun 4th 2010 9:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 7:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/16473/cio/google-told-to-destroy-intercepted-wi-fi-data-irish-authorities]]>Jun 4th 2010 7:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/
That how it should be! who gives regulators permission without court approval or consent from the users to collect data?

Just because google did it doesn't mean the regulators should have access to the info... it should be deleted.]]>Jun 4th 2010 8:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 8:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/04/google-to-disclose-wifi-snooping-data-to-regulators-amid-allegat/Jun 4th 2010 8:27AM