You can now opt out of Google's WiFi tracking

[Bateluer]

http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/15/tec...aign=Feed:+rss/money_topstories+(Top+Stories)

The company faced an uproar in the spring of 2010 when European regulators found that Google's cars had been mistakenly downloading so-called "payload data" (snippets of information sent over the Internet via router) from Internet users who were logged onto unprotected wireless networks in range of its cars. That data could include e-mails, instant messages, usernames and passwords.

As a result of its investigation, European data protection authorities in September asked Google to provide people with a way to opt out of having their routers tracked. Late Monday, the company introduced a method to do that.

By changing your wireless network's name, or SSID, so that it ends with "_nomap," Google said it will no longer add that network's location to its servers. So, for instance, if you named your Wi-Fi network "Network," changing it to "Network_nomap" would mean that Google would no longer track your router.

Or, you know, you could just turn off your SSID broadcast . . .

 

[McWatt]

I think these things should always be opt in, even though that would make the entire project unworkable.

 

[waggy]

I think these things should always be opt in, even though that would make the entire project unworkable.

/this

 

[Cheesetogo]

Or you could just secure your router. There's really no excuse for leaving your private network wide open.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Or you could just secure your router. There's really no excuse for leaving your private network wide open.

thiiiiiis x infinity