[IP] more on google helps burglers

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Brad Templeton <btm@templetons.com>
Organization: http://www.templetons.com/brad
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 11:48:51 -0800
To: David Farber <dave@farber.net>
Cc: <lazowska@cs.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [IP] google helps burglers

> From: Ed Lazowska <lazowska@cs.washington.edu>
> Google has implemented a new feature where you can type someone's
> telephone number into the search bar and hit enter and then you will be
> given a map to their house.  Everyone should be aware of this.  Note
> that you can have your phone number removed or blocked.
> 
> What a great tool for burglars!!

It is worth noting that this "new" feature has been there for at least
a couple of years, and is just a combination of tools that have been
on the web for almost a decade.   There have been for ages sites that
allow you to enter a phone number that's in the white pages and get
the address, and even before google, it was always a simple cut and paste
to move that address to a mapping web site, such sites also having been
around for a long time.

Telling Google to remove your white pages entry won't stop the scores of
other sites that do this from revealing your address from your listed
phone number.

The question is not whether Google should connect the dots.  You really
want to come to a decision about whether you want a phone white pages
with addresses or not.  (You have always been able to opt out, though
through some bizarre logic the phone companies convinced the PUC to let
them  charge you more to not be listed than to be listed.  However there
were always many tricks to avoid being listed.)

Which is better -- that the data be there, but not as many people know
about it (ie. only the crooks and spooks and P.I.s) or that it be
very out in the open so that we are not surprised and make a decision
in advance?  I am not always sure of the answer to those questions.



------ End of Forwarded Message


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