Full press release : Potsdam, NY January 2006:
Forget Big Brother – a couple of up and coming software developers have put their heads together and found a simple, economic way to pinpoint any internet user to within a small radius on the map. As if it weren’t bad enough now that you can be tracked while chatting on your cellular phone, now web developers everywhere can buy the means to track you down to the city you browse from. Is this another definite knock to privacy?
Geo-Location, as this technology is called, is the practice of translating an internet address, the virtual location of a computer on the web, into its geographic location. Since websites already receive your internet address automatically when you browse them, web developers need take no criminal measures to find out where you are.
With IPSearchLight, geo-location software installation is now plug and play simple – even for the C++ illiterate. It’s ready to go right out of the box. Even though IPSearchLight’s GeoLocator does all the work, it doesn’t come with a larger price tag, therefore becoming available to those with less computer savvy and smaller budgets, making it cheap and easy to invade the privacy of web users.
While geo-location data can be used for honest purposes, such as for targeting ads or for market research, it could also be similarly used by your employer or spouse to track your movements during a business trip. In light of these developments, privacy conscious web surfers should consider using an anonymous proxy server to obscure their true location. By always browsing the internet through a surrogate, fixed server, websites that utilize geo-location technology will only discover the position of the intermediary.
IPSearchlight founders, David Kuchar and Jacob Mellor, say that they do not intend for their ASP and ASP.Net compatible components to be used maliciously. Their main aim is to bring more affordable geo-location technology to everyday IT professionals who may not have a budget as hefty as Google or AOL. Operating out of small town America, those at IPSearchLight understand how difficult it is for small businesses to compete with large corporations.
For more, go to www.ipsearchlight.com for a real-time demonstration, or contact the developers directly at press@ipsearchlight.com. |
