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No, Google was sued because in process of doing this, they "mistakenly vacuumed up e-mail messages, user passwords and other communication", that is, they recorded actual data packets instead of just the AP identifier.
Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
21–30 of 158 posts
Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#22Will this work with WiFi-only tablets? I'd like to contribute but my Kobo Arc device is marked incompatible. I saw in the screenshot on Google Play that there is a WiFi-only report symbol.
It works on my WiFi-only Nexus 7.
Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#23Could someone explain the privacy implications of mapping Wifi networks to GPS co-ordinates. Is it an opt-out thing?
A stumbler user's identity or location could be revealed by tracing routes from published GPS data or maps. In areas without much stumbler data coverage, you can see clear routes along highways and some residential streets. Owners of Wi-Fi access points, including mobile phones with sharing Wi-Fi, may not want their unique BSSID/MAC address and location published. This is not exactly comparable to the Google Wi-Fi ca…
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Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#24Hi all! We cut a 1.0 release of the Mozilla Stumbler finally. Have at it. File the bugs. Complain about battery life. Help us make this thing not suck and build out a proper open location service.
Google provides an opt-out. They will ignore your AP if you append "_nomap" to the end of your SSID.
Does Stumbler also support this? If not, why not?
Ref: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1725632?hl=en
edit: Found the answer to my own question. Yes, they do support "nomap": https://github.com/mozilla/MozStumbler/issues/149
Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#25Hi all! We cut a 1.0 release of the Mozilla Stumbler finally. Have at it. File the bugs. Complain about battery life. Help us make this thing not suck and build out a proper open location service.
Cool stuff, always interesting to see a new entrant to the location services field, especially an open one.
One question though. Will ordinary users be able to directly query the database via the API? i.e. if you want to geolocate a set of Access points and you have their MAC addresses will this service provide a direct supported API for retrieving their location?
The documentation on the API page implies that this isn't really a supported application?
Specifically
"If you are developing a native application or library for a desktop operating system or Android, you can in principle use this service via its HTTPS API. Please refer to the development documentation for the details. On most other operating systems, you cannot access the required cell and WiFi network information required to call the service API. "
and
"At this stage the service is open to anyone, who wants to contribute back to the service and applications supporting the Mozilla mission. "
seem a bit vague.
Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#26Hi all! We cut a 1.0 release of the Mozilla Stumbler finally. Have at it. File the bugs. Complain about battery life. Help us make this thing not suck and build out a proper open location service.
Google provides an opt-out. They will ignore your AP if you append "_nomap" to the end of your SSID. Does Stumbler also support this? If not, why not? Ref: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1725632?hl=en edit: Found the answer to my own question. Yes, they do support "nomap": https://github.com/mozilla/MozStumbler/issues/149
Is this really a thing? WTF?
I feel very ashamed, as someone who works in IT, everytime this happens. I mean, people can opt-out, of course - but, in order to do that, they need to know what an SSID is, and how to change it. What about people who don't? Will we just assume that they don't care or that their opinion doesn't matter?
Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#27No Firefox OS port?
I made a Firefox OS port: https://github.com/clochix/FxStumbler
But it was my first Firefox OS app, the code is awful and it would need a complete rewrite.
Nevertheless, if you have a FxOS device, don't hesitate to try this port and give me some feedback.
Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#28As an Android user, is it possible to modify my phone to use this service instead of Google's? Is it possible to upload the database directly to a phone or replace an APK to achieve this?
The NOGAPPS project lists Mozilla Location Service support as an upcoming feature (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375).
Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#29Could someone explain the privacy implications of mapping Wifi networks to GPS co-ordinates. Is it an opt-out thing?
A stumbler user's identity or location could be revealed by tracing routes from published GPS data or maps. In areas without much stumbler data coverage, you can see clear routes along highways and some residential streets. Owners of Wi-Fi access points, including mobile phones with sharing Wi-Fi, may not want their unique BSSID/MAC address and location published. This is not exactly comparable to the Google Wi-Fi ca…
Well, Google's problem was that they chose an easily implemented solution - capture everything that looks even remotely like wifi and then physically ship the HDDs to Mt.View for analysis. It just so happens that the easy solution is sometimes blatantly illegal for incredibly obvious reasons.
Stumbler seems to anonymize the data on your device before sending it, which is the way it should be done. There is no reason to transmit any sort of wifi data except the AP's MAC address.
Re: Mozilla Stumbler 1.0
#30Is the wifi AP database downloadable somewhere (OSM/Wikipedia style) or is it "cloudlocked" (we can only query it through the API) ?