Monday, May 28, 2012

Ever Heard of GeoTagging? U Should!

Get this, digital pictures can carry the geographic location information (GEO TAG) of the place where it was taken. In other words, you post vacation pictures of yourself and family in the Caribbean.  Earlier posts show pics of you at home in front of that big, new 60 inch tv screen. With the home picture's GEO TAG, a would-be criminal can identify the exact location of your home while confirming the date of the vacation pics as being current.  It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to deduce that your house is currently vacant and fresh for the pickings.


I know my imagination can run a bit wild when reading about these little hidden technological features, but I urge you to check into it yourself.  When we talk about invasion of privacy these days, we're no longer just talking about hidden video cameras and wire tapping on phone lines.  It's much more serious than that. I'm sure someday it'll be the television itself giving away your home vacancy status.


How to Edit/Turn-off Location Services on Smart Phone:






Q: A friend told me that photos I post online contain information about the location they were taken. How is that possible, and should I be concerned for my privacy?
A: Many digital cameras and most smart phones, including the iPhone, have the ability to "geotag" photos by including GPS locations along with camera settings used to take the photo. This info, called "exchangeable image file format" data (Exif), is embedded in the photo and can be viewed in most any image editing program. The information goes with the photo when you save it to a different place, e-mail it, or upload it to the Web.
However, most websites where you are likely to post a photo, including big social-networking and photo-sharing sites, either strip out Exif data from photos before they're posted, or give you the option to block it from public view.
It's true that geotagging can pose a threat. For instance, if someone gets ahold of a geotagged photo of your home, they can find out where you live. But geotagging is also useful for pinpointing where photos were taken. If that's not important to you, an easy way to dispense with the issue is simply to disable geotagging in your camera or phone. 
from San Francisco Chronicle

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