AOL's Instant Message 'Tracking' Plug-In Concerns Police, Parents

[The Straight Story]

AOL's Instant Message 'Tracking' Plug-In Concerns Police, Parents
Some Concerned Predators Can Use Technology To Track Children

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A new plug-in that allows users of American Online's popular instant messaging service to track and find the location of their buddies with Wi-Fi positioning technology has police and parents concerned, according to a Local 6 report.

"Police have a warning for parents, that there is a new technology on the market that makes it easier for predators to track your kids," Local 6's Kimberly Houk said.

The AIM location plug-in, powered by Skyhook Wireless, allows users to set and share their current and future locations with their buddies, according to IT News Online.

The service tracks the location of the buddies by using the continuous wireless pulses emitted by all Wi-Fi transmitters and Wi-Fi-enabled computers.

Skyhook spent the past several years driving a fleet of 200 trucks up and down the streets of 2,500 cities across the U.S. and Canada pulling signals from wireless routers and tagging the GPS coordinates, Local 6 News reported.

http://www.local6.com/technology/11388698/detail.html

[varkam]

1. Who the hell thought this would be a good idea?

:eyes:

[Warpy]

2. Stalkers?

[msongs]

3. police are just ENVIOUS nt

[bananas]

4. Here's the list of cities covered

http://www.skyhookwireless.com/technology/coverage.html

http://www.loki.com/how-it-works/coverage-area.php