Google Street View surprise

It's nice to know that I can still be surprised, I guess... the story's from Germany, but Google's not a company to do things differently in different places if they can help it, so it almost certainly applies here in the U.S. as well. Google's car that's used to generate those images for their Street View service does more than just take pictures... it's also scanning for wireless networks, and recording any MAC addresses it finds (link). The best "why" I've heard so far is to assist with geo-location... your IP address can and will change, but your MAC address is constant and unique (unless you take the time and have the know-how to change it yourself, of course).

My initial reaction on finding this out was unpleasant... after all, on a visceral level, there seems to be a big difference between filming the neighborhood and snooping into what electronic gear you may have stashed in your house. Thinking on it, though, most people who have a wireless router don't go to any great lengths to disguise the fact, and "hot-spot finders" have been around for years... the big difference here is that a data gathering company is pinpointing large numbers of such hot-spots, for purposes that aren't exactly clear, but it's not like any of these people were taking active measures to protect themselves.

So, I guess, if you're concerned about somebody tracking your Internet smack-talk back to your home thanks to Google, it's time to wire your house for Ethernet and drop all the wireless bits. Otherwise, it's business as usual... but with an extra piece to keep in mind, just in case.