Dangers of publishing your co-ordinates

[generic]

Has anyone realised that if you put your home co-ordinates in to Cumulus, it is a very simple matter for someone to copy and paste them in to Google Maps and come up with your EXACT street address!

It works on mine - in fact so well that it actually pinpoints the spot on my property where I took the GPS reading!

Comments?

Regards,
Mark.

[steve]

It's not true for everyone; depending on where you are, 1 second of latitude or longitude could be up to 30m. I actually had someone recently wanting extra precision as the co-ordinates were coming out in the garden next door.

I'm not actually sure what the problem is, personally, even if it does happen to pinpoint your house, but I know that some people who do see it as a problem change their co-ordinates slightly so that their location is still useful in weather terms, but doesn't give away exactly where they are.

[RayProudfoot]

Has anyone realised that if you put your home co-ordinates in to Cumulus, it is a very simple matter for someone to copy and paste them in to Google Maps and come up with your EXACT street address!

It works on mine - in fact so well that it actually pinpoints the spot on my property where I took the GPS reading!

Comments?

Regards,
Mark.

In the days when only the rich had computers it might not have been a good idea to advertise where you live. But now that everyone has one is Bill the Burglar really going to come around after dark and nick your weather station? I think not.

[beteljuice]

... in fact so well that it actually pinpoints the spot on my property where I took the GPS reading!

So are you concerned about the accuracy of your GPS, the accuracy of on-line maps (Inc. O.S.), or the ability of people to read the information you have provided

[steve]

I know that a few people see publishing their indoor temperatures with their co-ordinates as an invitation to Bill the Burglar. I'm not an expert, but I don't think burglars work that way anyway.

[6719jason]

I quite agree with Steve, Ray and Beteljuice. I am fortunate enough to live in a relatively small village area, so I was able to use the General Co-Ordinates for Weeley, as provided by Google.

I cant see any self respecting Burglar, looking up your street address, to put up a ladder and steal a weather station, but I guess stranger things have happened.

I think, Theft of Data and Copyright of website materials, is something to be more concerned about.

[RayProudfoot]

Jason,

I notice you had a lay-in until 11 this morning, got up and turned the central heating on!

That's a nice site.

[6719jason]

Jason,

I notice you had a lay-in until 11 this morning, got up and turned the central heating on!

That's a nice site.

Yup, I had a nice lay in (Was quite tired from night before) and got up just before 11am. Then I got up, opened the curtains and turned on the heating

Thanks Ray, Its taken a lot of work, plus help from members of this forum and the Midlands Weather Forum.

[dionaea]

If you go away on holiday & your computer is switched off, somebody just scrolling through weather stations would soon see that your program is not being updated - this could suggest to a would be burglar that the house is possibly empty. I left my computer on while on holiday & it went down because of a power cut. I arranged for a friend to switch it on & then it went off again because the power company cut the current to do repairs at the sub-station! There may be a bright burglar out there!

Cheers,
Chris

[gemini06720]

Mark, you might be pushing the paranoia a bit too far...

If someone really wants to enter your home and steal from you, looking at/for your global coordinates is probably the least important aspect of the 'break-and-enter' preparation!

A recent survey indicates that most house robberies (in north america) are committed either by teens (for something fun to do) or addicts (needing cash for their next rush) leaving a untidiness behind.

If someone wanted to know more about you, the Internet would, indeed, their source of information, but their needs would be for personal information in order to steal your identity - much easier and a lot less risky than going to your home.

Note: I know a little about house robberies as I had done some consulting work with a few law enforcement agencies.

By the way, I have my latitude and longitude pointing directly to my home office ... with that information being public, big brother knows exactly and all the time where to find me...

[generic]

Interesting.... everyone seems to have immediately thought of burglaries as a result of posting your co-ordinates being my concern. I raised the matter more to see if everyone was aware of the fact that it could be done.

I agree, it is unlikely to add to the chances of your home being burgled. More likely, as gemini06720 points out, it increases the possibility of identity theft if you choose to use your real name and real co-ordinates. Another possibility is providing your location to anyone seeking to target you speceifically -for whatever reason.

Sounds paranoid, yes. A real possibility in today's world? Also - Yes!

Being in Law Enforcement myself, I try to keep a low profile when I am not working. There are people out there with whom I have interacted in the past who would LOVE to know where I live. Well, if they use the co-ordinates from my Cumulus site, they will find themselves in the middle of a football oval (Australian Rules football, that is!)

Thanks all for the friendly and lively discussion.

Wishing you pleasant weather,

Mark.

[gemini06720]

Mark,

...if they use the co-ordinates from my Cumulus site, they will find themselves in the middle of a football oval...

Is there no way that you could change/move those coordinates so they point directly to a police station?

[generic]

Is there no way that you could change/move those coordinates so they point directly to a police station?

Ray, I probably could, but the nearest is 10km away.... and I work there!
The footy ground is only about a 1km away.... near enough for the weather, me thinks.

Really, folks, I am not too concerned about all this. I was more facinated than anything else that I could use co-ordinates from Cumulus sites to pinpoint an address, and then use Google Street View to have a good look at the property.
A bit like doing a search without a warrant, you might say!

Regards,
Mark.

[Greg]

I know if I was a burglar I'd only want to break into homes with a comfy indoor temperature

But seriously, the local police told me that the burglars who broke into my home a year ago did so because it was a rainy night and the rain disguised the sounds of their breaking and entering.

[generic]

it was a rainy night and the rain disguised the sounds of their breaking and entering

It can do, and usually not so many people about who might see the crims at work.
However it can also lead to a better chance of muddy footprints, and footprints in the mud (if you get the distinction).

Criminals are not nearly as smart as they would like to think, or they would not BE criminals in the first place!

Regards Mark.