AOL Instant Messenger calculates the coordinates of users
US users of the AOL Instant Messenger program no longer need GPS devices. AIM Location Special Plugin accesses the hotspot database and calculates the location of each user from the contact list with an accuracy of 30 m.
The location of the user is determined only if his computer is equipped with a WiFi-adapter. The program reads information about the signal strength of nearby hotspots, and then transmits this information to the Skyhook Wireless database. Knowing the distance from any three points, the server can produce the exact location of the computer in less than a second. This information is transmitted to the IM-pager and is available for viewing to anyone who has the same plugin installed and who is present in the contact list (outsiders do not see anything).
The company Skyhook Wireless is now in talks with the owners of another popular IM network, for which it is also planned to release a similar plug-in within the next month.
The base of Skyhook Wireless hotspots is replenished with the help of 200 employees of the company, who travel around the country by personal transport and enter the coordinates of each access point into the computer. They have already driven a million miles and documented 16 million hotspots, which cover 75% of the American population.
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via The Next Net
The location of the user is determined only if his computer is equipped with a WiFi-adapter. The program reads information about the signal strength of nearby hotspots, and then transmits this information to the Skyhook Wireless database. Knowing the distance from any three points, the server can produce the exact location of the computer in less than a second. This information is transmitted to the IM-pager and is available for viewing to anyone who has the same plugin installed and who is present in the contact list (outsiders do not see anything).
The company Skyhook Wireless is now in talks with the owners of another popular IM network, for which it is also planned to release a similar plug-in within the next month.
The base of Skyhook Wireless hotspots is replenished with the help of 200 employees of the company, who travel around the country by personal transport and enter the coordinates of each access point into the computer. They have already driven a million miles and documented 16 million hotspots, which cover 75% of the American population.
')
via The Next Net
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/5501/
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