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Internet geolocation

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In computing, geolocation software is used to deduce the geolocation (geographic location) of another party. For example, on the Internet, one geolocation approach is to identify the subject party's IP address, then determine what country (including down to the city and post/zip code level), organization, or user the IP address has been assigned to, and finally, determine that party's location. Other methods include examination of a MAC address, image metadata, or credit card information.

Data sources

There are a number of free and paid subscription geolocation databases, ranging from country level to state or city - including zip/post code level - each with varying claims of accuracy (generally higher at the country level). These databases typically contain IP address data which may be used in firewalls, ad servers, routing, mail systems, web sites, and other automated systems where geolocation may be useful. An alternative to hosting and querying a database is to obtain the country code for a given IP address through a DNSBL-style lookup from a remote server.[1]

The primary source for IP address data is the regional Internet registries which allocate and distribute IP addresses amongst organizations located in their respective service regions:

Secondary sources include:

  • Data mining or user-submitted geographic location data. For example, a weather web site might ask visitors for a city name to find their local forecast. Another example would be to pair a user's IP address with the address information in his/her account profile.
  • Data contributed by internet service providers.
  • Merging databases from different suppliers.
  • Guesstimates from adjacent Class C range[2] and/or gleaned from network hops.

Accuracy is improved by:

  • Data scrubbing to filter out or identify anomalies.
  • Statistical analysis of user submitted data.
  • Utilizing third-party tests conducted by reputable organizations such as Keynote Systems. Ensure that tests are conducted on the vendor’s data itself as opposed to solely on the data collection methods.

Privacy

A distinction can be made between co-operative and oppositional geolocation. In some cases, it is in the interest of users to be accurately located, for example, so that they can be offered information relevant to their location. In other cases, users prefer to not disclose their location for privacy or other reasons.[3]

Technical measures for ensuring anonymity, such as proxy servers, can be used to circumvent restrictions imposed by geolocation software. Some sites detect the use of proxies and anonymizers, and may either block service or provide non-localized content in response.[4]

Applications

Geolocation technology has been under development only since 1999, and the first patents were granted in 2004.[5] The technology is already widely used in multiple industries[6], including e-retail, banking, media, education, travel, hospitality, entertainment, health care, online gaming and law enforcement, for preventing online fraud, complying with regulations, managing digital rights[7] and serving targeted marketing content and pricing.[8]

Criminal investigations

American banks, software vendors and other online enterprises are now subject to strict new “Know your customer” laws imposed by the USA PATRIOT Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and other regulatory entities in the US and Europe. These laws are designed to prevent money laundering, trafficking with terrorist organizations and trading with banned nations. By identifying where online visitors really are, geolocation can protect banks from participating in the transfer of funds for illicit purposes.

Fraud detection

Online retailers and payment processors use geolocation to detect possible credit card fraud by comparing the user's location to the billing address on the account or the shipping address provided. A mismatch – an order placed from USA on an account number from Tokyo, for example – is a strong indicator of potential fraud. IP address geolocation can be also used in fraud detection to match billing address postal code or area code.[9] Banks can prevent “phishing” attacks, money laundering and other security breaches by determining the user's location as part of the authentication process.

Government, law enforcement and corporate security teams use geolocation as an investigatory tool, tracking the Internet routes of online attackers to find the perpetrators and prevent future attacks from the same location.

Censorship

It has been suggested[by whom?] that legislation should mandate the use of geolocation software, for example for companies distributing pornography considered obscene in some jurisdictions or to enforce international trade agreements. (See geolocation).

Geo marketing

Since geolocation software can get the information of user location, companies using geomarketing may provide web content or products that are famous or useful in that location. Advertisements and content on a website may be tailored to provide the information that a certain user wants.[10]

Regional licensing

Internet movie vendors, online broadcasters who serve live streaming video of sporting events, or certain TV and music video sites that are licensed to broadcast their videos of episodes/music videos are permitted to serve viewers only in their licensed territories. By geolocating viewers, they can be certain of obeying licensing regulations.[11] Online casinos must also know where their customers are or risk violating national laws against Internet gambling.

Jim Ramo, chief executive of movie distributor Movielink, said studios were aware of the shortcomings going in and have grown more confident now that the system has been shown to work.[12]

Target content

In geo targeting web sites can show different web content based on a user's geolocation or other information. For example, going to google.com may redirect you to your local (translated) Google site like Google Belgium, or it may show a 'Go to Google Belgium'. In various European countries, Google or Yahoo! do not display results which would show negationist websites (see LICRA v. Yahoo!). In marketing applications, web sites with geolocation software can display different content based on a user's location, such as different advertising offers, merchandise selection, pricing and/or local currency and local news. Colleges and universities can use geolocation software to display relevant courses offered in specific locations. Chain store retailers, including restaurants, can display local offers, menus, and promotional offers unique to a certain geographical area. Financial institutions can show customers the nearest facilities based on their geographic location, as well as the lowest available home equity rates.

Spam fighting

Though controversial,[citation needed] some ISPs use geolocation software to help with the prevention of email and website spam. Many countries are known to have loose spam laws, and the use of geolocation software allows ISPs to identify or flag messages and posts from these countries.

See also

References

  1. ^ "IP geolocation (The NetOp Organization)". 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  2. ^ An example is the guessed city provided by hostip.info.
  3. ^ "Nitke vs. Ashcroft - Expert report of Seth Finkelstein". 2003-11-10. Retrieved 2004-11-15.
  4. ^ RealNetworks detects proxies and anonymizers; Google serves non-localized content if location is in doubt. "Geolocation: Don't Fence Web In". Wired. 2004-07-12.
  5. ^ "Digital Envoy wins Geotargeting Patent". 2004-06-29. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  6. ^ ClientSideNews, Nov/Dec 2010 issue, Page 6 “You Can Really Do That? – The Power of Geolocation Technology”
  7. ^ Music Streaming site we7 Cranks up the Volume for Digital Rights Management and Ad Targeting
  8. ^ "Geolocation and Federalism on the Internet: Cutting Internet Gambling's Gordian Knot". 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  9. ^ IPInfoDB (2009-08-25). "E-Commerce fraud detection". IPInfoDB. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  10. ^ Internet Retailer “Personalized web site content gives retailers an edge’, June 25, 2010
  11. ^ "CinemaNow appeases studios by locating Web surfers". CNet. 2001-02-26. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  12. ^ Associated Press (2004-07-12). "Geolocation: Don't Fence Web In". Wired News. Retrieved 2006-09-28.

External links

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