Geolocation software
Encyclopedia
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.
s, 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.
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:
Accuracy is improved by:
Technical measures for ensuring anonymity
, such as proxy server
s, 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.
In the UK, the application of the Data Protection Act means that geolocation will only yield the physical address of the ISP. Any further tracking (e.g for criminal tracing) has to be carried out by getting the ISP to check their logs.
content and pricing
. Additionally, the FCC has proposed that geolocation software might be leveraged to support 9-1-1
location determination.
s, software vendors and other online
enterprises are now subject to strict new “Know your customer
” law
s 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.
” 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.
considered obscene in some jurisdictions or to enforce international trade agreements. (See geolocation
).
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.
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. 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.
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.
Hulu
is notorious in geo-targeting. Hulu uses IP filtering that prevents anyone outside of U.S. IP ranges to use its service. Some users within U.S. are also being blocked because their IP has not been added to Hulu's Geo-IP database. Many users are able to navigate through geo-targeting by simply employing proxy or VPN service such as UnoTelly and Hotspot Shield.
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.
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, geolocation software is used to deduce the geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
(geographic
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
location) of another party. For example, on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, one geolocation approach is to identify the subject party's IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
, 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
MAC address
A Media Access Control address is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. MAC addresses are used for numerous network technologies and most IEEE 802 network technologies, including Ethernet...
, image metadata
International Press Telecommunications Council
The International Press Telecommunications Council, based in London, United Kingdom, is a consortium of the world's major news agencies and news industry vendors...
, or credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
information.
Data sources
There are a number of free and paid subscription geolocation databaseDatabase
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s, 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
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
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
DNSBL
A DNSBL is a list of IP addresses published through the Internet Domain Name Service either as a zone file that can be used by DNS server software, or as a live DNS zone that can be queried in real-time...
-style lookup from a remote server.
The primary source for IP address data is the regional Internet registries
Regional Internet registry
A regional Internet registry is an organization that manages the allocation and registration of Internet number resources within a particular region of the world...
which allocate and distribute IP addresses amongst organizations located in their respective service regions:
- African Network Information CentreAfriNICAfriNIC is the regional Internet registry for Africa. Its headquarters are in Ebene City, Mauritius. Adiel Akplogan is the registry's chief executive officer...
(AfriNIC) - American Registry for Internet NumbersAmerican Registry for Internet NumbersThe American Registry for Internet Numbers is the Regional Internet Registry for Canada, many Caribbean and North Atlantic islands, and the United States. ARIN manages the distribution of Internet number resources, including IPv4 and IPv6 address space and AS numbers. ARIN opened its doors for...
(ARIN) - Asia-Pacific Network Information CentreAsia-Pacific Network Information CentreThe Asia Pacific Network Information Centre is the Regional Internet Registry for the Asia Pacific region.APNIC provides number resource allocation and registration services that support the global operation of the Internet...
(APNIC) - Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC)
- RIPE Network Coordination CentreRIPE NCCThe Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre is the Regional Internet Registry for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia...
(RIPE NCC)
Secondary sources include:
- Data miningData miningData mining , a relatively young and interdisciplinary field of computer science is the process of discovering new patterns from large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems...
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 providerInternet service providerAn Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s. - Merging databases from different suppliers.
- GuesstimateGuesstimateGuesstimate is an informal English contraction of guess and estimate, first used by American statisticians in 1934 or 1935. It is defined as an estimate made without using adequate or complete information, or, more strongly, as an estimate arrived at by guesswork or conjecture...
s from adjacent Class C rangeClassful networkA classful network is a network addressing architecture used in the Internet from 1981 until the introduction of Classless Inter-Domain Routing in 1993. The method divides the address space for Internet Protocol Version 4 into five address classes. Each class, coded in the first four bits of the...
and/or gleaned from network hopsHop (telecommunications)In telecommunication, the term hop has the following meanings:#The excursion of a radio wave from the Earth to the ionosphere and back to the Earth...
.
Accuracy is improved by:
- Data scrubbingData scrubbingData scrubbing is an error correction technique which uses a background task that periodically inspects memory for errors, and then corrects the error using ECC memory or another copy of the data...
to filter out or identify anomalies. - Statistical analysisStatisticsStatistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
of user submitted data. - Utilizing third-party tests conducted by reputable organizations.
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.Technical measures for ensuring anonymity
Anonymity
Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
, such as proxy server
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
s, 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.
In the UK, the application of the Data Protection Act means that geolocation will only yield the physical address of the ISP. Any further tracking (e.g for criminal tracing) has to be carried out by getting the ISP to check their logs.
Applications
Geolocation technology has been under development only since 1999, and the first patents were granted in 2004. The technology is already widely used in multiple industries, 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 and serving targeted marketingMarketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
content and pricing
Pricing
Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Pricing factors are manufacturing cost, market place, competition, market condition, and quality of product. Pricing is also a key variable in microeconomic price allocation theory. Pricing is a...
. Additionally, the FCC has proposed that geolocation software might be leveraged to support 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
location determination.
Criminal investigations
American bankBank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s, software vendors and other online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
enterprises are now subject to strict new “Know your customer
Know your customer
Know Your Customer refers to both:* The activities of customer due diligence that financial institutions and other regulated companies must perform to identify their clients and ascertain relevant information pertinent to doing financial business with them* And the bank regulation which governs...
” law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
s imposed by the USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
, the Bank Secrecy Act
Bank Secrecy Act
The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 requires financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies to detect and prevent money laundering...
, the US Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
's Office of Foreign Assets Control
Office of Foreign Assets Control
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury under the auspices of the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S...
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. Banks can prevent “phishingPhishing
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
” attacks, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
and other security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
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 that legislation should mandate the use of geolocation software, for example for companies distributing pornographyPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
considered obscene in some jurisdictions or to enforce international trade agreements. (See geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
).
Geo marketing
Since geolocation software can get the information of user location, companies using geomarketingGeo (marketing)
As a general term, Geomarketing is the integration of Geographical intelligence into all marketing aspects including sales and distribution. Geomarketing Research is the use of geographic parameters in research methodology starting from sampling, data collection, analysis, and...
may provide web content
Web content
Web content is the textual, visual or aural content that is encountered as part of the user experience on websites. It may include, among other things: text, images, sounds, videos and animations....
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.
Regional licensing
InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
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. 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.
Target content
In geo targetingGeo targeting
Geo targeting in geomarketing and internet marketing is the method of determining the geolocation of a website visitor and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, region/state, city, metro code/zip code, organization, IP address, ISP or other...
web sites can show different web content
Web content
Web content is the textual, visual or aural content that is encountered as part of the user experience on websites. It may include, among other things: text, images, sounds, videos and animations....
based on a user's geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
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
Historical revisionism (negationism)
Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light. For the former, i.e. the academic pursuit, see...
websites (see LICRA v. Yahoo!
LICRA v. Yahoo!
Ligue contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme et Union des étudiants juifs de France c. Yahoo! Inc. et Société Yahoo! France is a French court case decided by the High Court of Paris in 2000. The case concerned the sale of memorabilia from the Nazi period by internet auction and the application of...
). 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.
Hulu
Hulu
Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
is notorious in geo-targeting. Hulu uses IP filtering that prevents anyone outside of U.S. IP ranges to use its service. Some users within U.S. are also being blocked because their IP has not been added to Hulu's Geo-IP database. Many users are able to navigate through geo-targeting by simply employing proxy or VPN service such as UnoTelly and Hotspot Shield.
Spam fighting
Though controversial, some ISPsInternet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
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
- Location-based serviceLocation-based serviceA Location-Based Service is an information or entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device....
- Locator software
- PersonalizationPersonalizationPersonalization involves using technology to accommodate the differences between individuals. Once confined mainly to the Web, it is increasingly becoming a factor in education, health care Personalization involves using technology to accommodate the differences between individuals. Once confined...
- W3C Geolocation APIW3C Geolocation APIThe W3C Geolocation API is an effort by the World Wide Web Consortium to standardize an interface to retrieve the geographical location information for a client-side device...
External links
- CSV file mapping IP ranges (networks) to country and owner at http://linuxbox.co.uk/ip-address-whois-database.php
- Adres-IP.eu - IP Address Geolocation (and/or) Location
- Personal Geo ip information at http://geo-ip.indbuzz.com
- IP Address Lookup. Geolocation by IP and/or domain name - http://lookup.xamex.com
- Joomla-Office.net: Joomla! Component to create a Geolocation Service (Open Source)
- geoPlugin geolocation API: A free online API to geolocate and reverse geocode IP addresses and lat/lon values
- Towards Street-Level Client-Independent IP Geolocation: Recent research paper explaining how to find a location from an IP address within 1 km