How does Windows 8 know my location?

installed windows 8 on my main PC last night, tried the Maps app and it found my location to within 5 meters which freaked me out. ip tracing cant be that accurate.

anyone know how it gets such an accurate location, i have no GPS devices attached to my machine.

 

Mapping wifi points I assume.

 

apologies for creating this thread, i did try to search google but not many hits on how the maps app gets such a precise location. apparently they use WIFI triangulation. i would have thought they would have mentioned this somewhere along the way due to privacy issues?


mods may close this thread.

edit- @HM you assume correct

 

why? cus your bashing micro $oft ?

every corporation that makes something for computers gets their turn "if they have it coming" in security forums like this imho.
the min this isn't the case im gone.

i know i can't speak for others on this topic but i know what a corp propaganda forum smells like and ill pass.

example nurf all negative treads but keep all postie ones for corporation buddy "X"
wouldn't want to offend our sponsors now would we

that's messed up man. and no a back trace at best can only track back to your isp servers not to you,the isp acts like a router and only they know who you are and are not allowed to give up that info with out a damn good reason to do so.


that topic changes though "depending" with a static ip,with dynamic ips everyone within the isp trades ip all the time so you can't know whos who.

 

probably just a coincidence that the closest location point happen to be just near where you live.
my location point is about 200-300 meters from where i live.

if this bothers you you can always tell Windows 8 to not track your location.

 

Maps has my location 300 miles from where I live. But I'm not on wireless.

 

FYI, Windows Location Platform:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/windows-8-privacy-statement?T1=supplement#section_18
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/gg463473.aspx

Note that it is both the location provider/server (Microsoft in this case) and individual apps/applications (which you allow, and by extension whoever those send information to) that will receive information about your locations and movements. Due to variables, that information may or may not be very accurate.

AFAIK, Microsoft does not provide users with a means to specify their own location as an alternative to Microsoft location server queries/reports or a means for users to control the accuracy of the information provided to individual apps/applications.

 

I think the first time I used the weather app, it popped up and asked me if I wanted to let it determine my location.. If I had said No, then I wonder what it would have done...

 

It would just use the capital city of your country.

To turn off location - Charms bar->Settings->Change PC Settings->Privacy

 

Generally that's done by apps themselves, or at least, the good ones let you manually pick a location instead of automatically setting it.