Did you use a template to do this forwarded text? If so, could you
please publish it - it's very neat.
Thanks
Graeme
Tuesday, March 25, 2003, 4:46:46 PM, you wrote:
,--- [ Summary of the eRumor ]---
|
| This is a warning that the search engine at www.google.com has a feature
| that will map the location of a telephone number. It suggests having
| Google remove your number so anyone with harmful motives will not be
| able to use the feature against you.
|
|
| The Truth
| This is one of those eRumors that focuses on a non-sinister feature of
| the Internet and makes it sound sinister. We have not been able to find
| any evidence that any law enforcement agency has issued any warnings
| about the Google search for phone numbers.
|
| Google.com is one of the most versatile search engines on the Internet.
| One of the features built into Google is the ability to conveniently
| look up information from the White Pages of any telephone book. If you
| type a name, address, and city of a person with a listed phone number,
| you will probably get that person's White Pages listing which includes
| the telephone number. As an added feature, Google includes a couple of
| mapping services in case you want to look up the location. In the same
| way, you can enter the telephone number alone and if it is a listed
| number, you'll get the complete listing including the address and, if
| desired, the mapping to that address.
|
| The problem with the eRumor is that it makes it sound as though this is
| privileged information, which it is not. It's the same information that
| could be gotten from a phone book or directory assistance. It also makes
| it sound as though the feature is specifically for the purpose of
| entering a phone number and finding a map. It is not. The feature finds
| all the listed information about phone number and includes the mapping
| if you choose it.
|
| If, for some reason, you do not wish for your information to be
| available through Google, you can, as the eRumor describes, click the
| telephone icon next to your information and they will remove you from
| their database, but that means very little. The reason the information
| is there is because it's public and removing it from Google doesn't
| prevent anyone from having it. They can go to the telephone book,
| directory assistance, or any of the other pages on the Internet that
| have name, address, and telephone information. If you don't want the
| information to be public, contact your telephone provider and ask about
| an unlisted number or a number that does not list your address.
|
`-
You can read more here: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/google.htm
--
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