Re: GeoIP database issues and the real world consequences

[Steve Atkins <steve () blighty com>]

> On Apr 11, 2016, at 10:11 AM, Hugo Slabbert <hugo () slabnet com> wrote:
>
>
> On Mon 2016-Apr-11 13:02:14 -0400, Ken Chase <math () sizone org> wrote:
>
> > TL;DR: GeoIP put unknown IP location mappings to the 'center of the country'
> > but then rounded off the lat long so it points at this farm.
> >
> > Cant believe law enforcement is using this kind of info to execute searches.
> > Wouldnt that undermine the credibility of any evidence brought up in trials
> > for any geoip locates?
> >
> > Seems to me locating unknowns somewhere in the middle of a big lake or park in
> > the center of the country might be a better idea.
>
> ...how about actually marking an unknown as...oh, I dunno: "unknown"?  Is there no analogue in the GeoIP lookups for 
> a 404?

It's not unknown - it's (according to the DB, anyway, which has a bunch of flaws) "in the US somewhere".

The problem with MaxMind (and other geoip databases I've seen that do Lat/Long as well as Country / State / Town) is 
that the data doesn't include uncertainty, so it returns "38.0/-97.0" rather than "somewhere in a 3000 mile radius 
circle centered on 38.0/-97.0".

Someone should show them RFC 1876 as an example of better practice.

Cheers,
  Steve