subject: How Mapping Technologies Affect Your Home Security [print this page] When Google Maps first introduced its street view technology a few years ago, there was considerable concern voiced by the public over what this could mean for personal and home security, and the general expectation of privacy that people tend to have about the neighborhoods they live in. This technology allows people to take virtual tours of most neighborhoods in the United States, often viewing different apartment buildings and houses from multiple angles. Not only does the service feature free pictures of buildings, accessible to all, but these images were taken from satellites in real time, which means that human beings and pets are captured in some of the images. Check out the image of your own home or apartment building simply by entering in your address you may be surprised to find a picture of you going for your morning jog, or perhaps you will discover a picture of your neighbor on her way to work. Some people were incensed that they had been photographed in this way via satellite and had their images projected onto Google Maps for all to see until the end of time. Whats more, others began to worry about the real threat that such technologies could pose to the home security of the nation. Not only did this mapping service seem like a violation of personal privacy, but its very nature could give too much information to the bad guys, as they would have pictures of their targets beforehand. They would be able to better plan how they were going to execute a robbery, for example, because they would know what the house would look like and might even be able to see different angles of it, giving them a lot of information that you would probably wish they did not have!
But after a while the controversy died down, and people seem to have accepted the fact that anyone who wants to can access pictures of their house from different angles. Although it should be said that many people do not even realize that this technology exists, or that because of it right now anyone in the world could see a picture of their house! While these mapping technologies started out in larger cities in the U.S., like parts of San Francisco and New York, the totally free service now exists in suburban and rural areas as well, and has even spread to other countries such as Great Britain. So do not think that you are immune from the home security risks caused by these images just because you live in rural North Carolina. Who would want to look at pictures of your house, anyways, you might reason with yourself.
But navet has never helped bolster ones home security. What you need to do is accept the fact that there is a real risk out there in these pictures existing, but also remind yourself that there is little you can do by way of getting the pictures taken down. The best thing that you can do is make sure to protect your house from the inside-out like installing home security cameras and a home alarm and hope for the best!
