#Geotag photos online software

After eluding Belize authorities, who were seeking to talk to him as a “person of interest” in the 2012 shooting death of his neighbor, McAfee’s location was revealed when a photo of his Guatemalan hideout was posted online.Īdam Savage, host of the TV science show “MythBusters” was embarrassed a few years ago when he took a picture of his car in front of his house and posted it on Twitter, inadvertently disclosing to his fans where he lived.

#Geotag photos online software

That includes John McAfee, founder of the antivirus software company that bears his name. But when deciphered with the help of photo-sharing websites, various apps or other methods, those coordinates can enable someone using Google Maps to identify the precise spots depicted in the images. This data isn’t visible to the naked eye. Smartphone photos are embedded with “geotags” containing the latitude and longitude.

“They can then put the location of where you are now and where your house is into a maps program and work out how much time they have to pay a visit while you’re out.” “That can be sharing a bit too much,” said Con Mallon, senior director of mobility at security firm Symantec. Similarly, they add, posting images from vacation sites or your workplace could invite crooks to ransack your house while you’re away. That’s because smartphone images can be deciphered to reveal precisely where the photos were taken, which security experts say could lead burglars and other criminals directly to your front door.

Whipping out your smartphone to snap and post online pictures of yourself and your kids relaxing at home - or perhaps that pricey new TV you just hung on your rec-room wall - is like throwing chum to a sea of hungry sharks.