More and more people are getting concerned that their private info is being detected via WiFi networks by hackers. Now, Microsoft has announced that it has revealed some of the source code that it uses to collect certain information for its Windows Phone 7 software. In a post on Microsoft's Technet web site, Reid Kuhn, the Program Manager for Microsoft's Windows Phone Engineering Team, stated that the company is "sharing relevant portions of the source code for our managed driving data collection software to provide those interested an opportunity to review the code we use for collection of such information." You can download the source code now on Microsoft's MSDN web site.
The blog states that while developing Windows Phone 7's software, "... we use vehicles to gather available data (what is commonly referred to as 'managed driving') by equipping the vehicle with mobile phones that survey Wi-Fi access points and cell tower locations." Microsoft says that those phones only collect info from the WiFi routers that every other WiFi enabled device can see. It adds that with that info "we can provide the location capabilities and services for Windows Phone and Bing that consumers demand, including search results, weather, movie times, maps and directions based on a device’s current location."
The code which Microsoft has now released the source code for "uses publicly documented interfaces for accessing cell tower, Wi-Fi data access point and GPS data." Microsoft adds that the info collected "does not intercept wireless data transmissions from consumers’ computers" nor does it access and record "any information that may contain user content transmitted over a network."
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