Here is an interesting item of information concerning privacy that was sent
to me today. I checked Google, and sure enough, it did provide a map to my
house. The removal procedure works as described below for those of us who
decline to be included in this particular aspect of the world wide web.

Nick Honerkamp


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Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 8:34 AM
Subject: Important Information on YOUR phone number listed on internet



Take a look at the note below - if you go to
<http://www.google.com>www.google.com and type in
your telephone number it will actually pull up directions to your house - but
there is a way to have your number removed.

Many people are unaware of this danger. I was, in fact.

Go to <http://www.google.com>www.google.com then type in your phone number
(separated by
hyphens, including area code) and click on Google Search. If your
phone number is listed it will show your name and address and give
you two map options, Yahoo and MapQuest. See just how accurate the map
is to your home. VERY SCARY!!

Any person wishing to discover the physical location of a phone
number, be it a home or business address, could use this feature to
locate a physical street address and receive directions on how to
get there from anywhere in the country. In the age of internet
communication, we all know the dangers of this - for adults and for
children.

Google has made available an option that will allow anyone to REMOVE
his or her telephone number from the database that is linked to the
mapping feature.

You will first need to check if your number is listed in this manner
by attempting a search, entering your full telephone number separated
by dashes (e.g. 555-555-5555). If the number appears in the mapping
database, an icon resembling a telephone will appear next to the
first or second entry on the results page. Clicking on this icon
will take you to a page containing a description of the service, and
a link to request your number be removed from the database.

So far, unlisted numbers and cell phone numbers do not show up.

Please check on your number: be safe, not sorry!