Warning popup about visible location

[loungehake]

I received an Avast popup warning that my location is visible.  The map showed Pembury in Kent.  This is worrying.  How did Avast know that I was born there?

[DavidR]

Your IP is available to many sources, Avast is just making you aware of this in the hope that you will purchase the Avast VPN product.

If your IP is known then it is a very simple task to show where that IP physically is.  However, that information is likely to be incorrect also, as it is usually the IP assigned by your ISP.  Your IP connected to this forum isn't in Kent

Personally I don't really care who knows what my IP is as it isn't a fixed IP address but one assigned by my ISP.  What anyone can do with this information, I would say is debatable.

[loungehake]

Sorry David.  I first saw the light of day at 4.40pm on a spring day in Pembury when oast houses were not the ornaments that they are now and Kent was a rural county and not the urban spread it is today.  I was slightly taken aback that insignificant Pembury was bang in the centre of the little map on the popup.  Not bad for a Wiganer to be a Man of Kent (Pembury is east of the Medway, just).

I repeat my previous assertions that I would not willingly use an alternative to the excellent Avast security software.  A very happy New Year to you.  I miss Agnitum Outpost.

[Cluster-Lizard2014]

Interesting; small world - I was born in Pembury too a long, long time ago but lived all my early life west of the Medway.

I've been identified as located all over the country by weather forecasting tools supposedly providing me with local weather information from my IP address, most typically in various parts of London. Only once have I seen it get it right.

Would have spooked me too if Pembury had come up because I know someone who has spent a lot of time there recently for other reasons.

[DavidR]

Sorry David.  I first saw the light of day at 4.40pm on a spring day in Pembury when oast houses were not the ornaments that they are now and Kent was a rural county and not the urban spread it is today.  I was slightly taken aback that insignificant Pembury was bang in the centre of the little map on the popup.  Not bad for a Wiganer to be a Man of Kent (Pembury is east of the Medway, just).

I repeat my previous assertions that I would not willingly use an alternative to the excellent Avast security software.  A very happy New Year to you.  I miss Agnitum Outpost.

A happy coincidence then on the location.  Basically you have to ignore any such ads for other paid options for Avast, the price of free as they say.

I was based in Kent (Maidstone) for 2 years but for much of that time I lived in Headcorn (on an Airfield, Parachute Club).

Well I still have Outpost Firewall Pro 9.3 on my XP Pro system, but that is currently kaput Video Card/Cable/Monitor issue and I haven't had time to investigate it and not just throw money at the problem.

[alanb]

Sorry David.  I first saw the light of day at 4.40pm on a spring day in Pembury when oast houses were not the ornaments that they are now and Kent was a rural county and not the urban spread it is today.  I was slightly taken aback that insignificant Pembury was bang in the centre of the little map on the popup.  Not bad for a Wiganer to be a Man of Kent (Pembury is east of the Medway, just).

I repeat my previous assertions that I would not willingly use an alternative to the excellent Avast security software.  A very happy New Year to you.  I miss Agnitum Outpost.

...I haven't had time to investigate it and not just throw money at the problem...

Perhaps the good folk of Pembury would have a whip-round for you...