Anonymous APRS?

[Noah]

A couple of weeks ago there was a discussion about how APRS tracking in our homebuilt aircraft is great to allow our friends and family keep tabs on us, but the downside is that ANYBODY can also know where you are (and therfore where you aren't, which could have some very bad consequences). I responded that with the use of HAM bands, there is no anonymity.

OR IS THERE?

Since posting this, I have been mulling it over in my mind. I was driving to work on Friday, thinking this over some more. FCC regs require that you use your call sign when transmitting, right? But there is NO REQUIREMENT that when your packet hits an IGATE and goes out on the internet that your callsign be attached. I don't think that too many people are concerned about their packets being intercepted via RF, I think that people are concerned that their information is being "intercepted" via open-access internet broadcast.

The solution? We need to convince the IGATE System Operators to use an alias for our callsign that we can control via web interface. So here's how I envision this working. You go to a master APRS site and "log in" using your call sign "K12345". Click on the "Alias" button and type in a unique alias ID, like "MYALILAS4321". From then on a "K12345" into ANY IGATE running standard IGATE software which has connections to the alias database (again, monitored and maintained by other HAMs), results in a "MYALIAS4321" being sent over the web. "K12345" never progresses past the IGATE, and it's "range" is no longer over the globe, but rather just the distance your transmitter can transmit. You can track your "MYALIAS4321" callsign on any of the tracking map pages, distribute it to your friends and family, thus there is no traceability to your true identity, unless you decide to distribute your alias. You can log onto the APRS website anytime and turn off your alias, or put in a different one, as long as it is unique. Completely legal, moral, and simple!

Clearly this doesn't exist today, but why couldn't it? How do we make this work?

[Davepar]

Nice idea. To make it even more simple, just use something in the text field like "alias:XYZ" and have the igates replace the ID with that alias when present. Has the potential of duplicate aliases, but would be much easier to administer.

So how difficult would it be to update all the igates?

[Noah]

Originally Posted by Davepar

To make it even more simple, just use something in the text field like "alias:XYZ" and have the igates replace the ID with that alias when present.

Great idea, simpler is better!

Who writes the IGATE software? Is it open source? Wonder if they would be amenable to doing this?

Anybody got any leads?

[PaigeHoffart]

There are several different pieces of software that you can use to setup an igate. Some of the most popular that I've used are:

UIView
WinAPRS (no longer available?)
XASTIR

XASTIR is open source, the others are commercial. It does seem like a difficult implementation. What would the motivation be for igate owners? I would think you would need to setup a standard through TAPR or Bob Bruninga.
All of the data eventually makes its way to a dozen or so servers. I would think that would be the easier route. But, again what is the motivation?


Paige

[Noah]

I exchanged a few emails with Keith Sproul last night, who is the co-author of WinAPRS and MacAPRS (He's also a friend and experimental aeronaut like me). Here's what he had to say:

You will NEVER get all of the gateways to upgrade.. You will also not get all of the software developers to get on-board with this, (one has died, one isn't involved anymore) and even if you did, there are people running ANCIENT versions of software, so you would still slip thru with your call occasionally.

The EASIER solution is to have it done at the FINDU point, MUCH MUCH easier, one person to deal with. Hams running the real software would still know the real you, but the general internet would only see the aliases..

All the igates CONNECT to Findu, and it feeds the data back out to all of them in real time.. Steve Demse runs Findu..

I think this is going to be TOUGH to do. It all has to be done on the Findu database, in real time and there are many things that make it so it won't work.

Well, this is not too encouraging, but I think it would be worth asking the questions and pursuing further. IMHO, the reasons are pretty compelling to have the option to control who sees your personal information. You're careful to not divulge you SS number, your bank account numbers, why not have control of who knows when you are and aren't home, and when your house is likely to make an easy target for somebody looking to score your nice new shiny cleco pliers?

Note that an implementation such as this would not prevent you from having a switch on your dash to send a continuous burst MAYDAY call, which should get every HAM in a hundred mile radius heading your way in an emergency.

[N395V]

Do your wives know you are plotting to sometimes keep ypur flight paths anonymous?

[VHS]

If you want a truly private system, ham APRS is not the way to go. There are subscription services for private users that are cell phone based and work well. That being said, you could just enter your one-time-use ID in the callsign field, and enter your real FCC call sign in the comments field bracketd by a couple of X's to make alphabetic searches difficult (i.e XXXKG6HXOXXX). There are far more imporatnt improvements that need to be done to APRS besides adding private systems for individuals.

Allen
VHS

[enielsen]

Allen,

Please check pm's