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quickymart

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#315046 9-Jun-2024 18:11
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Just noticed this a few days ago. When browsing to google.co.nz from Firefox, it reports results but says I'm located in South Korea (specifically, Seoul).

 

Yet using Chrome on the same machine reports it correctly as New Zealand.

 

Both browsers show my current IP address (a Spark one) when I browse there but it's very odd that the two browsers on the same machine would report different locations.

 

Browsing to Google Maps in Firefox takes me to hovering over Seoul; doing it from Chrome and I'm over Auckland (which is correct).

 

Note that I haven't changed anything recently, and I did try restarting both the machine and the router but to no avail; this seems to be a Firefox-specific issue.

 

Is there a setting or something that I'm missing somewhere? Google (the search engine) couldn't tell me much.

 

Can provide screenshots if required.


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freitasm
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  #3246587 9-Jun-2024 18:37
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Geolocation via IP is flimsy. Firefox might be using an older list. Nothing to be done really.




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quickymart

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  #3246610 9-Jun-2024 19:43
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Thanks for the explanation, just weird that both browsers report the same IP.


freitasm
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  #3246611 9-Jun-2024 19:46
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The IP is assigned to your router. The location comes from third party data. The IP will always be the same for the programs. The third party data maybe different.




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quickymart

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  #3246612 9-Jun-2024 19:47
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Ah that makes sense! What a crappy system 😄

 

As an aside (as I'm writing this in Firefox) does my IP address show at your end as being in NZ or South Korea, just out of interest?

 

Sorry just trying to get my head around how it all works.


freitasm
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  #3246613 9-Jun-2024 19:49
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My data shows it as NZ.




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  #3246615 9-Jun-2024 19:59
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quickymart:

 

Ah that makes sense! What a crappy system 😄

 

 

IP addresses were never intended to be a way of locating the user. They are solely intended as a way of addressing a computer, but the physical location of that computer shouldn't matter. IP location databases are a pile of hacks.


 
 
 
 

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k1w1k1d
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  #3246986 10-Jun-2024 13:44
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Just noticed that the Speedtest app thinks that I am also in Seoul?


Behodar
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  #3246987 10-Jun-2024 13:48
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I wonder whether Spark has obtained some IP addresses that have previously been used in Korea. I believe they're in the same "region" as us (APNIC).


lxsw20
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  #3246990 10-Jun-2024 14:06
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What extensions installed in Firefox? Does it happen in a private window?


Bung
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  #3246996 10-Jun-2024 14:19
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From a brief look normally both Chrome and Firefox use Google Location Service so should get same result. Is there something modified in that Firefox install?


yitz
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  #3246998 10-Jun-2024 14:21
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Perhaps something similar to this that happened 10 years ago 😛

 

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1409/S00263/network-update-after-extremely-high-traffic-loads.htm 

 

IIRC during that event geolocation began resolving Spark IPs to Russia.


 
 
 
 

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quickymart

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  #3246999 10-Jun-2024 14:29
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lxsw20:

 

What extensions installed in Firefox? Does it happen in a private window?

 

 

Ooh, good point - a few (will have a look). But I just tried the private window idea and lo and behold it opens Google Maps over Auckland, and Google search looks correct as well. So...what does all this mean? 😃


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  #3247003 10-Jun-2024 14:33
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Firefox private browsing or Chrome is likely to be using private DNS like Google Public, Cloudflare etc., other than malware, it's possible Spark have installed a new DNS infrastructure and the IPs associated with DNS are associated to Seoul, South Korea?? Or like privacy VPN providers DNS is distributed to mask user location??


lxsw20
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  #3247004 10-Jun-2024 14:39
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I would say there is some sort of VPN extension installed in Firefox.


k1w1k1d
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  #3247024 10-Jun-2024 16:45
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Just reset Speedtest app and I back home in Christchurch.


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