Media for "Microsoft Location Finder" - how is it supposed to work ?

"Microsoft Location Finder" - how is it supposed to work ?

I have read a bunch on the net about Microsoft Location Finder including Microsoft's "explanation" of how it works.

It determines your location, when it can, by accesing a uSoft database of WiFI MAC addresses.

Is the database built into Microsoft Location Finder ? I don't think so.

So what does it do, hijack someone's home WiFi for a few seconds to interrogate the uSoft database and return the results ? That doesn't sound kosher and obviously I'm not using my own wireless LAN when I'm asking the question "where am I"

TIA to anyone who can answer this or point me to a discussion / explanation of what's going on.

For others who are learning about Microsoft Location Finder from this post, here are some links:

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Go to

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and click on the "Microsoft Location Finder" in the "Welcome" bar on the left.

Cheers, QE