Sign on location
When I sign onto a certain app, it says I sign on from West, New York. I am in North Carolina, so I am wondering if my browser that I’m using which is Firefox, is routed back to like a headquarters in New York where it would show that I signed on from New York? Is that ever possible?
Thank you, Stefanie Norris
All Replies (3)
Hi Stefanie, websites generally guess your location based on your device's IP address, which is assigned by your service provider.
That could be overridden if you are connecting through a VPN, since it will be a different service's provider's address, often quite far away or overseas.
On a mobile device, if you have given the site permission to know your specific location, then Firefox may use your GPS location. On a device that doesn't have GPS, Firefox uses a Google service to look up nearby WiFi hotspots and get a location.
Thank you for replying. I don’t believe that I have a VPN number on my laptop. So I’m not sure how it looks like. I’m signing on from West, New York when I’m in North Carolina. Could it possibly mean that someone has taken control of my computer without me knowing so? I recently ran some malware scans and quarantined any questionable files. And still I signed on and it showed up I think that it showed up out of West, New York. Because it’s the exact time that I signed on, so it must be me. That is exactly why I asked. Could it be rerouted another direction from Firefox or focus broadband ATMC, which is my Internet company.
Oh, is this on: https://accounts.firefox.com/settings#connected-services
The fact that it's the same time suggests it is you. If you check a site that tells you what it thinks your location is, is it accurate? For example:
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