Google = Evil After All

[Muirner]

According to a statement issued yesterday by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Google Desktop ain't what it seems. A new feature of the application now records the contents of your hard drive, storing actual copies of your files -- including Word documents, PDFs, and spreadsheets. Concern about the new "Search Across Computers" feature arises out of the possibility that making such files available to Google opens users up to severe invasion of privacy, not only from hackers, but from government surveillance as well.

Hopefully no one is using google desktop... gotta post this at torrent sites too.

Muirner

Reputation Comments on this post:

[enquirewithin]

Good information! Google stores more information about us than even Yahoo or MSN, and for a longer time. They are not as cooperative to goverments as, say, Yahoo, but wht do they intend to do with all that information?

[Yeahsme]

well then what the hell are we supposed to use for a search engine. you gotta admit that google is the best...............

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by enquirewithin

but wht do they intend to do with all that information?

They plan to sell to sell it to the US government at a hefty price. All that market research on the Chinese must be worth some bling.

[Muirner]

did you see the other day, that google joined up with some group in china to help censor and limit the net... fucking great...

Muirner

[enquirewithin]

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Cisco are all censoring the internet in China. Microsoft deletes blogs hosted in America, which offend the the Chinese government. Yahoo has helped to imprison at leat one Chinsese dissident by supplying the name of a customer. Cisco is supposed to help the government track down cyber dissidents.

Congress is criticising them, but that's hot air. Everyone knows that Microsoft bought its way out of its anti-trust problems with contributions to the Republican party.

I'm not sure how 'evil' Google is being. I have not heard that they help track down dissidents (yet) but Goolge.cn filters information about, say, Tibet or the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

But, yes, they are the best search engine...

[Richard_smoker]

Seriously, you guys think that we shouldn't be running Google Desktop??

I have it and I love it.

Perhaps it shouldn't be used by those engaging in potentially eye-opening activities who ALSO have something of a big surprise for any police who happen to get inside the house??--like something WAY more illegal than whatever is discussed online?

Maybe these are the people who need to steer clear of anything that the gov might use to find suspicious individuals...? what do others think?

[enquirewithin]

It probably doesn't matter that much, but i have just uninstalled it. It certainly does send information to Google, but they already have a lot of information about my searching habits anyway, should they need to know.

[Muirner]

Originally Posted by Richard_smoker

Seriously, you guys think that we shouldn't be running Google Desktop??

I have it and I love it.

Seriously i think you shouldnt be running it. How do u feel about your privacy? do u feel that you should be giving all the details of your hard drive, your web searching and all of that out to google and the government? Do you do everything in life 100% by the book? I'm gonna guess no, your on a drugs forum. So there is one fassit of your life that the government dosent need to know about. Also if you have downloaded anything that isnt paid for, music, videos, tv shows, ect. Then i say you might be at risk of a law suit. And to top it off:

I have a friend who is the head of the Pfizer IT department near me, and he came up to me the other day at work, and came out of his way to say "your not running google desktop are you?" Of course not, look at my post, i'm warning against it...

storing actual copies of your files -- including Word documents, PDFs, and spreadsheets

isnt that stuff just for you? If you have anything that's remotly private i'd be worried that it'd be intercepted in route. Hell i'm sure they dont set it up with SSL.

So if it's taking such things as .doc, .pdf, excel and so on, why wouldnt u think that they are collecting a whole lot more then you think? To many what-if's for me.

Muirner

[Richard_smoker]

WOW! Thanks Muirner. I was actually just a little bit concerned about broadcasting my interests that are somewhat eyebrow-raising--like belonging to a drugsforum.

However, I also have a strong belief that if someone doesn't stand up for the truth and what they believe to be right, then who will? While the government's corporate fear-factory/war-machine is bulldozing everyone who happens to espouse different views, I find the need to demonstrate that YES it is possible to live a productive, healthy life while participating in some of the very things that Geoge W. says are evil works of the devil...a breeding ground for terrorists, etc.

I know that sounds very optimistic of me, and no, I'm not really that brave. in fact, I'm a total coward. So, don't get the wrong idea. It's just that I felt that as long as google isn't an eminent threat, then fuck'em. Let everyone see (by statistics and percentages) how many of the US citizenship is actually AGAINST our prohibitionist government. My thoughts were originally along these lines: if I can't read and learn about anything and everything I want (even if it's drugs), then we may as well go ahead and start the book-burning ceremony.

With that said, I appreciate your reply, because you showed me another reason to get rid of google. Privacy. Plain and simple. Without privacy, we're totally exposed, and the exposed fighter is the one who loses.

it's a very sad state of affairs when you must decide on exercising your convictions vs. living your life without being harrassed, thrown in prison, and creating a miserable legacy for your children.
-Dick.

[Dogears]

WHat is Google desk top? It's not the same thing as just using their search engine online is it?

[Nagognog2]

It installs a toolbar on your browser that includes such things as a pop-up blocker and spell-checker - I think. Aside from making google your default search engine. If you opt for the "free" whistles and bells like the pop-up blocker, you are agreeing to transmit to google your search history. This is done by way of a tracking cookie placed in you tempoary cookies folder. Easily removed if you delete your cookies - as you should do. Google swears it won't collect any personal data from your computer and only use the data to improve their search engine. But many don't believe them.

[Nagognog2]

If you are as soft as a Dr. Scholl's shoe full of warm puppy-shit, you might leave all your files with these guys:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc. apparently hopes to persuade computer users to entrust all their digital data with the online search engine leader, even though the company is having trouble controlling its own internal communications.
Plans for a Google service offering "infinite" storage capacity leaked out last week when the company inadvertently shared some information about several projects, including one named "GDrive," on its Web site.

Google quickly removed the previously confidential notes, but not before some eagle-eyed Web surfers had already made copies. Excerpts remain available on some Web sites.

In its internal notes, Google discusses an ambitious storage system that would keep its users' word processing files, e-mails, Web history and photos on the company's own computers. Google believes the service would be enticing because the information would be unleashed from a single PC in a home or office, allowing users to access their data from any Internet-connected computer.

"The online copy of your data will become your Golden Copy," Google's notes said, while the original information kept on a users' PC would serve as a backup.

Google spokeswoman Lynn Fox declined to discuss the possible storage system.

"We are always working on new ways to enhance our products and services for users, but we have nothing to announce at this time," she said Wednesday.

In its leaked notes, Google acknowledged it would have to overcome current limitations on transmission speeds and storage capacity. Google also would have overcome privacy concerns and possible trust issues.

[old hippie 56]

Why would anyone trust someone else to keep up with their backup? That what external HDs are for.

[antigenesis]

It seems like in the face of "unlimited" online storage space, I would spend the time to partition off any information I didn't deem necessary for possible sharing, and jump on the bandwagon. I mean shit man... Some of my info I just don't give a damn if they have, and that sounds worth it, even rediculously so.

Don't knock it till you find a loophole and try it. I'm sure if this technology comes out somebody will be developing client side filters for it.

[napoleon in rags]

It's gonna turn out that Google has been a front for a covert Chinese weapons research program since the beginning. We're all fucked