61–70 of 71 posts
If you don't browse like this, checkout Skim.Me ( http://skim.me ) to follow your browsing routine from one clean feed. We automatically load your sources and adjust the feed based on various data you allow us to access. All in the name of trying to save you time. If you do browse like this, then we're not for you.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I don't think the problem is what do they actually do with all those data, but what could happen with it. This is FUD, plain and simple. While I don't advocate sticking one's head in the sand and refusing to predict or even speculate, it's easy to do too much predicting and speculating (and very prone to bias), it's easy to spread paranoia, and it's no basis for living a life and especially it's no way to decide mo…
You admit that there is a risk, but what can you gain from taking that risk? Because without gain, what incentive to you have to take the risk? Yes, I agree that the likely outcome isn't that bad if they break my trust but only tracking my search queries would be quite revealing and sensitive and would reveal stuff that I tell very few people. So, the thing that yahoo did (releasing all queries with an "anonymous" us…
Check my name. I KNOW companies know more about this person than he thinks. How do I know this? Because, once, a long time ago, I wrote browser fingerprinting software for a security company that then spun it to be used for nefarious purposes (I say nefarious, but really, it is nothing more than what Google and FB do today). That was when I left. The point being, it is really, REALLY, hard for someone to be invisible…
Agreed. If anyone is interested in a bit of (slightly terrifying) evidence, take a look at evercookie: http://samy.pl/evercookie/
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I don't think the problem is what do they actually do with all those data, but what could happen with it. This is FUD, plain and simple. While I don't advocate sticking one's head in the sand and refusing to predict or even speculate, it's easy to do too much predicting and speculating (and very prone to bias), it's easy to spread paranoia, and it's no basis for living a life and especially it's no way to decide mo…
You admit that there is a risk, but what can you gain from taking that risk? Because without gain, what incentive to you have to take the risk? Yes, I agree that the likely outcome isn't that bad if they break my trust but only tracking my search queries would be quite revealing and sensitive and would reveal stuff that I tell very few people. So, the thing that yahoo did (releasing all queries with an "anonymous" us…
This just really doesn't bother me, Google knows some stuff about me due to what I have told them and machine learning, they use it primarily to show me ads they think will convert better. This makes Google more money, the advertiser more money and makes it much more likely that the ads will actually be useful to me, pretty much win win win.
No one has a real, practical example of this. If someone can describe a business model that will use this type of data about people's interests to do something bad to them and make lots of money, then this will become a theoretical problem. Even that hasn't happened yet.
There's also all kinds of "don't track me" options available from Google/Microsoft/etc. as well as incognito mode in most browsers. It's time for people to find something else to worry about.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You admit that there is a risk, but what can you gain from taking that risk? Because without gain, what incentive to you have to take the risk? Yes, I agree that the likely outcome isn't that bad if they break my trust but only tracking my search queries would be quite revealing and sensitive and would reveal stuff that I tell very few people. So, the thing that yahoo did (releasing all queries with an "anonymous" us…
The gain in offering up data to Google is free use of a number of services I find useful. Gmail, Google Docs, Google Chrome, Google Search and YouTube are just a handful of the services I enjoy using free of charge. In exchange, I have little to no problem with Google tracking my behavior to target advertisements at me.
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> After all, Google is a company, here to make money. Those bastards... and they force you to sign in for their email and g+ and picasa and.. oh, wait. Maybe I'll sound like a wierdo, but you can always opt out of using google at all and block them with ghostery or hosts. Problem solved. Let's be honest with ourselves and admit that data is the currency we pay for 'free' online services, and if we don't like the serv…
>> After all, Google is a company, here to make money. >Those bastards... and they force you to sign in for their email and g+ and picasa and.. oh, wait. I haven't said that making money was bad, it's business, and that's the risk to know where is the interest. Sure you signed, but silly me, I wasn't thinking about all this when I first sign-up for Gmail, and sure as well I could resign, but meanwhile they collected…
You are right. I don't browse like you do. That would take forever. I wonder: Are you afraid Google is sitting at home drooling over the fact that you bought your shoes from JcPenny? You’re not a name, you’re not a face, you’re a knode. a cookie. literally, a number in trillions of records. Secondly, you sit on the web writing openly about privacy issues, while overtly displaying your information on those "Identity t…
I disagree with this comment: "are you afraid Google is sitting at home drooling over the fact that you bought your shoes from JcPenny?" I'm sure Google doesn't consciously care, but the fact that they track it it can seriously screw you if in the wrong hands. Further, at risk of building a strawman, it sounds a bit to similar to "what do you have to hide?" which is wrong on many many levels. Given plenty of data it…
exactly. the whole darned point is that I care more about my personal information than Google does. It matters little whether they are actively drooling over our personal details, or passively collecting them. The fact that Google might be permanently storing cross-references between your searches for "herpes medication" and "communist party" with your emails to grandma and job applications... I dunno, might give you just a little pause for thought.
Besides all proxies, adblocks and incognito modes the world is still scary out there. No matter how hard I try, I always get a "your configuration is unique" message.