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Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

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Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#111

Post by LizMcIntyre »

linsomniac wrote: post #56

I feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm mostly ok with Google. I feel like they are good stewards of my data (encrypting even internal traffic, severe restrictions on who can get access to my data, doing useful things with that data). I believe Facebook has similar policies in place. I think their biggest sins are just being big. It makes them a larger target (which probably necessitates them taking extreme protecti…

Yahoo / Bing, Microsoft and others are just as bad. Don't get me wrong, Google and FB need to change their ways, but they aren't alone.

For example, Yahoo was caught helping the US government spy on consumers, whether they were suspect or not: http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-yahoo-em...

What's more, Yahoo is now owned by Verizon, a company known for anti-consumer practices.

We should all make some easy changes:

- Use DuckDuckGo to get Yahoo /Bing search results in privacy

- Use StartPage.com to get Google search results in privacy

- Use a privacy-friendly email service

- Either quit FB or use it only as a billboard

- Get a Linux distro and avoid Windows OS when possible

- Try LibreOffice. It rivals Office!

etc.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#113

Post by DavideNL »

linsomniac wrote: post #56

I feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm mostly ok with Google. I feel like they are good stewards of my data (encrypting even internal traffic, severe restrictions on who can get access to my data, doing useful things with that data). I believe Facebook has similar policies in place. I think their biggest sins are just being big. It makes them a larger target (which probably necessitates them taking extreme protecti…

> I feel like they are good stewards of my data (encrypting even internal traffic...)

I hate it when people use this as an argument against "Google invading privacy", it's an argument that doesn't make any sense at all; Encrypting your data in transit prevents outsiders from reading your data, obviously it doesn't prevent Google itself from accessing your data.

This article is about how Google (and FB, etc.) invades everyone's privacy (even non-customers).

> To me, the cost of being google's product, is outweighed by what they provide me with

This can also be achieved without invading your privacy. Google should at least let people CHOOSE whether they want to use their products at the cost of privacy. Currently you cannot choose, your data is simply collected, even when browsing websites totally unrelated to Google, where people are absolutely unaware of Google tracking them.

PS. This guy is awesome, he has had success fighting against Facebook, for privacy (in Europe):

https://twitter.com/maxschrems/status/957236189853085696

https://noyb.eu/

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#114

Post by shiftpgdn »

confounded wrote: post #31
randomString1 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish that was enough. The articles that show up here on HN from time to time make me think they can cross-reference data and fingerprint you through many data sources and more advanced tracking (things that we discover from time to time like canvas, css). People that have you on their contact list, your e-mails that hit their servers even when you don't have a Gmail, DNS, CDN, cloud services, your phone unless you…

> it's all futile It’s not. While Facebook will exfiltrate and cross reference your name and number from associates’ address books, this wildly different than keeping a log of everywhere you travel, the time you wake and sleep, hundreds of tagged images of your face, all the news you read, and how readily you can be influenced. Primarily to influence your mind and behavior for profit, but all available to internation…

The facebook tracking pixel absolutely fingerprints non-users.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#115

Post by DavideNL »

dnate wrote: post #103
fwdpropaganda wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well spotted, very funny. Speaking of which, I recently moved to DDG and couldn't be happier. Frankly the only thing I don't like about DDG is the name.

yes, DDG has been nothing bu bliss lately. I did 99% of my master thesis research on there. And the other 1% I went to google for usually didn't turn up anything useful either.

> And the other 1% I went to google

Next time, don't go to Google, but go to Startpage. They have the same results as Google but they strip all the Google crap for more privacy.

You can search Startpage.com from within duckduckgo by "searching" in Duckduckgo for:

  !sp hackernews
:-)

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#116

Post by Slansitartop »

ryanianian wrote: post #89
Slansitartop wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I like google's services. What I want is the ability to pay for them and not be a part of the product they sell in ads. Basically a freemium model. You do have the ability to pay for some of them (G Suite aka Google Apps for Business), but even then you might not get what you want, since 99% of their users like you are still products. I'm reminded of this quote from Josh Marshall: > One thing I’ve observed with Goo…

I'm pretty sure this doesn't let you opt-out of ad targeting for search nor does it prevent them from using your maps and other data in their b2b offerings.

Exactly my point, actually.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#117

Post by mr_overalls »

linsomniac wrote: post #56

I feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm mostly ok with Google. I feel like they are good stewards of my data (encrypting even internal traffic, severe restrictions on who can get access to my data, doing useful things with that data). I believe Facebook has similar policies in place. I think their biggest sins are just being big. It makes them a larger target (which probably necessitates them taking extreme protecti…

You should be worried for these reasons:

1) Google (and other SV giants) share data with the NSA.

https://www.salon.com/2014/11/16/googles_secret_nsa_alliance...

2) The NSA in turn shares information with law-enforcement agencies. ICREACH contains information on the private communications millions of American citizens who have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

https://gizmodo.com/the-nsa-made-its-own-google-to-help-shar...

3) The DEA (and possibly other agencies) uses this information to target Americans, and then lies about the origins of the information in a process called "parallel construction."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dea-sod/exclusive-u-s-dir...

It's not difficult to see the potential for abuse in a shadowy process that surveils the private communications of Americans, applies unknown selectors and data mining algorithms, and then reports the results to law enforcement.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#118

Post by CodeSheikh »

They provide free services. What do you expect? The data they have collected is so lucrative for them that they would never offer Facebook, Gmail, Google Search on a premium basis to daily consumer. I mean I would take premium package if they guarantee that they will not parse my images, parse my emails, parse my searches, connect dots among my social peers in order to help train their AI bots. Which/whenever they will use in the future to come up with better products or improve their existing products.

Sure there are problems associated with it. One of them is when malicious players like foreign govts get hold of such data and use it to their advantage.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#119

Post by mr_spothawk »

ucaetano wrote: post #81
jankeymeulen wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2016 had $90B revenues and 1.5B 30d active users (for YouTube) so $60 per year would be a good guess. (Disclaimer: I'm a Googler but I just got these numbers from public statements. No way I'm well paid enough to be able to see more detailed numbers. :-D )

gSuite is exactly that: $5/month/user for the basic package, and does exactly what the grandparent wants.

sure, it's nice to be outside of adverts... but using gSuite always feels like pretending I'm not being farmed out to the gov't

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#120

Post by mr_spothawk »

UncleMeat wrote: post #82
mattmanser wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't they only encrypt internal traffic after the Snowdon revelation?

They started encrypting before the leaks happened.

I don't remember things happening this way. I remember PRISM announced, then the conversation about all of the internal HTTPS
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