You Google Me and I'll Google You Back...What Privacy?

[OneTampa]

Should we be even more afraid/cautious to venture online?

Anybody have a plain language take on Google's upcoming privacy systems function launch and the impact on web browsing and the use of their online search engine?

Also, I found this quick link: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2155130/Google-Privacy-Policy-36-Attorneys-General-Express-Strong-Concerns

[Miss Philicia]

Afraid the feds are going to discover your kiddie porn and on line drug dealing (again?)

[OneTampa]

Why Ms. P.  if I did not know of your acrobatic wit, I'll would be highly offended by such a vile post directed toward moi.

However, I see from our records that your SNAP card remains active through 2015.

 

[tednlou2]

Well, my mom finally got a laptop, and I was trying to teach her how to use it.  It has a built-in camera and she thought anyone would be able to see what she's doing.  Seeing how that school turned on that student's camera to see what he was doing at home, it isn't too far fetched.  But, she's heard too many paranoid stories from her friends.   

Then, I showed her Google Earth.  She wanted to see whether it would show who visited her the other day (their cars in the driveway).  I explained that unless the satellite pic or street view pic was taken that day, it wouldn't show it.  She's learning. 

I don't want to even scare her with privacy stuff.  I just lie to her and tell her nothing she does is tracked.  One thing about privacy-- I called the cable company due to having internet problems.  The rep rebooted the system and told me to go ahead and sign back on to facebook.  I asked him, "How did you know I was on Facebook?  I didn't say I was on that site.  Can you see which sites I'm on?  He said he spoke to someone previous who was on facebook and just got mixed up.  He swore they could not see what sites I'm on.  I suppose I'll believe him.       

[OneTampa]

I asked him, "How did you know I was on Facebook?  I didn't say I was on that site.  Can you see which sites I'm on?  He said he spoke to someone previous who was on facebook and just got mixed up.  He swore they could not see what sites I'm on.  I suppose I'll believe him.     

So I guess you should "go on faith" (to paraphrase a preacher from my childhood).

[GSOgymrat]

Privacy concerns aside, I find it really annoying that in order to use certain services, like Spotify, you have to log in with Facebook-- no other option.

[OneTampa]

I wonder if the Google people can decipher this.

 

[Miss Philicia]

OMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

[phildinftlaudy]

OMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

I actually was going to download/like from the Corona site yesterday on Facebook - but in reading what that was going to allow, I said "no way."  They wanted to be able to post comments to my friends pages, using my name and to have access to a whole lot of other info that I wasn't comfortable just giving someone blanket, open access to.....

So, while I like Corona - I will have to show my "like" by drinking it - and not actually liking it on FB.

BTW, the various banner ads that show up on here even show how our data and web browsing habits are mined to target some of the ads to what advertisers think we are in the market for based on web searches, etc.

[Rev. Moon]

OMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

And that is why I am still using my Motorola StarTAC phone and a Toshiba Libretto for a computah, both from circa 1996.  I am NOT gonna let big brother catch me in any compromising positions.

[Hellraiser]

And that is why I am still using my Motorola StarTAC phone and a Toshiba Libretto for a computah, both from circa 1996.  I am NOT gonna let big brother catch me in any compromising positions.

So easy.

[OneTampa]

An article in The Washington Post today (The High Cost of Ditching Google..Stuck on Google, Stuck With a Widely Disliked Privacy Policy, pp. A-1 and A-15) had a colorful quote I found amusing:

Bert Foer, president of the American Antitrust Institute was quoted as saying:

"...It's sort of the story of how you boil a frog in lukewarm water.  Google may be capturing its consumers in the same way so that consumers don't understand what is happening until they are cooked..."