Where IT's @!
Occassional (tid)BITs and BYTES.
Sunday 7 September 2008, 11:35 AM
Chromatica Maycontrolus
It's official!
Not only has Chrome already reached a staggering 2% on the browser richter scale according to Clicky but it seems there are already privacy advocates sounding the alarm over a feature in Google's Chrome that sends anything typed in the browser's Omnibox back to the Big G.
The G plans to store about 2 percent of the data it gets back, along with the IP address of the computer that sent it.
And what for? Marketing? Statistics? Late night reading?
The company claims they won't receive or store data if a user selects a default search provider other than the G or turns off the auto-suggest feature or chooses to work in 'Incognito' mode - which really means...?
Even EFF staff technologist Peter Eckersley said in an interview that he is concerned about Google having yet "another window into what the world is browsing."
Eckersley went on to say, "We are genuinely really worried about the Omnibox thing. It's just one more piece of the complete puzzle of Google seeing everything that everyone is doing."
Personally, I don't think it's that great a browser. It's like most developments these days where the product is trying to be all things to all people i.e. think Facebook.
Chrome however is the G's next step in enslaving us all in the G Machine. Soon you won't be able to interact or communicate without using, seeing or needing a G app, product or service.
Where companies have achieved it to some degree in other fields of activity, the G is working towards their own version of monolithic control in the cyber-space.
By coming from so many directions and providing so many different parts to a model they're probably already aware of, the G Team knows they'll soon be embedded for good. It's really just a bit by bit process.
Next is the G Device - Android.
Beyond that, it's the final inculcation frontier. With the flick of a switch we'll see everyone connected in some way, shape or form to the Ubiquitous G System. To what degree we will then rely on the G's existence is anyone's guess. There may even come a time when it will be near impossible for any one person, company, organization or government to not have some connection to or influence from the G factory.
TFD
PS. Anyone noticed how practically anything Google, searched for in Google, is number 1, 2....
PreviousComments on this post
Very interesting....do google not already collect data from anyone using their search as a default? I noticed the google updater.exe has slipped it self into startup, nicely compromising my start up controls.
Another thing I have noticed is that there is an extra instance/process running even though I have only two tabs running at the moment. In FF3 and IE8 these instances remain true to what is visible on my screen. I thought at first it may be a process related to prefetching, But the other browsers prefetch as well and don't do this, so I guess I'll have to track back and dig a little.
On the plus side, even with all the prefetch data wiped out, it does seem to be very fast. However I am enjoying the accelerator features of IE8 at the moment, and FF3 just feels like it has some kind of integrety that I just can't put my finger on at the moment.
Look deeper Roger!
The truth is out there.
TFD
Ha Ha!
Will do...I must admit, it does drive me to despair when I think how the web has to accommodate so much that is trivial and bandwith munching, apart from all the spam.
Interestingly I am now talking to you from the ingognito window with the main browser shut down and guess what!? There are now four process relating to chrome churning away in the background, and that's with the updater killed off. All using a total of 4.7 MB. There's no way that I would believe the ingognito window is as such. Because all the cookies are active until you shut the window or clear them manually, But if this catches some nasty elements out then all to the good. Not good if it was a rookie paranoid researcher looking into major misdeeds of corporate or government type.
What four process are running and what are they doing?
TFD
This I have not yet fathomed.
They show up in process explorer, and as soon as I have time I will do some back tracking, because time it will take me.
Well I have to say that Peter Judge has the right idea of making Chrome an optional browser though am suss about what it may DO in the background! Why keep it at all is the obvious question? Having to navigate another environment or use it to store and access sites and info one can already get to through their 'main' browser is just a waste of time & space.
TFD
I feel suss about it as well, I have it as an option, but with the cuil search provider. Ha HA well they can't have everything now!!
Ah Thinkfeeldo, here they are: On XP pro;
computer-documents and settings-your user name or admin-local settings-application data-google-chrome-user data-....
And there they are, the usual folder of usage tracks, plus three safe browsing files and one local state file.
It took me so long to find them because i've been wiping them off with ccleaner Doh!
So Roger, tell me...what's it all mean? What exactly are they recording?
Which computer related documents and settings?
TFD
Ah...I meant in the documents and settings folder and so on. I couldn't tell you what they are up to or even if they are recording anything. I know that google feel they must have an updater permanently running, and this means that the browser can be tinkered with even if it's kept on the shelf.
