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Google is watching you

mercurynews.com — They know what you've searched for, they can read your gmail, if you signed up for adsense, they know your social security, and home address, which they can map to a satellite map, they can dig up your posts to alt.images.binary.erotica, and they know which sites you've clicked off your google searches - what's next?

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  • mikeazorin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Once Google gains control of all live information, they will control the earth by a simple blackmail system.
  • Eyot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yeah. I bet Google spys on us when were asleep.
  • CatfishJones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nothing really new, but worth a digg if only to get people thinking.
  • BitSlash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yah. I bet Google spys on me while I write comments about Google spying on me.
  • dolby, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Yea I know google is across the street from. No they are on the second floor of 111 8th Ave, New York, NY, 10011, they are about to light up there DARK FIBER network.
  • Sliver, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0if you search with Tin foil around your computer you cn stop them from reading your mind.
  • dude3609, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Yea I know google is across the street from. No they are on the second floor of 111 8th Ave, New York, NY, 10011, they are about to light up there DARK FIBER network."
    North california in about a 60million dollar facility.
  • cheese06, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i love the double standard. if microsoft was spying on you, everyone would be like wtf I SUEZ DEM. if google does it its, eh who cares?
  • AETAaAS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3We all knew that Google would soon become 'Big Brother', but as we view Google now, we dont care, theyre just a buncha friendly guys who gave us what we wanted. But what if there was something going on behind all this? 'Wolf in sheeps clothes', anyone?
  • mocheeze, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Seems like most people seem to forget that using Google is completely voluntary. Nobody is required to sign up for anything, nor are they even required to visit "www.google.com" in their browsers.
  • math_Genius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Seems like most people seem to forget that using Google is completely voluntary. Nobody is required to sign up for anything, nor are they even required to visit "www.google.com" in their browsers."

    Same applies to everything microsoft makes. You don't need to use windows, you can use Linux, OSX, BeOS or some other OS. You don't need to use MS Office, you can use Open Office, KOffice, ect.
  • Leviter, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Wow... really amazing! I'm switching right back to MSN search, Hotmail, MSN messenger etc!

    Guess what..... no digg.
  • danlin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3you can always count on the GFBs (googlefanboys) come quickly to their defense. ignorance is bliss....
    btw, using google is voluntary just as using mswindows is voluntary.
  • durrty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Chalk up the response to this story with the usual digger response.

    + Everything Google does is not only somehow news "OMG GOOGLE JUST REGISTERED ANOTHER DOMAIN NAME, L33T" but can do no wrong.

    "We all knew that Google would soon become 'Big Brother', but as we view Google now, we dont care, theyre just a buncha friendly guys who gave us what we wanted."

    Please, people, Google is a company. They only exist to create a profit, not a open-source charity group.

    Need you be reminded that Google sold out to the Chinese gov't about censoring content, because that was the most profitable option.
  • chriwi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Google is really watching us, if we don't want to be watched and join their services, its our mistake.
  • foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0it's really, really earlier here. so, am i missing something? that link requires registration.
  • Incognito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You just now figured this out?

    Weak

    NO DIGG
  • Carbito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Google will one day become a "evil" empire but until then I will still be using them.
  • BlackMamba, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0...and that's why I hate & ditched google lately! *shuck*
  • Tobey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0So? Google and just about every other large company is collecting that info from us. That's how it works.

    No digg.
  • nasako, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0***** I HAD BEST STOP USING GOOGLE THANKS FOR THE TIP!
  • chosenone-, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Not to mention that Google has an agreement with the US government that they can access your Gmail at any given time without consent. It's all in their Terms & Conditions.
  • antiwmac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0>Same applies to everything microsoft makes. You don't need to use windows,
    but you have to buy it when you buy computers.(esp laptops, although you can refund but take a bit of work)
    if you are computer noob, you are forced to use windows because of ms's monopoly and now we have so much MS brains and brainwashed kids like "how can computer work with windows?"
  • antiwmac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0then do you know your Micros... Windoz is sending and hiding stuff from you?
    in VISTA they gonna even take screenshot of your desktop and send it to microsoft.
  • heavygravity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wow, this is such new news. Whatever. No Digg.
  • VeteranRanger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yeah I've been reading up on this issue in the last few days. I'm considering ditching Google entirely. I like my privacy.

    If the google fanboys out there don't realize that they're being spied on, or don't care, so be it..
    But putting up with invasion of privacy is a mistake.
    Google started up as an small company that was innovating enough to give people hope in a world that was dominated by Microsoft.. but now they are outrivaling Microsoft as a monopoly. They're taking over everything just like Microsoft attempted to.

    And for those who complained that it requires registration : bugmenot.com, That's all I can say.
  • braden.beer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What do you have to hide, really? It's not like Google is going to use this information to tear down our measly lives. OHNOEZ, GOOGLE KNOWS THAT I'M CHEATING ON MY WIFE, WHAT WILL THEY DO'Z WITH TEH INFORMATIONZ???!!!111omgogmgogm

    Seriously, I worked at a cell phone insurance company and I handled SSN's, Addresses, Credit Cards, you name it, and they aren't pulling crap behind people's backs.

    You guys are all paranoid. Of course, some may say I'm a google fanboy, which may be true, but I still don't think Google, as a company, is going to misuse the information.
  • Sixcolors, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Who isn't watching me?
  • Sixcolors, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I got one better; I used to work in a one hour photo lab. I had access to people's home address, phone number, and pictures of their loved ones. I never did a thing with any of it. Although it still baffled me whenever someone would bring in their dirty photos for one hour service. I would usually have half the guys in the store looking over my shoulder before the prints even began to fall.
  • laughterkillsme, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I doubt google is going to do anything bad with this information ... but if in the future google's higher ups become as dumb as Sony this could become a real problem.

    Data mining gives you better service .. but at what cost?
  • Str!ckland, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4They see you when you're sleeping, they know when you're awake. They know about the guy who looked up words like "neck, snap, break"
    ;)
  • pancho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0To all the privacy freaks out there i say "GET OVER IT". It's just like sixcolors said "Who isn't watching me?"

    The fact of the matter is, if we want companies to provide personalised products, we have to accept the fact that they will watch us to understand what we like.

    So unless you spend your time looking at kiddy porn, what do you have to hide!!!!!!
  • ZynX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1These things are driven by market forces. I am no googlefanboy. Its in google's own interest not to misuse the information. Else, once it loses the faith and trust it has gained over the years will erode in no time. Its their policy of "Do no Evil" along with awesome services that has made them popular. So much for their services that even yahoo and msft have started "copying"/emulating what once google pioneered.
  • danlin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"...but I still don't think Google, as a company, is going to misuse the information."

    What do you think they will do with your information? ummm, how about getting thrown in jail in China when a corporation succombs to the pressures of a foreign government subpoena and their greed of establishing their business in another country as happened with Yahoo and a Chinese journalist.

    You dont think this can happen to google with their multi-billion dollar stock market float and millions of shareholders holding their feet the fire for the uninsatiable appetite for growth.

    It's a nice dream but one day you will wake up.
  • esourcemag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0ummm... didn't someboy just get arrested fron the google searches they were doing?

    Yeah big brother is coming... it always has been coming... coming all over us with its milky white... WAIT A MINUTE!!!!

    I'm into technology and most of the time this data doesn't actually connect to anyone and is designed NOT to connect. So Google does have all of this stuff but its not connected by a system looking at all the stuff.

    Worry about the goverment wanting the info. Google just wants to make money, but the goverment just wants to make sure your not doing anything wrong... and if it thinks you are BAM.

    I don't think Google will put you in jail or kill you but the goverment will.









    I only use GMail for job hunting. No private messages. Never will use it for private messages.
  • danlin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1here is my theory about google fan boys (GFBs) on digg:

    im guessing that many of the GFBs here are also digg fan boys (DFBs) as well as krose fan boys (KRFBs). They listen religiously every week on diggnation and twit of krose's opinion on how great google is. They just cant imagine disagreeing with their favorite and oh-so-dreamy geek who has dated, and is dating, the 2 girls they will never talk to, touch, date, or even get near without getting a restraining order slapped across their face.

    But stop and think for a second..... 100% of Digg.com's current revenue comes in a form of a monthly check.

    From no other than Google Adsense.
  • neofactor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Side Note>

    Sucks you have a post to a site that requires you sign up to read things. It may not have been that way at the time you posted but it sure is now.


    Here is a user and pass for those that want to actually read the article:

    u: leavemealone@leavemealone.com
    p: passw0rd
  • DerangedGoblin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"I got one better; I used to work in a one hour photo lab. I had access to people's home address, phone number, and pictures of their loved ones. I never did a thing with any of it. Although it still baffled me whenever someone would bring in their dirty photos for one hour service. I would usually have half the guys in the store looking over my shoulder before the prints even began to fall."

    There was a movie about that! It had Robin Williams in it, and there were peoplethat brought dirty photos in, but it was about him stalking a family. Good movie.

    BUT to the point. What the above dude said something true. Everyone here think of the times when you've signed up for something online that asked for your phone number. Even if you never gave your address, those people could look up your phone number online and get your address, and god knows what else they can do.

    The other point is that they probably have it for records sake. One of those things where the police barge in like the movies and say "Listen, do you have anything on John Doe?" and so they look up John Doe and it says he looked for "+How make bombs"

    See?
  • gusatron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0thanks neofactor, i didn't want to give them my gmail account
  • jla1987, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It does suck that your have to sign up to read it.
  • drycounty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I love waking up to paranoia on the web. It's like everybody has something to hide, when in fact, they have nothing worth wasting time or energy over ... and I completely agree sixcolor's comment: "who isn't watching me?" Uh oh, don't want anyone to know about all the warez/porn/MP3's you've downloaded? Well, there is a solution to that: don't download it, or don't worry about it. The only way to disappear completely is to turn off every electronic device you own and head for the caves.

    As an aside, Google will have the resources to write the greatest social history of this era, however, and I for one can't wait to read it.
  • MemoryDump, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0can they see me now? how about now? now?
  • peerk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Oh no!

    Google knows I do a google image search for "Kevin Rose nude" every day!
  • vigil, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ahh, the daily tin foil hat story. What would digg be like if we didn't have these?

    Guess what folks, not new news...if you don't like it you don't have to use it. And while you're at it why not severe your phone lines, drop your internet connection, and move to a shack in the woods to get away from "The Man."
  • TopDog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I do really not understand people who are happy to let Google do this but would be cursing at just the thought of Microsoft wanting to do something similar.

    Recently I have been less and less impressed with search results from Google. With good search extensions in Firefox it is now really easy to run the same search in multiple search engines and I am find more and more Yahoo and MSN have much more relevant useful articles in the first few pages of results where as google does return some seriously random results.
  • JzLosman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0ok i gave up after like the 20th comment, so maybe someone covered this already

    "they can access your Gmail at any given time without consent"
    Well seeing as I use my gmail account for fantasy football newsletters and for flickr, I could care less if they read my mail, its just a waste of their time. If you have nothing interesting to them, they aren't going to bother. Same with the phone tapping everyone is worried about. The government won't be listening to your calls if you are calling your mom about bringing your laundry home.

    anyhow, have a nice day diggers.
  • lando305, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you want privacy, GET OFF THE INTERNET, shut down ur pc, throw it away and go lock yourself in the closet! There is no such thing as privacy anymore.
  • dylanA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Why cant Google just hurry up and take over the world already?
  • mousky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Veteranrager:

    I'm no Google fanboy, nor am I anti-MS, but it bugs me when people like you make uninformed comments about companies.

    How is it an invasion privacy when one voluntarily agrees to their terms and privacy policy when using any Google service? Does Google dominate the search engine market. Yes. But almost one-half of internet searches are perfomed on sites other than Google. That hardly qualifies Google as a monopoly.

    As to taking over everything like Microsoft, please tell me what other areas does Google dominate other than searches and newsgroups? I'm waiting.
  • Amigaice, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm so scared google can read my spam. They really want to know my every move. :( LOL
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