Posted on 03/22/2012 4:43:43 PM PDT by george76
For the last two months, you've seen some version of the same story all over the Internet: Delete your search history before Google's new privacy settings take effect. A straightforward piece outlining a rudimentary technique, but also evidence that the search titan has a serious trust problem on its hands.
...
It's not surprising that the tracking debate had people up in arms. A Pew Internet study, conducted just before Google combined its privacy policies (and after it rolled out personalized search results in Search Plus Your World) found that three quarters of people don't want their search results tracked, and two thirds don't even want them personalized based on prior history.
The bottom line: People don't trust Google with their data. And that's new.
Google is a fundamentally different company than it has been in the past. Its culture and direction have changed radically in the past 18 months. It is trying to maneuver into position to operate in a post-pc, post-Web world, reacting to what it perceives as threats, and moving to where it thinks the puck will be.
...
Search is no longer Google's core product.
(Excerpt) Read more at gizmodo.com ...
It really gives me the creeps when I search for something and a couple of days later I start getting spam trying to sell that thing to me.
I shut down my account before the privacy change occurred, so it’s probably worse now.
I eft google to avoid that, but I used Utube, and I heard Google bought that.
I never had spam mail until recently.
I believe that is where it is coming from.
I left google to avoid that, but I used Utube, and I heard Google bought that.
I never had spam mail until recently.
I believe that is where it is coming from.
Creeps me out worse when I send an email to a friend through gmail and Google immediately finds one word in it, like MD (as an abbreviation for Medical Doctor) and begins sending me ads for vacations in Maryland or Maryland real estate.
“The problem is that in branching out, Google has also abandoned its core principles and values.”
Actually, they’re RETURNING to their values.
The founders have stated in interviews in the past that they stole computers from a university loading dock - that they knew were destined for another department - in order to test their search technology theories.
They’ve always been slimy jerks. They just managed to hide if from everyone for a while.
yes.
They just managed to hide it for a while.
When you're done using google, or before a search, delete their cookie. I use safari, and Safari Cookies (mac) makes this very easy.
You can use Duck Duck Go which is a search engine that doesn't do any tracking. It also uses https, secure encoding on your search, which google doesn't do unless you tell it to.
Duck Duck Go also has some cool tools
* Disclaimer- I have no affiliation with DDG, a programmer friend recommended it to me and his other friends as a google-alternative
Google is evil.
But it's OK. You can trust their pretty, pretty PR Flack VP of Search Product and User Experience.
The REALLY are evil.
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