Google plans to make PCs history

guardian.co.uk ^ | Sunday 25 January 2 | David Smith

[ThomasThomas]

If an laptop is encrypted it can make practically impossible to get data off of it with out a password.

[meyer]

...but I also can’t trust GOOGLE/Government to store my personal data.

And THAT is the best reason of all to keep private data off the net.

[meyer]

If an laptop is encrypted it can make practically impossible to get data off of it with out a password.

Good point.

[Richard Kimball]

True. I have Mobileme and it allows me to access my information from my iPhone, computer or the net. It’s also got 20 gig of storage, so I keep stuff there I need to access from other areas.

[Gordon Greene]

You guys are forgetting the government is full of crackers...

[ThePythonicCow]

They attempt to steal it at their own peril. I've got a .45 caliber security system that google can't match.

If you're honestly prepared to shoot a snatch-and-grab common laptop thief in the back as he runs off, then my hat is off to you. I'd probably vote to convict you of murder if I served on your jury later on, but I'd still have to allow as you had more balls than most of us.

Personally, I think it would be quite wrong (and dangerous, if in a crowd) to do so.

[Gordon Greene]

Hyperbole (and no it’s not a championship football game “for those of you in Rio Linda”)

And considering laptops are sometimes left in cars or in your home or at your desk. I’ve seen too many stolen in my line of work to take it for granted I’m going to be hanging out with it when the theft happens. There’s a lot of issues with data and its security, and all of them can’t be answered in the short run. The conversation is happening, though and that’s the first step.

Great comments tonight...

[ThePythonicCow]

I’ve seen too [laptops] many stolen in my line of work

Yup.

[ThePythonicCow]

And THAT is the best reason of all to keep private data off the net.

It's a good reason to keep unencrypted data off the net.

[meyer]

If you're honestly prepared to shoot a snatch-and-grab common laptop thief in the back as he runs off, then my hat is off to you. I'd probably vote to convict you of murder if I served on your jury later on, but I'd still have to allow as you had more balls than most of us.

Snatch and grab? Where do you think I carry my laptop - Harlem? I think you envision a situation significantly different from reality.

[meyer]

You guys are forgetting the government is full of crackers...

Depends on your definition of "cracker"... :-)

[Gordon Greene]

exactly my point...

[ol painless]

Good post. Sometime people also forget that their most personal information is already stored on remote servers anyway (banking, investments, taxes, and medical). I think question here is whether or not Google is trustworthy.

[ThomasThomas]

Depends?

I think both are true. You could be a cracker cracker.

[kdr3]

"Dumb" Terminals: IBM 3270 DEC VT100

[Gordon Greene]

Thanks for that... laughter is definitely the best medicine. Unless you happen to have some good, fresh strawberry shortcake covered in whipped cream sitting around.

[meyer]

And considering laptops are sometimes left in cars or in your home or at your desk. I’ve seen too many stolen in my line of work to take it for granted I’m going to be hanging out with it when the theft happens.

Probably the most likely theft locations are the car, a hotel, or the home. But it stands to reason that if there's something of value in the computer, it won't be left unsecured (usually). As I said earlier, I don't leave my most important data on the laptop (or even the desktop for that matter) anyway, but I also don't leave the computer laying around in the car, a hotel room, or the office. It's silly to leave something of value in a vulnerable location, unprotected. That goes for hardware and data.

There’s a lot of issues with data and its security, and all of them can’t be answered in the short run. The conversation is happening, though and that’s the first step.

I agree - it is good that we're talking about it. It's an important issue, and one that's bound to become more important when the government decides that our medical data needs to be 'centralized'. I'm guessing that Google is positioning itself to be a part of that. The wise person would fight having anything of value placed in the custody of strangers, and especially strangers that are connected with a socialist/marxist government such as the one we just elected.

[Gordon Greene]

Bringing up the medical thing is good stuff. Don’t think for a minute if (when) the government takes over healthcare they won’t use your personal data and conversations to limit the healthcare provided. There are no secret conversations with an overbearing government. (Take that, BHO).

We get into the honest to goodness wiretapping civilians... the kind of thing Bush has been accused of but didn’t actually do.

[ThomasThomas]

My dose someone need my SS# on their laptop manage my 401k? Manage the account with “account numbers” and leave the private data on the main data base. I have received notice of a lost or stolen laptop last year with this issue.

[dpwiener]

I would not want to trust my computing to a computer (or cloud computers) elsewhere on the Internet, if for no other reason than the fact that communication outages can occur. However, I’m willing to back up data (encrypted as necessary) on the Internet, and indeed I use one of my Google Mail accounts for that purpose. Gmail offers over 7.2 GBytes of free storage, and will allow attachments of up to 20 MBytes.

For my personal computer (and my 8 GByte USB travel drive) I use the free TrueCrypt program for confidential data. I also use the free LogMeIn.com service to remotely access my computer from any other computer connected to the Internet. Both work great. I’m not seeing what Google expects to bring to the table which isn’t already there.