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Google Says It Mistakenly Collected Data on Web Usage
Wall Street Journal ^
| 5-14-10
| Jessica E. Vascellaro
Posted on 05/15/2010 12:18:04 AM PDT by STARWISE
Google Inc. said an internal investigation has discovered that the roving vans the company uses to create its online mapping services were mistakenly collecting data about websites people were visiting over wireless networks.
The Internet giant said it would stop collecting Wi-Fi data from its StreetView vans, which workers drive to capture street images and to locate Wi-Fi networks. The company said it would dispose of the data it had accidentally collected.
*snip*
"It's now clear that we have been mistakenly collecting samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) Wi-Fi networks, even though we never used that data in any Google products," wrote Mr. Eustace. "We are profoundly sorry for this error and are determined to learn all the lessons we can from our mistake."
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
TOPICS: Breaking News; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bigbrother; corruption; datacollection; datatheft; democratcorruption; democrats; google; googlestreet; internet; liberalfascism; obama; privacy; spies; street; streetmap
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To: Minn
They could be doing a raw traffic dump, but how much data can they get in ~5 seconds of driving by? And why even admit to it at all? If they denied it, who would ever know the difference?
21
posted on
05/15/2010 5:30:17 AM PDT
by
Dan Nunn
(Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise. -The Great One)
To: Talisker
The ultimate ‘War Drive’.
22
posted on
05/15/2010 5:32:12 AM PDT
by
Tallguy
("The sh- t's chess, it ain't checkers!" -- Alonzo (Denzel Washington) in "Training Day")
To: STARWISE
Google. Why is Al Gore on your board of directors?
23
posted on
05/15/2010 5:35:59 AM PDT
by
steveab
(When was the last time someone tried to sell you a CO2 induced climate control system for your home?)
To: meyer
You’re right. You can’t be casually driving by on a mapping expedition while cracking WPA in something near real-time. And what if the router isn’t handling DHCP?
24
posted on
05/15/2010 5:37:40 AM PDT
by
Tallguy
("The sh- t's chess, it ain't checkers!" -- Alonzo (Denzel Washington) in "Training Day")
To: STARWISE
If I want nothing to do with google what sites can I use on internet?
25
posted on
05/15/2010 5:44:26 AM PDT
by
Big Horn
(Rebuild the GOP to a conservative party)
To: Dan Nunn
“They could be doing a raw traffic dump, but how much data can they get in ~5 seconds of driving by? And why even admit to it at all? If they denied it, who would ever know the difference?”
A disgruntled Google employee dropped a dime on them? It’s almost always an insider.
I agree with an earlier post that suggests that there will be a huge lawsuit over this. This News release is to get out in front. The Army calls it ‘preparing the battlefield’.
26
posted on
05/15/2010 5:44:28 AM PDT
by
Tallguy
("The sh- t's chess, it ain't checkers!" -- Alonzo (Denzel Washington) in "Training Day")
To: STARWISE
If I want nothing to do with google what sites can I use on internet?
27
posted on
05/15/2010 5:45:23 AM PDT
by
Big Horn
(Rebuild the GOP to a conservative party)
To: Nevermore
Steve Urkel now works at Google.
“Did I do that?”
Could be the other way around. This Regime is very dangerous.
28
posted on
05/15/2010 5:45:42 AM PDT
by
unkus
To: STARWISE
What? No ‘Clusty’ listed as a search engine? I use it all the time.
http://www.clusty.com
And Google is full of it. You can’t find the dirt on any ‘Rat or any sites that give you the truth about the state of our economy without having to dig for it on Google.
29
posted on
05/15/2010 5:46:44 AM PDT
by
Diana in Wisconsin
(Save the Earth. It's the only planet with Chocolate.)
To: Talisker
"Hey, it was an accident - Google had no idea their street cameras could pick up wifi addresses, correleate them with the photographs, identify the addresses of the photographed houses, look up and match the residents of the houses, match them with the wifi addresses and store them in a secret database." Yep, happens to me all the time, you are involved looking up stuff on the internet about home improvement and suddenly you are on a webpage with midget porn. It just kinda sneaks up on you because all those buttons and keys on your computer are confusing and well mistakes happen right....
(hehehehe)
30
posted on
05/15/2010 5:51:38 AM PDT
by
Mad Dawgg
(If you're going to deny my 1st Amendment rights then I must proceed to the next one...)
To: STARWISE
Somebody had to include the application that was collectiing this, therefore they knew what was being collected. But obamma will give google an exemption from presecution, as they are a big-time supporter, though that will never be the announced as the reason.
31
posted on
05/15/2010 5:57:47 AM PDT
by
rawhide
To: STARWISE
The company said it would dispose of the data it had accidentally collected.They commit a criminal act in collecting the info, and now they want to cover it up. Nice....
32
posted on
05/15/2010 5:58:04 AM PDT
by
freebilly
(No wonder the left has a boner for Obama. There's CIALIS in soCIALISt....)
To: BigSkyFreeper
“...which workers drive to capture street images and to locate Wi-Fi networks...”
Exactly!!
33
posted on
05/15/2010 5:59:48 AM PDT
by
ops33
(Senior Master Sergeant, USAF (Retired))
To: Paige
I read where a guy in Germany asked google just recently whether they were doing this collecting of data, and google strongly denied it. And then google stated they started their own internal investigation, and discovered they were in fact collecting this data.
(I suspect they knew all along the data was being collected, but they figured they had to come clean now, after denying it, because of the legal ramifications of denying it before. The just bought some time between at first denying it, and now disclosing they were indeed collecting it, to come up with a legal response. (and to contact obamma and AG Holder for their help.))
34
posted on
05/15/2010 6:03:23 AM PDT
by
rawhide
To: Big Horn
If I want nothing to do with google what sites can I use on internet?
It's not just Google. There is an "Internet MSM" emerging, which will be more of a thron in our backside in 20 years than the dinosaur one.
Instead of Blogger, Typepad
Instead of Earth, NASA worldwind (Which Google Earth ripped off)
Instead of Maps, anyone elses maps, eg Bing Maps (but MS are MSNBC so...)
Instead of Youtube, Liveleak
Instead of Search, Christian Search (if you want to keep porn away from your family also) or maybe Ixquick
35
posted on
05/15/2010 6:12:52 AM PDT
by
chuck_the_tv_out
( <<< click my name: now featuring Freeper classifieds)
To: STARWISE
Not sure what wireless web useage has to do with snapping pictures of streets for Google Maps...
36
posted on
05/15/2010 6:19:38 AM PDT
by
RockinRight
(I can see November from here!)
To: chuck_the_tv_out
The thing I do like about Google is the street view - Bing’s “birds-eye” is OK but nothing is cooler than seeing places I’ve never been as if I were driving there in my car.
Damn shame that Google is doing this.
37
posted on
05/15/2010 6:23:48 AM PDT
by
RockinRight
(I can see November from here!)
To: STARWISE
Mistakenly?? Give me a break!
38
posted on
05/15/2010 6:24:27 AM PDT
by
ohioWfan
(Proud Mom of a Bronze Star recipient!)
To: STARWISE
Sure it was a mistake. Sure they’ll get rid of the data. Sure.
39
posted on
05/15/2010 6:45:57 AM PDT
by
tutstar
(Baptist Ping List-freepmail me to be included or removed. <{{{><)
To: ShadowAce
40
posted on
05/15/2010 6:47:49 AM PDT
by
tutstar
(Baptist Ping List-freepmail me to be included or removed. <{{{><)
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