How to 'Divorce' Google

Newser ^ | 04/02/2013 | By Evann Gastaldo

[Responsibility2nd]

(Newser) – When Google's controversial privacy policy went live, Tom Henderson "divorced" the company. A year later, he writes in ITworld, things are going just fine. "I'm in a much happier place. It can be done." Here's how he did it:

• He uses the DuckDuckGo search engine, and occasionally Yahoo.
• He has his own email server, but also uses Yahoo's mail service.
• For maps, he prefers Yahoo, but Mapquest works, too. He eschews GPS entirely.
• Unfortunately, there's no real replacement for YouTube. But he uses Spotify for music and Vimeo for videos, and sometimes searches for videos on other sites.
• For images, he uses Flickr and Shutterfly, with his privacy settings locked down.
• For social networking: Facebook for friends and family, LinkedIn for everyone else, and occasionally Twitter.
• Babelfish works for translation.
• He's not big on apps or digital books, but Amazon works as an app retailer.

 

While using these alternate services, he always pays careful attention to terms of service and privacy policies, blocking scripts, and erasing cookies as he goes. "Google and SEO and tracking have soiled the web in unbelievable ways," Henderson writes. Online data gathering has become "pervasive," and "Terms of Service privacy invasion and data sharing are now so wide-spread and out-in-the-open." The only way to change that is to starve companies like Google of fuel, aka our personal information. Click for Henderson's full column.

 

 

[bgill]

Well right there, Tom Henderson proves himself an idiot

No FB here. No LinkedIn or Twitter, either. And most definitely NO gay Amazon.

[nascarnation]

I agree.

Stay off social media.

Let the 10 and 20-somethings who obtain all their info from there hear it from the progressives.

You can convert them after they’ve voted Democrat for a couple decades.

[DeprogramLiberalism]

You can convert them after they’ve voted Democrat for a couple decades.

You don't have to wait for a couple of decades - learn how to do it now here: Deprogramming Liberalism.

=================

Here's another security tip: Don't ever download browser toolbars. Many are almost impossible to get rid of (use Revo Uninstaller to be sure) and track everything you do in your browser.

[bgill]

Years ago, we overheard the DA and judge planning a boys’ weekend “camping” trip. Wished I had the nerve to call their wives to clue them into how much of their kids’ college funds were going to be spent on Debbie and Lulu and what services, in great detail, they’d get in return.

[petro45acp]

“There is InPrivate Filtering in IE as well. Chrome calls it Incognito.”

I got a bit too cheeky....’internet exploder’=IE

Cheers

[DeprogramLiberalism]

I missed that - LOL!

[stylin19a]

[PeaceBeWithYou]

You are still using adobe acrobat?

You need to try Foxit.

[caww]

I don’t? I’m using Vista computer and using Start page engine...also have web root and norton...is that enough?

How in the world do you guys know what’s what!

Regards,
Computer Dummy

[Lancey Howard]

Web Root is good. (Run the “window washer” every day or two.) Norton IS a virus. I would try to disnfect the Norton from your computer and load the (free) Microsoft Security Essentials. With that and Web Root you would have a pretty good 1 - 2 punch for computer security.

Also, abine is free and I highly recommend it to prevent tracking and subsequent spam.

Good luck.

[Orange1998]

I am using Ghostery add-in for Firefox for tracking. Free Republic has Google tracking on its site. So nobody here gets away from Google tracking.

Ghostery shows Google Analytics tracker on Free Republic. I guess that is how FR raises money from Google.

[Orange1998]

How to 'Divorce' Google

You Can't. Seems Google Analytics is tracking here on Free Republic.

[caww]

What do you mean Norton IS a virus? I have the best program they have and have not had any problems.

Will window washer affect any of my security programs if i run it?

[Shimmer1]

ping!

[Lancey Howard]

Abine BLOCKS google tracking at FR.

[Lancey Howard]

At Firefox, click on ‘tools’ at the top; then click ‘options’; click on ‘privacy’, and check the box that says you don’t want to be tracked. I also go down to the bottom of the ‘privacy’ window to the ‘location bar’ box and click the drop down to say ‘nothing’. Then I get out of the ‘privacy’ window and go to the one next door, ‘security’, and click to empty the box about ‘remembering passwords’ for sites. (Keep the boxes checked in the top 3 boxes there.)

[Pagey]

Great Post + Thread!

[Lancey Howard]

By the way, there are also effective (and free) script stoppers available for Firefox.

[Lancey Howard]

Okay, I’m overstating it. Norton can be an effective AV program, but it is a very intrusive program on your system and can slow things up. I guess if it’s working okay for you then it’s there, so you may as well keep running it. As far as Web Root’s window washer function, it’s great. It doesn’t hurt anything and has no effect on your AV programs. Like I said, you should run it every day or two. It cleans out the junk and helps speed things up.

I used to have the Web Root window washer on my computer and ran it for years. Then Web Root incorporated it into an entire AV program and you couldn’t get it separately anymore, and I didn’t need to buy yet another AV program so I gave it up. Now I have some free wondow washer download that’s okay but not as good as the Web Root version.

Good luck.

[Orange1998]

Thanks for the insight. I am just wonder when FR says the following but obviously has a customer...Google tracking.

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