Google Desktop Considered Harmful Wednesday 2006-02-22
In an article of 2006-02-10, The Register warns that the last version of Google’s Desktop search engine puts privacy and internal business data at risk. “Configure it carefully, or forget it” is their advice. The problem is the “Search Across Computers” facility, which makes all kinds of documents searchable over many computers. It is possible to exclude certain documents or directories from being indexed, but you should be aware of the risks. They also cite EFF, Electronic Frontier Foundation as saying:
“.. the feature “greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy” and a “one-stop-shop for hackers”
One problem with the functionality, is that user data is stored by Google for at least a shorter period of time. The Register goes on to say:
“… even before the search engine behemoth was subpoenaed for search information by the Department of Justice, Google’s latest desktop revamp would have raised eyebrows. The EFF, for one, is adamant users shouldn’t trust Google with the contents of their personal computers.”
In a related story The Register comes back to the issue 2006-02-21, citing Gartner as saying this version of Google’s desktop search tool represents an “unacceptable security risk”. The reason is that Google stores text based copies of user documents on its own servers up to 30 days.
As the search for more efficient tools for actions against terrorism and organized crime evolves in USA and Europe, authorities seem willing to give up on basic civil rights and sacrifice personal integrity. a crucial decision will be made in the case of the US government demand, that Google presents two months of search terms and the total of web addresses in their index. According to ZDNet Australia:
“A subpoena dated August 2005 requests a complete list of all Internet addresses that can “be located” through Google’s popular search engine, and “all queries that have been entered” over a two-month period beginning on June 1, 2005. Later, prosecutors offered to narrow the request to random samples of indexed sites and search strings. It’s unclear what version of the request AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo complied with.”
In my opinon, no matter what reason i given, the subpoena poses a threat to the freedom of speech and information exchange, that in the long run could seriously harm our democracies. If you want to think about the possible implications, you can read the subpoena and Googles reply in copies of the documents (PDF) at SearchEngineWatch.
- Posted in : The Internet, WordPress
- Author : Petit
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