Google, shocking and wicked *

(renvoi) Riseup.net - 05.03.2010 8:11 PM

Newsletter in February 2010. Special Edition on Google
The motto of Google: "don't be bad" has been key to the success of the company. When he made his appearance, Google was the only search engine that no favored the search results of the advertisers, a significant factor in his rapid rise. Recently, its CEO (english "chief executive officer," executive director) Erich Shmidt said that Google is "trying to not to cross the line of horror" when it comes to the retention of personal data. Perhaps the new slogan should be: "don't be shocking".

However, Eric Schmidt lost no time to cross the line of horror in December when he said in an interview that: "if there is something you don't want that nobody knows, perhaps should not have to be doing them in first place." In effect, the head of the corporation with the largest number of surveillance data in the world just announced that if you are "innocent" should not have have nothing to hide. As many people have noticed, the declaration of Schmidt is hypocritical and disturbing. Its logic is almost identical to the 'claim' totalitarian that if you want freedom of speech, perhaps you should not say anything controversial.

The opinions of Eric Schmidt are particularly problematic in the light of the recent changes in the policy of Google. In March 2009, Google gave reverse its policy, maintained for a long time, contrary to monitor the behavior of the [surfers). Now, Google crawls the conduct of Internet users (beeches signed contract and entered into Google or not) with the purpose of show people advertising more focused. In February 2010, the Washington Post revealed that Google even reversed an existing policy teaming up with the NSA -(National Security Agency) arm electronic spy secrecy of the U.S..- to combat the "cyber".

In both cases, has told us that we do not worry that Google only shared data that have been expunged (i.e. , the information that identifies us personally is withdrawal). But there are all a flow of reasons for alarm. Recent research has shown as the sites of social networks allow to drain a large amount of personal information to its partners advertisers and how exceptionally difficult is to create a set of data that may not be des-switching.

In fact, the department of defense of the U.S. has a new initiative based precisely on this principle. So-Called 'DNA Digital', The purpose is to develop a database of fingerprints electronic, very similar to the databases of DNA that kept many national governments. The goal is accurately identify individuals from data that is commonly thought that are anonymous --small fingerprints that we always leaving that we use a computer.

In spite of all this, Google continues to assure its users that there is nothing to worry about. After all, if you have time, you can use the board of Google to set a complex set of options for "self" of your privacy. The problem is that this interface only applies to the data linked directly to your account of Google, and that it cannot do anything about the many ways in which Google retains proxy data and easily des-anonymised about you. For example, that's not allows you to eliminate the location data that Google keeps on you when you send an e-mail to a user gmail.

Google wants our confidence. We are asked to have faith in the magician -behind the curtain- that controls the largest data set that the world has ever known. The new motto of Google is clear: "Do not be so bad that people are beginning to give account". And we are beginning to realize.

As protecting your privacy online.

Addressing this issue is really a social problem, not individual. Ask the individuals holding long practiced 'hygiene of privacy' is in addition to impractical, politically suspect. Create online privacy, in our opinion, should be done in community and through alternatives of support.

However, there are some things that we recommend that are mainly 'installs and forget about' and do not require continuous and tedious maintenance.

If you use Firefox, a browser that recommend, you can install several extensions to use while surfing. Firefox is free software and while members of the community have written software to add new features, anyone can download and use these extensions (mira https://addons.mozilla.org for more information about the extensions for Firefox).

Here are some extensions of Firefox that recommend:

-Customize Google https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/743
-TACO: