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Thread ID: 65477 2006-01-19 20:55:00 Google Anonomizer SurferJoe46 (51) Press F1
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422542 2006-01-19 20:55:00 There's a lot of hype about the latest news that the US govt wants Google to cough up the last million or so browser activities to "see if there's any pornographic activity or content" . . . ahem! :angry

Here's a short C/P:

If you don't regularly anonymize your Google cookie and purge your personalized search history, now might be a good time to start (then again, in this day and age, why bother?) . The Department of Justice on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google to comply with a subpoena issued last year for search records stored in its databases . The DOJ argues that the information it has requested, which includes one million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from a one-week period, is essential to its upcoming defense of the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act (think of the children!) . Google has so far refused to comply with the subpoena, saying the release of such information would violate the privacy of its users . "Google is not a party to this lawsuit, and the demand for the information is overreaching,'' Nicole Wong, an associate general counsel for Google, told The Mercury News . "[We plan to fight the government's effort] "vigorously . ''


Me here: I have a site that offers the following advice:


If you use Google, and you accept it's cookie, you should give some thought to the implications, both good and potentially bad : this page tries to help you do that, together with an easy way to anonymize it without missing out on its benefits .

First the good . It's useful to you . It's how Google saves your preferences (such as language, filtering, number of results per page, etc) . If, like me, you want fifty results per page (not just ten), in English only (not in languages I can't read), unfiltered for adult content (I'm not a child), then you need the Google cookie .

Now the potentially bad . You use Google a lot, right? If someone was peering over your shoulder, watching every Google search you made; making a note of what you looked for; what you found; and sometimes where you visited from the results; (and maybe every email you sent and received); and did so for years and years: they'd grow to know quite a bit about you, eh? Well, that's what the cookie allows Google to do, forever, if you don't take simple precautions . You can read more on all that below, if you like .


here's the link ( . imilly . com/google-cookie . htm" target="_blank">www . imilly . com) 		SurferJoe46 (51)
422543 2006-01-19 22:39:00 Doesn't worry me. They'd be massively bored viewing my Google searches. pctek (84)
422544 2006-01-20 01:14:00 They key is to not use google to search for child porn obviously . :nerd:

Personally I think if you are breaking the law then to damn bad . Boo hoo . . . if your a pedo / fraudester / [insert illegal activity] and someone doesn't respect your precious privacy too damn bad .

You can delete your Google cookie but they will still have stored your IP along with the search and that can be traced back to you with cooperation from your ISP (lol) . 		superuser (7693)
422545 2006-01-20 01:35:00 I think youse guys missed the point .

We don't want anyone cruising through the things we do or don't do . . legally or illegally either . . . it's a protection stated in the constitution and guarantees against illegal search and seizure . Here's the rub: the lines of illegal actions by the gvt are getting blurrier and less defined all the time . Remember the Treatise on Boiling a Frog? . . . well the pot is roiling now with the issuance of the Homeland Security act . . . it has mystified the constitution and opened the door to non-justified searches . . . on a treasure hunt . . without warrant or court order .

I don't condone or want to be percieved as protecting those who subvert morality in the guise of rights for criminals . . but there is a foggy area that starts to wrinkle my nose here .

If I commit a crime against society . . . and I get caught . . then I'm all for the legal proceedures of the courts to take over . If I am not guilty of anything . . especially kiddie porn or money laundering or helping AlKaida, then why am I now under a blanket policy of observation?

Being thrown into the same scrutiny as subversive, bomb-throwin' radicals is what's giving many in the US shivers . We are going from a society that told us via the constitution that we were (usta be) innocent-until-judged-guilty, not questionable-and-under-scrutiny-until-proven-loyal . 		SurferJoe46 (51)
422546 2006-01-20 02:01:00 Just as in any country, Joe, the government can do anything you can't stop it doing . Sometimes, as more and more totally illegal behaviour by various agencies of the US goivernment comes to light, it seems as if the government can do anything the govenrnment can't stop it from doing .

Any constitution is a piece of paper which means whatever it can be twisted to mean .

When you get a succesion of Presidents who swear toi uphold the laws then blatantly ignores them, those lower down in the power structure follow that example .

Of course, the whole of the US government is totally illegal . If a few rich people who don't like paying taxes revolt against the legally constituited government, they are guilty of treason . Britain should have followed up in 1812, instead of just burning Washington, and reestablished legal government and democracy . :D 		Graham L (2)
422547 2006-01-20 02:03:00 They have no right to go through anyones search history without a good reason and a search warrent.
go google for telling the no 		sambaird (47)
422548 2006-01-20 02:04:00 I can see your point, SurferJoe46.

Unfortunately, some people believe the US government has our best interests at heart, and don't want to worry about such messy things such as a right to privacy.

It reminds me of the Monika Lewinsky case, where her video rental history was subpoenaed. I guess they were looking for "All the President's Men" or "Kisses for My President"

Here's a fine organization, called Electronic Freedom Foundation:
http://www.eff.org

Even if you don't care about privacy, they deserve support for their fights against digital rights management, aka Sony, MPAA and RIAA 		kingdragonfly (309)
422549 2006-01-20 02:12:00 Dear Moderators: If any of you want to move this post to the less tech side of the site, then please do so . . . I feel a soapbox a'coming!

Graham . . . I think I actually agree with you here .


Let me make what might be construed as a stupid or at least strange statement by asking a question:

If one had the choice to serve (legally, of course) jail or prison time in the prison of the country of choice, where would that be?

I offer that few would like to go to jail in Iran or Iraq, or Korea . . . but consider this point: one might just actually consider being imprisoned in . . . say . . . England, or the US . Why?

Simple . . . at least you'd be treated fairly, and know where you stand in the chain of command (or food chain anyway!) .

That is said with the eye toward what one thinks of as a just v unjust state . Now, please bear with me here . . . . this is exactly what I mean . . . if one KNOWS what he is, WHERE he stands and for WHAT he stands, then there is no mystery . . and one would be very secure in the knowledge of the situation at hand .

This Homeland Security thing is just nuts-o . We are all walking on thin and melting ice here . . and there is a fever of fear and apprehension that didn't exist just a few years ago . 		SurferJoe46 (51)
422550 2006-01-20 02:27:00 If one had the choice to serve (legally, of course) jail or prison time in the prison of the country of choice, where would that be?
New Zealand. You get more rights than the victims (or the general public for that matter) :mad: 		bob_doe_nz (92)
422551 2006-01-20 02:30:00 Another way to anonomize the Google cookie is to use the extension CustomizeGoogle for firefox. imarubberducky (7230)
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