ADN

Nowadays the use of the free offered web apps from Google it's a common choice, and technically the best we may concur to add.
Their services are well programmed and all of that.
Ceirtanly I really like what they're are doing, their software has high quality indeed. (let's save the use the word innovation for the real developers who are bought those ideas from remember MS?)

[BUT]
Google base their strategy in their big storage capabilities. They can record all your searchs, figure out your interest (using also social services as facebook) and give you a pretty accurate search result, they also merge info from your calendar, maps with your documents ... and all of that for free!

That would be pretty keen from theirs, as long as you never think about of your right to be anonymous.

This goes further than other services offered in the pre-web 2.0 era, when your fake nickname was still a valid "anonymous" cause you really didnt have much info hosted in any server and was really hard to associate beetween different accounts in different services provided by different companies. Add the fact that they Do Not delete your information when you stop using their services.
[/BUT]

I personally always liked new alternatives, but IMHO it's know that as a user one must be aware for when is the time to breakup the relation, basically when Robin Hood is named King.

What do you think about Google and their practices, do you have/use alternatives to their services?

If there was a better alternative to Google, I'd probably already be using it...I feel the darkness coming where Google is concerned...We should tell WAY to start back working on his search engine...

This was big discussion back when google first served up their 1GB beta gmail service. Everyone was calling "Big Brother" on it and going through the terms and conditions to see how their privacy would be eroded.

But there is one thing to keep in mind - your email isn't private, on any service. If you think it is, you are deluding yourself.

Email is sent unencrypted and is open to whoever wants to read it. If you are an ISP, you can filter every email you want and skim them for any info you want. Look up "deep packet inspection". Anything you do on the web, if it isn't encrypted, is free game for anyone. Well OK maybe not anyone but the fact remains someone could theoretically read your emails.

So with that in mind, I asked myself, what free service provides me the best ease of use with minimal fuss. The answer is Gmail. Hotmail for ages was broken when using linux without a hack, couldn't use pop or imap to read your mail and inserted adds at the bottom of your mail. To say nothing of how annoying it is to logout of Hotmail and every time get redirected to their msn website. Yahoo I never liked. Are there any other free services better than Gmail?

So given that there is no anonymity or privacy in email (unless you encrypt the mail yourself) I've chosen Gmail for ease of use and features.

I don't use any of their other services, except maps I suppose.

I totally agree with that.
Having you email unencrypted is one thing, we all asumed we've gave up that privacy once we signed for any mail account.

But in the case of Google they offer a big amount of services, tending to cover all the possible areas. So the amount of merged data is a bigger problem than the initial mail server. We are talking of your mail, agenda, docs, contact, maps, social activities, etc perfecly traced by one big company.

Yep I agree if you are a user of Google's services they have the ability to maintain a great deal of data on you. Your personal emails, friends, schedule - everything is there and is be being mined by Google.

Look at the popularity of social networking sites though. I'm only really familiar with Facebook so I'll use that as an example. People put their entire life on it. Everything. Even taging photos of themselves and other people. It doesn't seem to bother them that Facebook now has an entire dossier on them. Many conspiracy theorists point to the CIA/NSA funding Facebook as an experiment in data mining, even going so far to say the photo taging feature is used to perfect algorithms for facial recognition.

So you could say avoid free email providers and social networking sites if you don't want Big Brother watching you... but there are other problems. Major Governments all have their hand in data surveillance. Some of the things of interest are Governements putting deep packet inspection devices on world internet hubs - potentially giving them the ability to spy on all internet activity that isn't encrypted. Look up "Echelon".
Check this article:
http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data ... 1241829000
(about half way down if you could be bothered to read it) for a description of the NSA putting a splitter on AT&T's internet hub and diverting it to a secure, secret room with devices that "are capable of real-time data collection and capture at 10 gigabits per second".

So there are a lot of ways your privacy is being eroded in the real world. Most people don't seem to care. I care. So that is why a good deal of what I do on the internet is encrypted or used through anonymous services.

Intresting link.
My concern is, far from any conspiracy theory, we as users facilitate the collection of data to a single entity and despite the good will of that entity is a big temptation for anyone to have that power.

Perhups Off-Topic:
Here in Uruguay had been recently aproved some laws: one who gives citizen the right to claim to any institution a complete report about their personal data stored in any media other about the protection of personal data and some others.
It will be a long term project, for now all public institutions have to report the structure of all their databases to the AGESIC (Agency for the Electronic Government and the Society of Information and Knowledge).
It's kind of a pretentious but at least is something, you will get to know that one way or another that in fact you are somehow being traced.

According to Google, I am a 35-year-old Spaniard that loves exotic cars, taking pictures of sidewalks, and researching the complete works of Nintendo. I am hard to entirely grasp a full picture of given my predilections to eschew what I don't understand: mainly disposable e-mails and cellphones. Also, paying for any form of internet; 'twast worst month of my life. :?


But a question about google's services: it is more prudent to never log into their services unless using gmail, then immediately log out? 'Cause if that cookie is always enabled and I'm searchng for toxicology reports and how-to's on brewing homemade ricin, could those surfaced records be held against me later?

Here's my take on it...

There, throughout history, have been people doing far worse things than sending emails...And eventually, these people are almost always caught...If Big Brother decides to turn his eye on you for whatever reason it is godly in its piercing...Any attempts to avoid it will only make its gaze grow bigger and deeper...

Minimalism is as good a disguise as any...If I have something that I want to say to someone that's too secretive for me to say in an email, I best be saying it face to face...And if you don't want someone to know who you are, you don't hide your face, tint your car windows, and scarcely leave the house no more than you run around town screaming your name and social over a megaphone...

For me, encrypted means false sense of security...It's like saying that having deadbolt locks will prevent someone from breaking through your front door and killing you in your sleep...I live my life online much like I do my life off of it...May not make me 'safer' but it sure doesn't keep me from sleeping...

Society incorporates the cyberspace as a common place for having their activities, people gently offer all their irrelevant information ad hoc, I think NOW is the time to claim for those rights.

Imagine a few years in the future with all these systems completely settled, it will be too late for someone to ask for his rights back when everyone else has forgotten they once had them. In fact he'll end up being pointed with some "what does HE wants to hide?" stuff.


PS: As you put it, we would never have a face to face conversation, so we've lost the freedom of you telling me how ugly my mug is despite the distance.

It is already too late, your privacy is gone and you aren't getting it back. Government is meant to act for the people not against the people. But every government is acting in a Big Brother fashion.

Look at US, supposedly the land of the free??? DMCA, all the MAFIAA (recording and movie industry suing everyone in every country), warrantless wiretaps (on their own citizens), NSA/CIA inspecting all internet and no doubt all other methods of communication - to name just a few things... I mean the US even thinks it should be able to apply its crazy laws to every country...

France - 3 strikes filesharing and you're out.

Australia - proposed internet filter

UK - is monitoring everything you do, even has cameras on every street corner.

China - not only monitors but tells you what you can or can't do.

Germany - trying to bring down wikileaks

Fact is Orwell's1984 has been and gone... most people didn't notice or care and are happy to have the "State" be handed all their personal info.

It is your choice if you don't want to use encryption or anonymous services. But people in heavily oppressive regimes us it to expose dodgy government to places that can make it public like wikileaks.

Regarding Google, yes - if you are logged in to say Gmail and search "how to make a nuclear weapon" then of course Google knows what account is searching what things. Even if you log out of Gmail and delete the cookie and do a Google search, your computer is still sending your IP address with every search. Google can just match up it all up for a profile.