WashPost: "Google Chrome has become surveillance software. It’s time to switch."

Discussion in 'privacy general' started by hawki, Jun 21, 2019.

  1. Lagavulin16

    Lagavulin16 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2014
    Posts:
    195
    Location:
    Emerald City
    While I would agree with you without reservation on all points made, convincing hundreds of thousands of MS users to make the switch would be a challenge. Surely a way easier shot anyway than getting a republican to agree with a democrat nowadays... :cool:
     
  2. Buddel

    Buddel Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2015
    Posts:
    1,920
    And when average Joe finds out that his favourite apps are incompatible with Linux, it will be even harder to convince him to make the switch.
     
  3. Buddel

    Buddel Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2015
    Posts:
    1,920
    BTW, the title of this thread says "Google Chrome has become surveillance software". I stumbled over the words "has become"; shouldn't it be "is" or "has always been" instead?;)
     
  4. Osaban

    Osaban Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2005
    Posts:
    5,614
    Location:
    Milan and Seoul
    Funny as the whistle-blower, the Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, plays nice guy having the CIA as its best customer... Strange world indeed.
     
  5. Nightwalker

    Nightwalker Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2008
    Posts:
    1,387
    While Linux is a free operating system that can be used by everyone, Windows is a SOLUTION for almost everyone.

    Except for ideological and maybe financial reasons (debatable), there is no advantage for most people and organizations to change from Windows to Linux.

    Gamers, Law professionals, bank users, engineers, average users and so on can do what they want and need with Windows, unfortunately the same cant be said about Linux.

    The telemetry from Windows 10 is not near invasive compared to Chrome, so I dont see the problem of changing browser (Firefox or Brave) and keep using the OS that you actually need.


    Ps: Linux was safer than Windows in the XP era, nowadays Windows 10 has less vulnerabilities than Linux and can be easily configured to achieve more security than its "competitor" (well there is no competition in the desktop market anyway).

    Ps 2: A secure operating system is one that is up to date and correctly configured to prevent intrusions and malware - and the best operating system is one that lets you do everything you want and need at the best possible cost-effectiveness.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2019
  6. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2003
    Posts:
    163,059
    Location:
    Texas
    This thread isn't about Windows or Linux. Let's stay on the topic. "Google Chrome has become surveillance software. It’s time to switch."
     
  7. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2014
    Posts:
    14,881
    Location:
    Slovenia, EU
    Switching browser is much easier than switching OS. So replacing Chrome with Chromium or FF or any other privacy focused alternative is much easier and is more probable to succeed. I wonder why Google (or Chromium team) never released easy to install installer for Windows on their project website? I guess that this is something that Google really doesn't like to happen - users replacing Chrome with Chromium.
     
  8. Rmus

    Rmus Exploit Analyst

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2005
    Posts:
    4,020
    Location:
    California
    Here is a screen shot of mine:

    chrome.jpg

    I've always assumed the user has to be a member of some Google thingy -- YouTube, Gmail, and the like, to be completely at Google's mercy -- auto-sign in, for example.

    Even at that, turning off tracking in Chrome is not that difficult.

    And for the seriously annoyed users, I suppose the ad blocker that has been mentioned already, is a choice.

    Cookies are not the only method used for tracking.

    https://www.cookiebot.com/en/website-tracking/

    -rich
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2019
  9. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2014
    Posts:
    14,881
    Location:
    Slovenia, EU
    Yes, you have to use Google account to be signed in. Problem started with one of Chrome releases when Google would use your sign in for their service (gmail, youtube) and sign you into your account browser-wide without asking your permission. As I remember even when you signed out of their service you would still remain signed-in in your browser. I think that they stopped doing it after people started to complain. I guess that they tried it to see how people would react and retracted it when they got user's reaction.
     
  10. Rmus

    Rmus Exploit Analyst

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2005
    Posts:
    4,020
    Location:
    California
    The author writes,
    • At a minimum, Web snooping can be annoying. Cookies are how a pair of pants you look at in one site end up following you around in ads elsewhere.
    Here is an example using Fire Fox.

    I saw a camera mentioned on a photography forum this morning. I went to the B&H photography site to check the specifications. A screen shot:

    BH-1.jpg

    I while later I checked in on news sites, apnews.com and reuters.com, and found ads for B&H and the camera I looked at:

    Ad appears in the right column:

    BH-2.jpg
    Ad appears inline with the news headlines

    BH-3.jpg

    I knew this already, of course, since I use these news sites daily, and I find it a bit amusing!

    I've never understood all of the hoopla about advertisements. Without them, most web sites could not stay in business.

    Another interesting observation: some web sites purport to know where I live (information easily retrieved from the IP address), but when I see the zip code posted at the bottom of the page, it is the wrong one, being the one for the server, and not for my residence.

    All of the above is based on desktop computer usage, and not smartphone.

    -rich
     
  11. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2004
    Posts:
    17,546
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Well, I think you shouldn't expect much from Edge, if you look at all of the phoning home going on in Win 10. This is a big chance for browsers like Vivaldi, Brave and Firefox to gain market share. But they should then truly focus on privacy, and not collect any data whatsoever.
     
  12. guest

    guest Guest

    Amongst geeks probably, the masses won't even care. ChromEdge look like Chrome, then they won't bother install anything else.
     
  13. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2008
    Posts:
    8,625
    Location:
    USA
    A lot of people never installed Chrome intentionally to begin with. It came with that tiny little pre-checked checkbox while installing other software. A lot of people got it along with their CCleaner install.
     
  14. guest

    guest Guest

    or installed by the local IT
     
  15. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2004
    Posts:
    17,546
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Well, you should always think big. Perhaps they can make ads for TV, Facebook and Instagram. Perhaps they can even make use of social media influencers. :p
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.