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-   -   A Mahan Mahatma called Larry Page & His Google!! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/38570-mahan-mahatma-called-larry-page-his-google-3.html)

I stand by what I said earlier.
I am not worried about google knowing what I search from. Why?
Is it because I am not worried about my freedoms?
Is it because I am not worried about my privacy?
No.
Its because google does not force me to give them my personal data. Whatever personal data I give to google, I give of my own free will.
Whatever emails I exchange on gmail are not forced, but of my own free will.

However when someone forces me to part with my privacy, it bothers me.
For example if the govt wants to listen to my private phone calls, or my ISP wants to read something very personal I have written.

So if my ISP blocks https and pgp etc., I will worry me.
As far as google is concerned, I feel its whining.
Google never forces you to use google search.
If you want to search for something and don't want google or yahoo to know it was you, you have the means employ them.
More dangerous than google is your newspaper wallah, who will tell the robbers that these guys have not been picking up newspaper since wednesday, today is friday, and most problably they will be back only by sunday.
More dangerous than google is the govt, which demands that they know what you say, what you write and what you communicate.
For those who say "I have nothing to hide", could I have your credit card number with CVV number and expiry date please. If you can give me your mothers maiden name, and address on the card as registered, it would be even better.

So as far as google, yahoo etc., search engines are concerned, you have a choice.
Sometimes companies like sony don't give you a choice, and install softwares(rootkits) on your computer without your permission.
Now thats a breach of privacy.
Going to somebody and telling them your address and then saying your privacy went for a toss is whining.
Read the TOS of any service you use.
If they violate the TOS, then whine, if they are doing what they said in the TOS, nothing was hidden from you.

tsk puts forward some of my view too. IMO this hue and cry over Google is just to create paranoia. No one is forcing you to use Google or its services.
You might argue that your friends are using the service, so you are already in their database. I ask you, Why do you have friends that would do such a thing to you? :p

All websites love to have more info in their visitors. This enables them to target users specifically. MSN, Yahoo and ALL sites on the net do this. Google just happens to be an easier target.
Did you know that GoDaddy.com, the largest domain name seller uses a unique cryptographic key to encrypt private information like the address and phone number of a domain owner, but lets Government agencies in the US have the decoding key? They dont even have to ask GoDaddy to decrypt the info. (Before the Patriot Act, this needed a warrant, now I dont think so)

I think Sam's philosophy is better suited when you are on the net. Stop worrying, but dont do anything stupid like giving out CC numbers and other personal info. Give those out to only reputed sites.

One last thing. I know how everyone is complaining about Gmail and how it "reads" your email. Guess what? Every email site that proves you with spam protection does this. Does that bother you? If so then use your own server with PGP, and hope that the NSA wont bother to read your emails :p.
I really hate recieving emails from Yahoo and MSN users. They have to serve their bloody ads to me even if I dont use their service. @%#$$

Of course google may be parsing my e-mails and live chats.

But....

Google CANNOT parse and analyze what I am mailing or chatting in my own language, of course typed in English. But you can't really believe the Indic translation provided by Google. (Hope you all have seen google's Indic translation page)

@ all of above!!

This thread was started as a pun! and people here took it very seriously, Lolz!

But this thread does make you sit and think.

Usage of word 'pun' is inappropriate in this context Alec sir... :D

Thats right....!

depends how you define 'pun'.

Beleive me Dude! Nothing serious about it! Forums, ours included are more open and insecure and are more vulnurable to external threats.

We are all very disturbed by the thought. In fact, it is worrisome that a single such individual already exists.

:D Would you mind something like this? -> LIVENEWS.com.au > World > Airport security's virtual strip search

Our forum is open saar! I mean anyone can read the posts right? Is that a threat? Or else could you please clarify what did you mean by 'more vulnerable to external threats' ? You mean the likelihood of someone hacking into this forum or intrusion into one's privacy or something else? I don't know much about this hacking and all, thats why I'm asking.

Read on the net dude!
Bhai! not only our forums, but many like ours, as images, infos are open to guests too.

there is no such thing as fool proof.