Is Google Spying On Us For The Government?

[steven36]

Google is widely regarded as the world’s best search engine. It’s even become a verb: “Let’s just google it!” At some point these things get ingrained. Want information on anything you might want to know about? Google! So how many times a day do you find yourself utilizing Google services? And did you realize that the company is actually the world’s biggest spy organization?

How Much Do They Actually Know About Me?
You may have found yourself asking this question once or twice. For example, you go shopping for something online, and all of a sudden the ads on Facebook are feeding you information on products in which you’ve shown interest.

Google infers certain things about your online habits, such as what ads you’re clicking, what websites you visit and what phrases you put into their search engine. Google also houses large amounts of your data. And while you can access that data from anywhere, so can they.

You might infer that Google collects this information while you are using their services, but they can’t spy on you when you’re NOT using their services, right? Well, your browser identifies you via the use of cookies when you visit a web page, and millions of pages use Google services even if they are not explicitly associated with the web giant. So if you’re visiting a page with Google maps or Adsense embedded, the company still receives information about you.

Microphone Co-opting.
The Guardian very recently released a report that outlined how Chromium (the open-source basis for Google Chrome) had been installing code on peoples’ computers remotely that was able to take over a user’s microphone. Enabled by default, this program was then capable of listening to private conversations.

Rick Falkvinge, the Pirate party founder, in a blog post, said:

Without consent, Google’s code had downloaded a black box of code that – according to itself – had turned on the microphone and was actively listening to your room, which means that your computer had been stealth configured to send what was being said in your room to somebody else, to a private company in another country, without your consent or knowledge, an audio transmission triggered by … an unknown and unverifiable set of conditions.

Thankfully, this feature has been pulled from development.

Illegal Data Collection.
For several years there was a feature installed in Google Street View cars that was collecting user data over their personal WiFi hubs. Affectionately dubbed ‘WiSpy,’ outraged investigators found that the company had collected a host of peoples’ private information illegally, from sexual preference to medical history and even spousal infidelity.

The FCC found the company guilty of ignoring subpoenas in order to delay investigations into this scandal. They concluded: “Google’s failure to cooperate with the Bureau was in many or all cases deliberate.” This is a nice way of saying that the corporation lied. What was their punishment? Naturally, it was a slap on the wrist.

Targeting You For Financial Collapse.
The subprime mortgage lending crisis of 2007 brought the economy to the brink of disaster. Google typically isn’t targeted as a big player in this collapse, however much of the company’s profits stemmed from the investment of funds into subprime mortgage lending markets. Quoting Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, “Many online companies depend for a disproportionate amount of their income on financial services advertising, with subprime in some cases accounting for a large part of it.”

The crisis in part stemmed from ‘teaser rates,’ which were heavily advertised online and targeted toward borrowers of low economic means for rates which were unfavorable. Google played a large role in this targeted offering of rates which were discriminatory as an advertising ‘middle man,’ to the tune of billions of dollars per year.

Gmail Knows Your Social Networking Habits.
According to Gawker, google searches through your Gmail contacts to find memberships to competing social networking sites with which it is competing. When it finds one, it suggests that you merge it to your Google account so the company can exploit that data for its own gain.

Business Insider recently found that the “use my Google contact information to suggest accounts from other sites” feature embedded in Gmail is turned on by default. Using this, they comb through your contacts and mail to find evidence of what you’re doing around the web. This data is used so that Google might better compete with players in the social networking game, particularly Facebook. However, this spying has privacy advocates in arms.

The More You Know.
As a critical mass of internet users get to know this hidden information about the websites they use the most, there seems to become more transparency. It might be nearly impossible to completely remove Google from our Web browsing lives, but an informed public is often the greatest weapon we have against corporate abuse.

Source

[humble3d]

Yes, they OWN most of us...

Such is the modern life of a "CONSUMER"...

[Holmes]

Im not as optimistic about google as I am about microsoft google has been in the spotlight for years and I have seen articles involving privacy about them I do have to point out one discrepancy the black box code allegation is about chromium the open source browser not google chrome and who uses chromium. Unless parts of chromium or chromium itself gets installed with google chrome when you install it this only affects chromium which I dont know one person that uses it. In this article:

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/63204/20150625/not-ok-google-chrome-allegedly-listening-to-your-voice-and-recording-it-without-your-permission.htm

Google explains what happened. Unless you know something I dont if you do use chromium its gone now and chromium isnt very popular as looking at the number of downloads of chromium on download.com only one hundred and fifty five thousand users have downloaded it and thats downloaded that number doesnt include how many downloaded it and installed it just downloaded it. I did post this:

http://www.nsaneforums.com/topic/253674-why-cant-microsoft-do-that/?hl=microsoft

Its like they mess up then there ok then they mess up again and there ok again etc etc etc. Oh and it mentions google is the world biggest spy organization I thought microsoft was truth is the biggest spy organization is not microsoft or google or the nsa its the five eyes and nsa is part of that.

[steven36]

3) Yes, we deliberately hid this listening module from the users, but that’s because we consider this behavior to be part of the basic Google Chrome experience. We don’t want to show all modules that we install ourselves.

If you think this is an excusable and responsible statement, raise your hand now.

Now, it should be noted that this was Chromium, the open-source version of Chrome. If somebody downloads the Google product Google Chrome, as in the prepackaged binary, you don’t even get a theoretical choice. You’re already downloading a black box from a vendor. In Google Chrome, this is all included from the start.

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2015/06/google-chrome-listening-in-to-your-room-shows-the-importance-of-privacy-defense-in-depth/

the thing with Chromium its open source this is what Google draws its code from to make there browser . the black box is Google's code and it was downloading to Chromium before they pulled it.. It was already in Google chrome . :rolleyes:

[flash48]

This is why I use a bunch of search engines. I spread my internet crumbs all over the place.

The following do have plugins for Firefox.

startpage.comixquick.comgibiru.comduckduckgo.com

[dMog]

they are spying on us to make money and sell us stuff...the governments do not pay them jack squat for info ...just corporations that want our money...and again...every time you use your bank card credit card or loyalty program card or your cell phone or face book or social media you are being watched so the powers that be can find ways to get to spend more cash this has nothing to do with governments...if any government really wants to spy on you personally they have better ways and means other than asking google or apple or whomever for assistance

[steven36]

they are spying on us to make money and sell us stuff...the governments do not pay them jack squat for info ...just corporations that want our money...and again...every time you use your bank card credit card or loyalty program card or your cell phone or face book or social media you are being watched so the powers that be can find ways to get to spend more cash this has nothing to do with governments...if any government really wants to spy on you personally they have better ways and means other than asking google or apple or whomever for assistance

you ever hear of Prism?

PRISM is a government code name for a data-collection effort known officially by the SIGAD US-984XN The PRISM program collects stored internet communications based on demands made to internet companies such as Google Inc. under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to turn over any data that match court-approved search terms The NSA can use these PRISM requests to target communications that were encrypted when they traveled across the internet backbone, to focus on stored data that telecommunication filtering systems discarded earlier, and to get data that is easier to handle, among other things

Documents indicate that PRISM is "the number one source of raw intelligence used for NSA analytic reports", and it accounts for 91% of the NSA's internet traffic acquired under FISA section 702 authority."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

sounds pretty much to me the NSA has been using Goggle to spy on us since 2008 . :ph34r:

Why should they pay when its the law ?

Most pirates or even that guy who ran Silk Road they bust them through simple google search were there careless and leave a trial with there real name.

I've told about the evils of Google since 2008 ..Ive never trusted them . When I 1st came on the internet there was no google and we got along just fine without it .

This stuff started back when 911 happened ..I use to use chat were NSA was signed into and were listening in . so it even predates 2008 . More like every since 2001, 2002 they are everywhere .that was done under the patriot act though witch has been replaced with freedom act .

[212eta]

The US. Security & Intelligence Services :secret:
love :wub: :love:
Google, Microsoft, Apple, Cisco etc.