In Dec 2009 Google dramatically changed for the worse. This is a must read.

[snagglepuss]

An extract in The Observer from The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser

snip

Most of us assume that when we google a term, we all see the same results – the ones that the company's famous Page Rank algorithm suggests are the most authoritative based on other pages' links. But since December 2009, this is no longer true. Now you get the result that Google's algorithm suggests is best for you in particular – and someone else may see something entirely different. In other words, there is no standard Google any more.


snip


With little notice or fanfare, the digital world is fundamentally changing. What was once an anonymous medium where anyone could be anyone...is now a tool for soliciting and analysing our personal data. According to one Wall Street Journal study, the top 50 internet sites, from CNN to Yahoo to MSN, install an average of 64 data-laden cookies and personal tracking beacons each. Search for a word like "depression" on Dictionary.com, and the site installs up to 223 tracking cookies and beacons on your computer so that other websites can target you with antidepressants. Open a page listing signs that your spouse may be cheating, and prepare to be haunted with DNA paternity-test ads. The new internet doesn't just know you're a dog: it knows your breed and wants to sell you a bowl of premium dog food.

snip

Your smooth new iPhone knows exactly where you go, whom you call, what you read; with its built-in microphone, gyroscope and GPS, it can tell whether you're walking or in a car or at a party.


snip


While Google has (so far) promised to keep your personal data to itself, other popular websites and apps make no such guarantees. Behind the pages you visit, a massive new market for information about what you do online is growing, driven by low-profile but highly profitable personal data companies like BlueKai and Acxiom. Acxiom alone has accumulated an average of 1,500 pieces of data on each person on its database – which includes 96% of Americans – along with data about everything from their credit scores to whether they've bought medication for incontinence. And any website – not just the Googles and Facebooks of the world – can now participate in the fun. In the view of the "behaviour market" vendors, every "click signal" you create is a commodity, and every move of your mouse can be auctioned off within microseconds to the highest commercial bidder.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jun/12/google-personalisation-internet-data-filtering?commentpage=last#end-of-comments

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Maybe they shouldn't be evil too. n/t

[ejpoeta]

2. that actually explains a lot. because whenever i go into my spam folder to check

for any emails that don't belong in there i find a lot of things that seem targeted to me. among the usual stuff about making your penis bigger and viagara there is stuff that seems tailored to me. it's junk mail to be sure, but now i know why it's there.... because they know what i've been searching on google. uggh. it's just creepy.

[snagglepuss]

12. Did you read the article? Spam mail is different than what is being discussed.

The issue is that search results are now geared to individuals.

[RandomThoughts]

3. It is worse then that.

But that creates the ability to segment populations to keep them fighting.

While one person gets the 'birth certificate real' the other gets 'birth certificate fake'


In most of the posts I post, I know what I am looking for, then try to find it on a search engine, there are a couple that search sites put in. And many times the videos are altered, or some versions are tried to be removed.

And I been on a different Internet starting at least in 2004.


And there was the one time that I was looking for a song, and they hacked it up, a few minutes later, 50 search results appeared for it.

So I don't think Google has control even over Google, when necessary.

Then again that was explained already.

firefox the movie music video Ratt round and round
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoE8cfP8gj0

Constantine - Bring me to life (Evanescence)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx8d3K_hngw





Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5JkHBC5lDs

Bonnie Raitt - I Can't Make You Love Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW9Cu6GYqxo

Bonnie Raitt - Nick Of Time
http://www.123video.nl/playvideos.asp?MovieID=407128

Dire Straits - Walk of Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZxVC0GB838

:loveya:

And I am due beer and travel money, and many experiences.

[LoZoccolo]

6. Go to Google and type "beer and travel".

You'll see "due beer and travel money" show up in the list of suggestions.

[RandomThoughts]

8. There is a file on a computer that sets that.

Each computer has a file that contains auto complete, there are groups that hack computers, many times to say stuff by that.

Seen that many times.

[LoZoccolo]

11. Actually, I'm pretty sure that people have been searching for those terms enough

that Google starts suggesting them. Enough people could search for "LoZoccolo is a DLC troll" and it would start to show up there. I think you have some fans.

[madinmaryland]

9. You have been on a different internet since 2004??

I know that there are various tubes, but how does that jibe with the whole cloud computing theory?

TIA!

[RandomThoughts]

16. I don't consider it relevant if my posts are read or not.

Although I know that there were changes made to the internet in 2004 that were observable.

It does not effect that I am due beer and travel money, nor does it effect the just and compassionate actions that will be taken eventually.

[jberryhill]

34. That doesn't surprise me

Whether that "different internet" is on a different planet is what I want to know.

[panader0]

4. I'm sixty and not very technical.

I've got an old dial-up computer, an old Verizon cell phone (I know, going to Virgin when get a round tuit), a land line for the computer and Jeannie has her Dish. All of this about google and Weiner and more make me wonder if anyone is free from the info sharing in these days. How can I escape?

[Rabblevox]

13. Hi pander0, here's some not very technical suggestions...

First, there is no way to completely escape scrutiny and message sniffing and targeted ads/search results on the net. It's a risk/vs reward thing. But there are ways to minimize the risk.

A): ditch Gmail, Hotmail, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, for your email. Those 5 email providers are the worst, in terms of privacy, with Gmail being the worst of the bunch. I recommend zoho.com, but there are a ton of other email providers out there that have better privacy policies than the "big 5"

B): ditch Google for search. I STRONGLY rec. IXQuick.com, it is every bit as powerful as google, but saves no search results on your computer, or their servers.

C): If you use Facebook or Twitter, prune your friends and followers lists ruthlessly. You really should only have friends and followers that you know personally, or that someone you know and trust vouches for.

D): Know that nothing you post, anywhere, is guaranteed to remain private. So always keep in mind "what if my mother/daughter/boss saw this?" And post accordingly.

E): Check the Electronic Frontier Foundation's privacy page(https://www.eff.org/issues/privacy) for more detailed suggestions.

[LoZoccolo]

5. Duck Duck Go is a new, more private alternative.

I've tried some alternative search engines and kept thinking that Google still had the best results, but so far Duck Duck Go has been pretty good.

[Rabblevox]

15. I've been impressed by Duck Duck Go, but still like IXQuick better...

They both have really good privacy policies, I just seem to get more accurate results with ixquick.com

[drm604]

7. Delete your cookies regularly.

And don't log in to Google.

[snagglepuss]

14. Which search engines isn't doing this. What makes this alarming is that

Google since its inception blew other search engines out of the water, I've never found one comparable to Googe.

[amborin]

10. personalization is not limited to google:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/technology/29stream.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=personalized%20online%20search%20results&st=cse

[L0oniX]

17. Do not use Google Chrome. FireFox has pluggins to block cookie tracking.

I use Ghostery and AdBlock Plus ...and of course set FireFox to delete history and cookies when you close it.

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. Firefox's Better Privacy app kills the cookies that are hidden in your computer.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/betterprivacy/


And I have stopped using Google Search.
Stopped yahoo email, but still need to find a trustworthy email to replace my gmail.

[femrap]

32. I just added the 'add on'...

I am a total Luddite. Thanks. Now I will change my email to zoho.com....or is there something better?

I am a private person. I can't imagine putting my picture or name on Facebook. Plus I saw the movie, 'The Social Network' and I hated everyone in the movie....except maybe the tall skinny dude who got shafted.

Zuckerberger...I call him Yucky Zucky makes me ill. Now he is only eating meat that he kills with his bare hands.

I just don't understand how FB can be worth so much money...I just don't get it. But again, I'm a Luddite. I was the last person to get a cell phone and I did that only because it was cheaper than a landline. I have to 'top off' every month. I bought it back in 2004 when I did the Election Recount in Ohio and I had to have a cell phone to organize people. I found it in a drawer when I moved a few months ago. I still have to look in the instruction book on how to get my messages.

But I love my 'tubes.'

[JDPriestly]

19. Can we opt out of this? When I google, I want a standard reply, not

something Google thinks I want.

[snagglepuss]

20. I don't know and the article makes no mention of alternatives; however, rabblevox

further up the thread writes:

"ditch Google for search. I STRONGLY rec. IXQuick.com, it is every bit as powerful as google, but saves no search results on your computer, or their servers."

[slackmaster]

21. SpyBot Search & Destroy is your friend

HTH

[snagglepuss]

23. Does spybot totally eliminate Google's personalized searches of does

it simply eliminate ads?

[slackmaster]

24. It cleans out your Registry and browser cookies, and adds hundreds of entries to your hosts file

To prevent anything from being sent to known collectors of personal data. Here's a small snipped from mine:

127.0.0.1 www.cortiere.it
127.0.0.1 cortiere.it
127.0.0.1 www.cortriere.it
127.0.0.1 cortriere.it
127.0.0.1 www.coryslist.com
127.0.0.1 coryslist.com
127.0.0.1 www.costhold.ru
127.0.0.1 costhold.ru
127.0.0.1 www.costorgan.ru
127.0.0.1 costorgan.ru
127.0.0.1 www.costrike.com
127.0.0.1 costrike.com
127.0.0.1 www.cotriere.it
127.0.0.1 cotriere.it
127.0.0.1 www.cotrriere.it
127.0.0.1 cotrriere.it
127.0.0.1 www.cottonorgan.ru
127.0.0.1 cottonorgan.ru
127.0.0.1 www.couldit.ru
127.0.0.1 couldit.ru
127.0.0.1 couldnotfind.com
127.0.0.1 count.cc
127.0.0.1 count.hitscount.net
127.0.0.1 count-all.com
127.0.0.1 www.countdutycall.info
127.0.0.1 countdutycall.info
127.0.0.1 counter.sexmaniack.com
127.0.0.1 www.courtrecordslookup.com
127.0.0.1 courtrecordslookup.com
127.0.0.1 www.coveract.ru
127.0.0.1 coveract.ru
127.0.0.1 www.coverbehind.com
127.0.0.1 coverbehind.com
127.0.0.1 www.cowher.ru
127.0.0.1 cowher.ru
127.0.0.1 www.cporriere.it
127.0.0.1 cporriere.it
127.0.0.1 www.cprriere.it
127.0.0.1 cprriere.it
127.0.0.1 cpvfeed.com
127.0.0.1 cracks.me.uk
127.0.0.1 www.cracks4all.com
127.0.0.1 cracks4all.com
127.0.0.1 www.crapsgametop.net
127.0.0.1 crapsgametop.net
127.0.0.1 www.crapsgold.info
127.0.0.1 crapsgold.info
127.0.0.1 www.crapstop.net
127.0.0.1 crapstop.net
127.0.0.1 www.crapstopgame.net
127.0.0.1 crapstopgame.net
127.0.0.1 crapstop-game.net
127.0.0.1 www.crapstop-game.net
127.0.0.1 www.crapsvipgame.net
127.0.0.1 crapsvipgame.net
127.0.0.1 www.crazygirls-world.com
127.0.0.1 crazygirls-world.com
127.0.0.1 www.crazywinnings.com
127.0.0.1 crazywinnings.com
127.0.0.1 creamedcutties.com
127.0.0.1 www.creamykey.ru
127.0.0.1 creamykey.ru
127.0.0.1 www.creamyskin.ru
127.0.0.1 creamyskin.ru
127.0.0.1 www.creaseperiod.ru
127.0.0.1 creaseperiod.ru
127.0.0.1 www.createaccesskey.com
127.0.0.1 createaccesskey.com
127.0.0.1 www.creatonsoft.com
127.0.0.1 creatonsoft.com
127.0.0.1 creditsearchonline.com
127.0.0.1 www.cree-av.de
127.0.0.1 cree-av.de
127.0.0.1 crestring.com
127.0.0.1 www.cricketnz.com
127.0.0.1 cricketnz.com
127.0.0.1 www.criminallookups.com
127.0.0.1 criminallookups.com
127.0.0.1 www.criqabev.cn
127.0.0.1 criqabev.cn
127.0.0.1 www.crispfavor.ru
127.0.0.1 crispfavor.ru
127.0.0.1 crooder.com
127.0.0.1 www.crporn.info
127.0.0.1 crporn.info
127.0.0.1 www.crriere.it
127.0.0.1 crriere.it
127.0.0.1 www.cryptdrive.com
127.0.0.1 cryptdrive.com
127.0.0.1 www.crystalysmedia.com
127.0.0.1 crystalysmedia.com
127.0.0.1 www.csx.adservs.com
127.0.0.1 csx.adservs.com
127.0.0.1 cts.180solutions.com
127.0.0.1 www.cuddlypolite.com
127.0.0.1 cuddlypolite.com
127.0.0.1 www.cuisinartoven.com
127.0.0.1 cuisinartoven.com
127.0.0.1 www.cukedgt.cn
127.0.0.1 cukedgt.cn
127.0.0.1 www.cuqaprz.cn
127.0.0.1 cuqaprz.cn
127.0.0.1 www.curedc.info
127.0.0.1 curedc.info
127.0.0.1 www.curepcsolutions.com
127.0.0.1 curepcsolutions.com
127.0.0.1 curvedspaces.com
127.0.0.1 www.cutadult.com
127.0.0.1 cutadult.com
127.0.0.1 www.cutoffspyware.com
127.0.0.1 cutoffspyware.com
127.0.0.1 www.cuyoqsm.cn

[Urban Prairie]

26. There is a new portable version of Spybot that can be installed on a USB thumbdrive

I have just started using a "beta" version of Spybot that I recently installed on a separate partition for my ancient WinXP OS. Seems to be working, but some of the services/features won't activate, such as integration into the "Windows Security Center", the "On Access Monitor" and the File Scanner, so either they are only available for a pay version, or perhaps it is due to a bug or the download or install that I performed was corrupted somehow.

[drpepper67]

22. I googled Kohler faucet now all the ads on my computer are for faucets.

I think you're on to something. And it stinks.

[jberryhill]

28. What would you rather see ads for?

[femrap]

29. P U !!! It does stink....

I changed my profile on yahoo from female to male....sick of getting all those ads for 'wrinkle cream.' Now I get ads for fat boyz...use Sensa!!!

edit: can't spell

[Urban Prairie]

25. I often use Opera Tor + Ixquick+HideMyAss to browse anonymously

Can't afford to subscribe to a paid proxy service, but I feel comfortable with all of the "free" protections that I have found online and set up to protect my privacy. Still use gmail, Yahoo and hotmail, since I no longer have credit cards or any bank/credit union accounts, my credit rating is absolutely the pits, and I no longer pay any bills online, use cash only or purchase using a pre-loaded temporary debit card. But I am considering using an open-source alternative to PayPal, that I recently came across while browsing (can't remember the name of it right now, it is bookmarked on a different browser than the one I am currently using) of which my account with them has remained dormant for 4 years.

I also recently discovered that I have not one, but two SS numbers assigned to me, apparently my late father set one up for me before I became old enough to be employed, and I have never used it..hmmm...

[femrap]

30. You lucky dog!!!!

2 SSNs.....How did the gov't let that happen????

I want to change my name...does that mean I can get a new SSN?

I hate Pay Pal...if you remember the other one, let me know. Thx.

And thx for the Ixquick idea. No more Google for me.

[druidity33]

27. I use Scroogle Scraper...

http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/scraper.htm

[femrap]

33. Thanks! nt

[Rochester]

31. I block most cookies, and I use Ad Block Plus

[ohheckyeah]

35. Set your cookies so that you don't accept

cookies from third party sites. Use Adblock Plus so you don't see all of those ads. Be proactive.

223 tacking cookies from one site? That must be some site.