What MSN, Google, Yahoo and AOL Know About You

hotgist writes "America's top four Internet companies, Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft's MSN, promise they will protect the personal information of people who use their online services to search, shop and socialize. But a close read of their privacy policies reveals as much exposure as protection. The massive amounts of data these companies collect, which can include records of the searches you make, the health problems you research and the investments you monitor, can be requested by government investigators and subpoenaed by your legal adversaries. But this same information is generally not available to you."

Comments

Google allows you to see past searches...

[garcia]

If you're logged in and you have it enabled, you can have Google tell you all of your search history. I disable that and generally block cookies from being stored by Google. I sometimes, depending on what I'm searching for, use inurl:nph-proxy.pl and find a random open proxy to search through or use a public facility like a SurfThing enabled coffee shop or library.

If my legal adversaries want to find out that I searched converting 3.5 tablespoons to teaspoons while cooking on Saturday, good for them. The rest of it is protected.

Now, what the general public does (like the moron that got busted for searching for how to commit undetectable murder and then poisoning her husband) is another story. No matter what, there will always be idiots that don't know how to cover their tracks regardless of the "privacy policy" of third parties.

and cookies too

[homer_ca]

Don't forget to clear your cookies or block them from Google. The default Google cookie doesn't expire for 30 years, and with it Google can track all your activity on Google sites, from maps to gmail to search.

diversify

[gEvil (beta)]

This is why I use different services for different things. While I absolutely love gmail, I don't use it for my primary webmail account. Instead, I use Yahoo! (though I hate those ads at the bottom of messages). This is because I use Google as my search engine of choice. And for messaging, I use AIM. I don't want companies to be able to attach seemingly disparate portions of my life together into a single profile. Sure, it can still be done, but diversifying makes things that much more difficult.

Which is why I suggest "GoogleAnon"

[I)_MaLaClYpSe_(I]

Copy the code below and bookmark it as if it was an ordinary url. Then, when you visit google the next time, anon your google.

javascript:x='Nothing';y='preferences';try{if(conf irm('OK: Zero it\n\nCancel: Do_'+x+'_(e.g._already_zeroes?)\n\n'+unescape(docu ment.cookie.replace(/;/g,'\n'))))h=location.host.m atch(/\.google\.((off|com?)(\...)|..|com)$/)[0];do cument.cookie='PREF=ID=0000000000000000:LD=en:TM=1 115409441:LM=1129104254:S=kSuablMgN8pP9-91;expires =Sun, 17-Jan-2038 19:14:07 GMT;domain='+h;location='/'+y+'';alert('Zeroed:\n\ nNow_reset_your\n'+y+'\n\n')}catch(e){alert(x+'_do ne\n\n(e.g._not_Google?)\n\n')}void(0)

Or else, google for GoogleAnon :-)

Re:and close browser too!

[redelm]

You can also be tracked by unique URLs with embedded keys.

Clearing cookies is great, but I'm not sure whether you're clearing cookies that will be saved, or cookies already saved.

Re:Same problem, new technology

[lawpoop]

"You had to approach actual experts like doctors for any questions you had."

Yes, but a doctor isn't allowed to blab to anybody about your medical problems. If somebody sues you, they aren't allowed to subpoena your medical records.

Re:surprised

[blueZhift]

Absolutely! There is no such thing as anonymous on the net. So the real solution is not going to be getting Yahoo, AOL, or whoever to stop collecting data. They never will because it makes them too much money. The real "solution" is spreading the word to users that they are not anonymous and behave accordingly.

BTW, the Chicago Police already use an Oracle based data mining system to produce crime forecasts for the city that they use to decide how to deploy forces from day to day. I first learned about this system years ago, so it may be safe to assume that there have been improvements since that time. The future is now.

What works for me..

[mulvane]

I have a VPN tunnel to a hosted dedicated server I setup as a proxy to my home connection. All my home traffic first passes through it encrypted. I share this box out to a few people. To establish connection with the proxy requires secure vpn. At home, I have 2 firefox items in my menu. One for my casual browsing, and another that connects to the proxy and request it to even anonymous communication even further using tor. This, plus not saving cookies beyond session helps me feel at least a little more secure that I can't be easily targeted. It also removes the case of my ISP being able to turn over anything useful on me.

It is available to you

[kippers]

If you live in the UK, then it *is* legally available to you under the Data Protection Act 1998 (for a maximum of £10). Under s.7(1).(a)(b)(c), they are required to give you a access to "the information constituting any personal data of which that individual is the data subject" (s.7(1).(c)(i)).

Go ahead and try.

Why stop at Google?

[fang2415]

Edit > Preferences > Cookies > Keep until: I close Firefox