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Google Will Anonymize IP Logs Faster
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC reports on some changes to the data retention policy at Google in response to pressure from European authorities, but also included in the article is information about why Google claims they need to retain non-anonymised data for so long. Improving services, sure, but preventing fraud? Aiding 'valid legal orders'?"
Reader s0ckratees points to some commentary on the change at Google's official blog. The upshot: IP addresses in Google's logs will be anonymized after nine months, rather than 18 as previously.
Scrape the log
To sparkling shine
So the chin
Hairless, divine
Burma Shave
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
Let the "Google is teh evil" orgy begin.
(Posted this using incognito mode of the Google Chrome)
... is still a pretty long time. Why does it have to be any longer than even a few weeks? And, will Youtube follow this route to help prevent another big Copyright infringement lawsuit?
And the government wants to know who's been searching for things they don't approve of they have to ask google for the logs every 9 months rather than every 18 months.
How do you Anonymize IP logs?
Any hash can be "reversed" because the search space is so small in this case (2^32)
On the other hand, any one-one mapping can only be compared to others in the log whilst you keep the mapping. (or key that you hashed your IP addresses with)
I read google scrubbed out the last octet of the IP. If that is so, that process doesn't really deserve the name anonymize.
but preventing fraud? Aiding 'valid legal orders'?
While I would say IP addresses shouldn't be the only method for these protection they do help.
Wow every site within 123.45.67.x seems to have a virus and malware on it. Oh a new site was scanned its address is in 123.45.67.x lets not publish right away lets put it threw full check. Or say 98.76.54.* always had clean site that were legit. A new site was found Well lets put it threw the quick checks and post it and queue it for full scan for later.
Yes knowing the IP Address and keeping track of it for months even years can be handy. The more data you have the better decision you can make.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
The subject says it all realy. Do no evil my ass
is this the eclipse article?
the article at which your average slashdot opinion finds the bulk of google's behavior to be more reprehensible than the bulk of microsoft's?
or do we need a few more months and stories like this before that threshold is reached and google becomes enemy number one?
do no evil my ass
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Google has enough data to un-anonymize them later.
The summary reads "...Google claim they need to retain..." The use of *claim* rather than *claims* suggests that Google is being viewed as something other than a single entity.
Am I missing something or was that just a typo?
Improving services, sure, but preventing fraud?
Sure - AdWord fraud. Scrubbing logs quicker means less leeway for click fraud to be discovered.
Google is handing data over to a few 3 letter agencies. BIG SHOCK! OH NO! NSA Reads my email!
Seriously, I put google not handing over such data at somewhere between 0 and -1.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Figure out a pseudo average for a DHCP lease... say 72hours, and make anonymous after that?
Who is general failure, and why is he reading my hard drive?
Actually, the IP should not be stored at all. Google might want to analyze the IPs to analyze and prevent attacks on its servers and additionally to get location information for its ad services. But there is no need to store it for a longer period -- unless you want to start massive data mining projects, which is exactly what is feared most from a privacy point of view.
So, any good news would be that the IP is not stored at all (except very temporarily).
What difference does it make to reduce this 18 months to 9 months log retention period?
Will Google anonymize logs in other countries too?
How about Google China? It respectfully hands over logs to the authorities on demand anytime. Same with Google India.
slashdot rocks
Get your own free personal location tracker
Google are the shadiest characters on the Internet. If they're such champions of privacy they would allow me to click a check box in "Settings" that would eradicate my IP records and, more importantly, my search history, from their logs.
It appears this 18 months, or 9 months as it is now, does not apply to Google Web History when you are logged into your google account. My Web History log goes back to April 2005.
I for one am glad they are not deleting the Web History log at 9 months. It is nice to be able to peruse through my searches done years ago.
...'George Will Anonymizes IP Logs Faster'?
I gotta loosen my bow tie a bit and get back to work.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
And I'm sure they don't have backups of the logs, user data etc ... This is nonesense, nothing is 'anonymised'
Extend record retention times out by law. Google will have to comply or no longer do business there.
Nice try tho.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Clusty is a search engine which does not track you. You can read their privacy policy. No cookies.
http://clusty.com/
I always thought Google should buy Sealand or some other country and move it's operations there outside of United states laws, it would do a lot of good if we had a country that didn't have such crap... abuses of new countries laws or lack of laws non-withstanding
Even if IP addresses are removed or changed, search history is still not anonymous unless the records of search results get shuffled together. As long as all the search terms and results from one address are kept together in one record or otherwise tied to a unique identifier of any kind, your search habits and results can still be traced back to you. Anonymous search data is a myth.
Let Google log scroogle's proxy instead of your IP.
Now I only have to escape 9 months after I blow up a school! And then they'll never know I searched google to make the bomb. Thanks Google!
"The best way to accelerate a Macintosh is at 9.8m/sec^2" -Marcus Dolengo
Tor isn't great for high bandwidth connections, but I think it's just perfect to make sure all of those do-gooder large corporations don't get a choice about anonymizing IP addresses.
http://www.torproject.org/
Absolute statements are never true
I'd like to know if they also commit to anonymizing the client ID that is associated with every Chrome installation and the associated history tied to your account. After all, what's the point of anonymizing the IP data if your Chrome installation is tracking everything anyway? The same company would hold all the same information.
they are scrubbing it out of good will more than anything.
Well, not really. The European advisory group was recommending a 6 month maximum, and Google were at 18. As Microsoft have learned, Europe is not shy about going after megacorps that think they are above its laws, and privacy and data protection issues are hot political topics in various EU countries right now, with a lot of media coverage of leaked data and rising public awareness of the dangers associated with such things.
This was done out of "good will" for the same reasons that industries accept "voluntary" regulation schemes that appear not to be in their own best interests: because the alternative is to have compulsory regulation and legal sanctions applied, and that costs a heck of a lot more and in some cases threatens negligent company directors personally. At 18 months, the first big leak could have seen the political powers turn strongly against Google at a time when their continued strength in several fields is already in jeopardy. At 9 months instead of 6, it's more of a misdemeanour than a felony, as it were.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
EU should not say anything unless they do something about "The retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC" which makes member countries pass laws that requires ISP's to save IP-adresses etc. for from 1/2 to 2 years.
But since the new US SPY ON AMERICANS law...
... governs what happens here, its not how long Google keeps its logs that matters.
... thanks Obama). McCain did not vote for this and Hillary voted against it.
... they don't need the little fish Google's help anymore.
Pelosi led 105 republi-Crats on the "important business" last June that she waived her hand and took impeachment of Bush "off the table".
Obama followed her lead on July 9 and now SPYING ON AMERICANS is LEGAL here in the US with retention periods (we don't need no steenking retention periods
My point is that corporations can get the skinny on what and who you are and where you go online from the Big Cheese US Gov't now
Abuse possible. Naw, trust us soon the presidency will be in the same hands as the congress that got us this spy law passed.