Google Is Bringing Chrome Remote Desktop App To Android

An anonymous reader writes "Google is building a Chrome remote desktop app, which lets you access other computers or another user access your computer over the Internet, for Android. The new addition, called Chromoting, will likely be pushed as a mobile version of the existing Chrome Remote Desktop offering. For those who don't know, the original Chrome Remote Desktop is an extension for Google's browser. It was first released as a beta in October 2011 and could be used to control another one of your own computers as well as a friend's or family member's (usually to help with IT issues)."

Comments

No Chrome for me thanks

[NobleSavage]

I feel dirty using Chrome. It's made by Google and I just assume they are snooping on me. For this reason I stick to Firefox even though Chrome is probably faster.

Re:No Chrome for me thanks

[Seumas]

I think you are missing the point. This is 2013 and the concern for Google serving you with targeted ads in return for a service has been superseded by the reality that they are essentially a massive data collection service (directly and systematically or indirectly and by coercion -- but let's not act like there aren't nefarious ties to the government, here) for state.

It is 2013 and people *long* for the more carefree days of the past when the biggest security/privacy concern was targeted ads.

Re:No Chrome for me thanks

[Anonymous Coward]

If anything, for some time, Slashdot has had a everything-Google-must-be-good bias.

I'm glad that their good-boy image is finally being revised.
Recent events have shown that while Google may not be worse than other companies in the industry, they're certainly not better.

Re:No Chrome for me thanks

[thegarbz]

Except that isn't Google's primary business but rather a side effect. Again I struggle to get upset at the data Google collects when every ISP is hording my emails and passing my phone conversations to the government too. At least I get something out of the massive amount of data Google collects. With most other companies I pay for the services, don't get any where near a polished product(s) in return, and yet the government still gets all my details.

Sure privacy is a problem but lets not be cute and pretend that not using Chrome will actually change anything (although Tor browser may be your best bet).

Hm

[Shemmie]

Am I the only one who's gone from 'oooo, that's cool!' to 'I'm not sure I feel comfortable with that' with a lot of new technology from 'the big guys' recently?

Google own my life. And by extension, my Government, other Governments, security agencies, and many corporate interests own my life.

I've known this forever (and tried not to think about it too much), but with recent disclosures, it's really brought it all home.

All tech I look at now I'm finally asking "So... what data does that give you access to?". It's taking time to figure out a migration path for all my current solutions, but I'm slowly trying to find a route where I'm in control of my data. I know that this probably makes me an idiot, and those that were always privacy concious can laugh - but meh, it's better late than never to come to this realization that I can't trust any third party. Isn't it?

Re:Hm

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're not running code you wrote yourself on hardware you built yourself running firmware you wrote yourself, which in turn is not communicating in any way except with other machines like this, you're just whipping yourself into a frothy paranoid mess pointlessly.

A condom is not 100% safe, that doesn't make it meaningless to use a condom. Extreme black or white thinking like you outline is just giving up, instead of making informed choices along the range of risk/reward options that you have. Of course you can greatly influence your exposure to risk (security or privacy wise) without going to the extremes you describe.

In Your Dreams

[some old guy]

Google really thinks I'm going to give a security sieve like Android mobile (or any phone for that matter) RPC/RDP permissions of any kind? Knowing that an Android can be "rooted" by Google, the carrier, a mildy capable script kiddy,or the government at any time?

Fat fucking chance. The air wall between my phone and my desk stays up.