What is the point of connecting your Google account on online accounts.

[Sky071111]

Hi Linux.org.
Their are many search engines out there so why favour Google.
I recommend always clearing browsing history (cookies and data) especially. Not too sure on the difference between data storage and user interface glitches. Remember if you click on any link or open any email it could contain a malicious virus. I would say also to look at the positives and negatives and look at all the options available to you at that time.
Kind regards.

 

[KGIII]

Too many folks meekly go along with the general consensus, and seem to be afraid to voice their real opinion.

Heck, I'm one of those folks that doesn't care all that much about the software being open-source - or free. I am happy using proprietary software when it works better (for me).

You DO get good stuff in return.

I even use them to provide the ads on my site. It doesn't pay well, but that's really not their fault.

Anyhow, I've never been bashful about mentioning that I use proprietary software. We all are, right this very minute. (The software behind this site is proprietary, and free software exists in that space.)

I use Linux because I like Linux. It doesn't bother me if you use something else. I'm content using what I prefer and I'm glad it exists.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@dos2unix :-

I do care from the perspective, that some vendors ( Apple especially ) want to
"own" my data. I have get my pictures, my songs, my documents from their cloud.
I have to pay for their subscriptions in order to use "my stuff".

Heh. Have to agree on this one.

I never understood what the deal was with Spotify. I don't think they're doing it now - there was a huge outcry over it - but at one time, when you uploaded your media to their servers they were actually deleting it from your drive as you uploaded it. Thus, the ONLY copy of your music was on THEIR servers.....and you had to pay a subscription to listen to your own stuff.

Crazy...


Mike.

 

[sphen]

Most folks in the Linux ecosphere loathe 'Big Brother'. I've had an a/c with them since time out of mind (certainly back in the very late 90s, anyway).

So they've got as much data on me as a stack of Bibles. So what? I make full use of their suite of online apps, and always have done.....they just work, and that's good enough for me.

I couldn't care less if I'm the product. I know there's no such thing as a "free lunch", but in my opinion, too many folks go out of their way to protest & make out they're martyrs for deliberately using obscure services.....just to 'snub' Big Brother.

It's become fashionable to do so. What price "freedom", huh?

(And if saying so lowers my credibility in everybody's eyes, well.....sheesh. Having said which, my day-to-day search engine has been DuckDuckGo for years.... Go figure.)


Mike.

I read these comments and want to acknowledge them. If I engage, it will become a political discussion and I want to avoid that.

As I said above, I have never had a Gmail account or joined Facebook. For me, the issue was very simple: Follow good basic information security practices, nothing more. Think of it the same as good hygiene. You have the right to go around without brushing your teeth, but that does not make it sensible. There is no "protest" or "martyrdom", at least not for many, including me.

Each person makes their own decisions about such things. Perhaps I do not know what I am missing, but I have not found a compelling need to sign up for those free services they offer.

What bothers me is when people make choices (read: accept choices) related to the use of their personal information without a full understanding of the short and long term implications of those decisions. They were never taught the principles needed to evaluate the choices and guide them to well-informed and well-understood decisions. I hope people think about those principles before they click on "Accept" when the terms of use are displayed. That's all.

 

[aforwood]

is not to make your life easier, it so google can collect even more information on you,

have you used duck duck go,

Yes I have.

I use Yandex if Google doesn't give me what I'm looking for. They're a Russian SE but will find things that Google and most other western SEs censor out.

 

[aforwood]

As you are new, I'll make sure you're aware that politics is a taboo subject here. As are religion and things of a sexual nature (such as sexuality).

It's not that you're violating the rules, I'm just making sure you're aware.

Gotcha, but I could just as well point out that Google and most other popular SEs also control what sites come up in the results and censor out certain results depending on the search query. You have to know exactly what site you're looking for and use Google's advanced search tools to force it to come up. Even then, you may not get it.

I usually use Google while signed out in order to get better results. It avoids them using a lot of user data they collect on you that their algorithms rely on to limit what you get, and it cuts down on how much more they collect as well.

 

[aforwood]

I avoid the large company free authenticated services as much as possible. Those are the services where you must log in to use the service. I never had a Gmail or Facebook account, for example. Search does not require you to log in, but I resort to Google search only after trying multiple searches with other tools.

Avoiding political to state some basic facts:
I harbor no illusions about how much those companies know about me and my activities, even in real time. They see me interact with their members and the contents of those interactions. They get data from many sources and are very skilled at finding relationships, correlations, trends, changes, and more despite the fact that I do not use their authenticated services directly. Those facts are not controversial or disputed.

-> My advice is log out and delete cookies/tracking when you are finished using their service. Stay logged out unless you need a service they provide. They collect a lot of data from you anyway. Why give them more?

They also sell your data to advertisers or otherwise use it to help them reach more likely customers. They also share it with certain other parties illegally.

I know I was being monitored in real-time by Windows, and that's what led me to switching to Linux. Those forced Windows updates are more yo do with spying on you than fixing or improving anything. That's why Windows is so bloated compared to Linux. Improved surveillance modules.

 

[sphen]

They also sell your data to advertisers or otherwise use it to help them reach more likely customers. They also share it with certain other parties illegally.

I know I was being monitored in real-time by Windows, and that's what led me to switching to Linux. Those forced Windows updates are more yo do with spying on you than fixing or improving anything. That's why Windows is so bloated compared to Linux. Improved surveillance modules.

I read and understand your point of view, but must beg to differ. Microsoft is a large and diverse company. Of course it looks after its own interests, but it is made up of real people who want customers to appreciate the company and use its products to improve their lives.

-> The first objective of Microsoft updates is keeping the customers safe and secure from threats, not spying. Many people feel that Windows is bloated and I will not dispute that. What I will say is that whatever bloat or poor performance you may feel, it is not due to Microsoft spyware in Windows.

Windows is just another operating system product, one of many components of Microsoft's business. I am not a Windows person, but have worked with it enough to get the jobs done. It feels strange for me to be defending Windows and actually I am not. What I can say is that your perspective about the motivations behind Microsoft updates may not be fully accurate.

 

[aforwood]

It feels strange for me to be defending Windows and actually I am not.

It sure sounds like you are.

When Bill Gates ran the company it was different than it is today. Were you around when he was developing Win95 and having all those closed-door meetings with the NSA?

I could say a lot more about BG but this isn't the place for it..

 

[MikeWalsh]

What bothers me is when people make choices (read: accept choices) related to the use of their personal information without a full understanding of the short and long term implications of those decisions. They were never taught the principles needed to evaluate the choices and guide them to well-informed and well-understood decisions. I hope people think about those principles before they click on "Accept" when the terms of use are displayed. That's all.

Um. Well, probably unlike the vast majority of folks who DO just click on things without understanding what they're letting themselves in for, I actually take the time to read stuff like that.....at least, I 'skim-read' enough to get the gist of the conditions.

When I signed-up nearly 20 years ago, I thought at the time that those conditions were reasonable. Periodically, I review them.....sometimes off my own bat, sometimes as & when I'm informed of any such changes by Google themselves. I still think they're reasonable. I know this much, though; while I was running Win XP, I used to get no end of advertising crap that I simply could NOT block. Since switching to Linux 10 years ago, the issue is very much reduced, and the residual 'left-overs' are much more easily controlled.

I do make copious use of their services, I freely admit that. I don't expect to do so for nothing, because as we ALL know, "free" never IS truly "free". I honestly believe that - in my case at least - it's a fair exchange. And I'll stick by that statement.

After all, how else are they going to pay the operating bills on all those data centers....hmm? Too many people seem to think they have a God-given right to expect everything for free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

(I'm also not like a lot of Linux die-hards, who will not have anything to do with M$ in any way, shape or form. I know I frequently "take the mick" out of Windows, largely in a good-natured, tongue-in-cheek kind of way.....but I don't mind admitting that I use a number of Windows items running in the PortableApps format under WINE. If software will do what I want - and get the job done without fuss - I WILL use it. Regardless of platform. I'm not so blinkered that I'm going to shoot myself in the foot over a point of principle..! )

Mike.

 

[The Duck]

I started using Firefox and Google Chrome in my Windows days and back then Google Chrome always worked better than Firefox.
I use Firefox and Chromium since I use Linux and figured all browsers are collecting user data.
We agree to the terms before using the browsers so we allow it to happen whether we know we do or not it's unavoidable imo.
Like a few others I don't care what's known about me seems everyone everywhere knows more about me than I do.
In the old days all anyone had to to locate anyone was the telephone book and now we have the WWW.
There's no such thing as privacy anymore.

 

[Terminal Velocity]

I prefer to make the best choice from the few available options there is, rather than to just give up and use whatever they want me to use, and what most people use, this is how I ended up in Linux

I don't believe there is no privacy, there are still choices worse than others

 

[sphen]

It sure sounds like you are.

When Bill Gates ran the company it was different than it is today. Were you around when he was developing Win95 and having all those closed-door meetings with the NSA?

I could say a lot more about BG but this isn't the place for it..

Yes, I was alive and actively working in those areas at the time. No, I was not present for the specific closed door meetings that you mentioned. If it helps, I concede that those specific closed door meetings could have happened based on your assertion above. Frankly, closed door meetings with NSA are not uncommon for those companies and the agendas are not always about conspiring to spy on all of us. Believe it or not.

Windows 95, etc. was just one of many operating systems we used. I never thought of Windows as more special or less special than any other operating system. I do not like to see the generalized "Windows bashing" that happens here. I think it diminishes us as individuals and Linux.org as a community when we do it, but there is nothing more to see here.

IMPORTANT: We have stated our positions and where we believe that the other is making erroneous assumptions. I agree that Linux.org is not the place to extend the discussion further. I am not interested in pursuing it outside of Linux.org. There are places for that on the internet for those who are interested.

-> I stand by my previous statements and I assume the same for you. Let's agree to disagree and move on.

 

[The Duck]

Hi Linux.org.
Their are many search engines out there so why favour Google.

The thing is is that most search engine go to Google for the search results from what I've read.

I recommend always clearing browsing history (cookies and data) especially. Not too sure on the difference between data storage and user interface glitches.

My browser history and browser data and everything else I can clear is cleared automatically when I close my browser.
I use Easy OS and Puppy Linux these load and run completely in ram.
When I power off or restart my computer everything from any session is deleted into cyberspace and lost forever unless I choose to save the session.
One of the great things I like about Easy OS and Puppy Linux.

Remember if you click on any link or open any email it could contain a malicious virus.

Common sense and using safe web habits is a must.

I would say also to look at the positives and negatives and look at all the options available to you at that time.

I agree and I know users who install browsers and never open the settings tab to setup the browser and wonder why things happen.