Crabby Blogging Lady

“Whoopsie!” says Google. “OOpsie!” “We didn’t know!” “A mistake!”

Thus says the Mighty G. Google Says It Mistakenly Collected Data on Web Usage

Google Inc. said an internal investigation has discovered that the roving vans the company uses to create its online mapping services were mistakenly collecting data about websites people were visiting over wireless networks.

…Google had previously said it was collecting the location of Wi-Fi hot spots from its StreetView vehicles, but not the information being transmitted over those networks by users.

“It’s now clear that we have been mistakenly collecting samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) Wi-Fi networks, even though we never used that data in any Google products,” wrote Mr. Eustace. “We are profoundly sorry for this error and are determined to learn all the lessons we can from our mistake.”

Well, I got my laugh for the day! They are “profoundly sorry.” Uh huh.

So while Google was roaming your area, snapping photos of your property and neighborhood, they were also harvesting data about every wireless network (home AND corporate) and the MAC addresses (that’s the identification number of your computer) of them. … so if you were sending email, Google harvested the data. If you were watching videos or getting auto insurance reviews and sending out your personal data, Google knows.

Google says they didn’t pick up secured networks or encrypted websites (rrrright).

I can’t believe the crap in the news story, though. It’s “now clear” that Google has been “mistakenly collecting” data?! Uh HUH. They didn’t know! They were ignorant! They have an excuse!

But they’ve been doing this since 2007!!!!! And they weren’t harvesting USER data “previously”; but all of a sudden, they now “mistakenly” are.

Google said it has been collecting and keeping the data since around 2007. At that time, the team building the software to gather the location of Wi-Fi hot spots mistakenly included some experimental software that sampled all categories of publicly broadcast Wi-Fi data.

“It is another example of the how the company hasn’t effectively grappled with the massive amount of information it collects,” said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.

“How the company hasn’t effectively grappled with the massive amount of information”?! I’d say the people haven’t effectively grappled with the massive amount of CONTROL these people are getting over our lives!

Oh, and the kicker? Google PROMISES that they haven’t used ANY of this information for ANY Google products. So… what DID they and what ARE they using the data for?

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrright……

I’m quite, quite sure that the ONLY reason Google and the NSA are teaming up is to help protect Google, yes yes.

Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks

The world’s largest Internet search company and the world’s most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google — and its users — from future attack.

Sources familiar with the new initiative said the focus is not figuring out who was behind the recent cyberattacks — doing so is a nearly impossible task after the fact — but building a better defense of Google’s networks, or what its technicians call “information assurance.”

…Despite such precedent, Matthew Aid, an expert on the NSA, said Google’s global reach makes it unique.

“When you rise to the level of Google . . . you’re looking at a company that has taken great pride in its independence,” said Aid, author of “The Secret Sentry,” a history of the NSA. “I’m a little uncomfortable with Google cooperating this closely with the nation’s largest intelligence agency, even if it’s strictly for defensive purposes.”

The pact would be aimed at allowing the NSA help Google understand whether it is putting in place the right defenses by evaluating vulnerabilities in hardware and software and to calibrate how sophisticated the adversary is. The agency’s expertise is based in part on its analysis of cyber-”signatures” that have been documented in previous attacks and can be used to block future intrusions.

The NSA would also be able to help the firm understand what methods are being used to penetrate its system, the sources said. Google, for its part, may share information on the types of malicious code seen in the attacks — without disclosing proprietary data about what was taken, which would concern shareholders, sources said.

Greg Nojeim, senior counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology, a privacy advocacy group, said companies have statutory authority to share information with the government to protect their rights and property.

So… because Google has crappy security, some chatty employees, and China is spying on us (even though P-BO just took China off our “nations to watch for spying on us” list), we need to monitor the Americans more! How come it’s like this every single time– every times somebody attacks US, WE get fewer freedoms and are monitored more?!?!

Are Americans REALLY this stupid? Will Americans really buy into this crap??

probably.

Our country bought into the 9-11/Patriot Act fiasco…. the “stimulus” packages… the “too big to fail” crap… the health care “reform” crap that will enslave us to the 3rd generation to pay for it… the Savings & Loans of the 90s… the RFID chips in OUR passports… the “separation of church and state” lie… it’s just too, too much sometimes. Our country (and therefore our freedoms) is going to hell in a handbasket. Hello?! Yet what’s the biggest concern for most Americans– Taylor Swift, Tiger Woods scandals, and Brangelina divorcing?!

What is going on?!

Yeah, I’m depressed. It’s really rough to be working 28-hour days and barely scraping by, enduring the gloomy January cold, and reading the worst headlines in history, all the while public officials are having a bonfire with the Constitution in outdoor fireplaces. They’re not even sneaky about trashing our liberties anymore– they’re arrogant enough to wipe it all over our faces! And even worse, a large proportion of the population does not care!!

Wanna know what makes me really, really, REALLY crabby?

Google’s PageRank.

What a JOKE

It makes me so crabby that I could explode. I get so angry that I can’t even BLOG about it!

I HATE GOOGLE AND I HATE PAGERANK!