Tag Archive | "Gmail"
Googling Obama’s China policy
Google's ties to the Obama administration are perhaps unrivaled in corporate America, but the Internet giant's announcement this week that it's considering pulling out of China because of Chinese censorship and hacker attacks put the White House in a tricky spot. "They like to go around and sing the mantra, 'Don't be evil,'" said John Simpson, a consumer advocate with the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog. "But they almost always act in what they perceive to be Google's interest - and that doesn't necessarily coincide with that of any government."
Continue reading...Security Firm Outlines How Attack Against Google Was Pulled Off
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Silicon Valley Internet security firm on Thursday described for the first time how hackers from China were able to crack Google's defenses, saying the attackers took advantage of a flaw in Microsoft's Web browser to probe deeply into the company's network. In addition to the Google network, the high-profile intrusion also targeted Gmail accounts in the United States and other countries. This may prompt users to demand better security for electronic mail and other personal data that's stored on Internet clouds, some advocates say. "The problem up until now is that people like Google have emphasized speed and efficiency and ease of use," said John M. Simpson, an advocate with Consumer Watchdog. "In too many cases, they have let security and privacy become a secondary issue. This situation is a wake-up call for everybody."
Continue reading...Google Finally Improves Security Of Gmail Connections As Consumer Watchdog Urged
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Santa Monica, CA -- In the wake of cyber attacks from China Google has announced it will improve security for consumers connecting to its Gmail service over the Internet by encrypting data traveling to its servers, a move Consumer Watchdog called on the Internet giant to make more than a year ago.
Continue reading...Google Does An About-Face On China Policy
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
San Francisco, CA -- In a surprise announcement late Tuesday, Google Inc. said it may turn its back on the huge Chinese market after a sophisticated cyber attack on the e-mail accounts of human rights advocates in the Asian nation. Some have dubbed the country's censorship efforts, which apply to Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s search engines too, the "Great Firewall of China." Users of Google.cn in China generally couldn't look at images of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, dig up information about Tibet's Dalai Lama or access the Web site for journalism watchdog organization Reporters Without Borders, according to reports. "While Google should never have agreed to censor search results in China in the first place, it is doing the right thing by ending the practice now," said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog in Los Angeles. "The company should be commended."
Continue reading...Can Google Be Trusted? No: The Search Engine Must Do More To Protect Private Data
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Few doubt that Internet giant Google is succeeding in its audacious corporate mission "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." The problem is that the mission puts Google directly at odds with our privacy rights, and Google appears unwilling to give consumers enough control.
Continue reading...What Google Dashboard Knows About You
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Dashboard lets you get rid of some information on there. Google says part of the goal here is to stop the theory about what Google knows and doesn't know about you, to provide transparency. But there are some privacy advocates who say this is still this is not enough. For example, one group called Consumer Watchdog put out this statement saying, "If Google really wanted to give users control of their privacy, it would give consumers the ability to be anonymous from the company and advertisers in crucial areas like search data and online behavior." And you can see the statement right there.
Continue reading...Now’s Your Chance To Spy On Google
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Google Dashboard tool is also limited to information gathered on users when logged in to Google. It doesn’t give consumers access to information that might be tied to individual consumers in other ways -- such as searches associated with individual computer IP address or cookies. That means it falls short of being a true privacy tool, according to privacy rights advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. "The dashboard gives the appearance of control without the actual ability to prevent Google from tracking you and delivering you to its marketers,” said John M. Simpson, a spokesman for the nonprofit organization. "It doesn't reveal anything about what is at the heart of what I call Google's 'black box' -- what is associated with your computer's IP address."
Continue reading...Google Dashboard Provides Too Much Info And Yet Not Enough
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Indeed, privacy advocates, such as John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, argued Google's gesture with Dashboard was just a straw man and that if the company really wanted to help it would allow users to prevent search information from being logged or to prevent Google from tracking a user's online activity while surfing the Web.
Continue reading...Google Releases Dashboard Privacy Tool
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, which has been critical of the amount of personal data Google stores, called the dashboard a small step in the right direction. "If Google really wanted to give users control over their privacy it would give consumers the ability to be anonymous from the company and its advertisers in crucial areas such as search data and online behavior," spokesman John M. Simpson said on the group's Web site. "The Dashboard give the appearance of control without the actual ability to prevent Google from tracking you and delivering you to its marketers."
Continue reading...Dashboard Shows What Google Knows About You
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Critics Say Google Makes Some Privacy Progress, But Call For More Transparency Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit advocacy group formerly known as the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, said in a statement today that it applauds Google for giving users a single place to go to manage their data. But at the same tine, the group also came down hard on Google, contending that it needs to give users a vehicle for stopping the company from collecting any personal data. The company should also provide a way for users to delete their information from Google's servers, the group added.
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Friday, January 15, 2010
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