Hi,
Maybe the frivolous way in which I addressed this problem lead people to believe I am not to be taken seriously. I would suggest you do not judge the book by its cover. Allow me to explain my point of view in more detail:
1. You are not securing your information, you are putting all your eggs in one basket.
2. I am not disputing the _reasons_ they may have to gather information or _what_ information the gather, I am merely pointing out that the problem is the _fact_ that they do so.
Google Secure Access misleads their users by implying that _no-one_ will get to see anything of what you send to and receive from the Internet if you use their service. But if you read their privacy policy, you will find out that they are tracking this information themselves.
A good deal of the services offered by Google are provided so Google can track how you use them. This is an exchange of services, you supply Google with your usage data and Google supplies you with whatever service you request. You may not pay for these services with money, but you do pay for them with information. Google uses this information to make money. I assumed this was common knowledge.
Google may do whatever they see fit with this information within the boundaries of the law. The law binds Google to uphold the privacy policy. The privacy policy allows Google
to do whatever they want if they so see fit by thinking up a good reason to do so. I am not saying they will, I am saying they can.
Mr Boily:
I did selectively quote parts of the privacy policy; I only quoted those parts that were relevant to my argument. Again, my argument is about the _fact_ that they collect
data, not _what_ they collect nor the _reasons_ they may have for doing so. I also supplied the link to the policy so anyone can read the full version.
We seem to use a different definition of spyware. This has happened before on this list. If you Google the definition, you will find everybody has their own.
In my previous email and this I am using these definitions:
"spyware" - Any software program that monitors a persons actions without his or her knowledge
"trojan" - Any software program that presents itself to its users as something useful but, unknown to its user, also performs another action for its creators.
If you agree to these definitions, you must see that Google Secure Access is both a trojan and spyware.
If you agree to these definitions, you must see that Google Secure Access is both a trojan and spyware.
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