Your Privacy, is Google indeed the devil?

I read in a few post on here and other sites about how Google collects and gathers information about your search topics, and how many of you feel that is too much. That Google is in the wrong for trying to gather information to provide a better search engine and keep up with the ever growing " I need it, and I need it right now!" behavior people everywhere seem to be taking too. I personally don't see any issue with it. It's not like Google is some militant company gather information on everyone in the world and will be the death of us all. It's a search engine that gathers information from users anonymously to provide more accurate results for people. Damn them for making my life easier! lol

It seems to me that almost every software I have bought in the last year and installed on my computer wants to anonymously gather information and send it to the company or to partner companies to process time from time to help make their product better. As long as all this remains anonymous, and I never have any direct problems because of this, I don't see the problem with a company simply wanting to know how there product is used, and how they could improve it. I'd much rather my computer just send them this information then spend 20 minutes filling out a questionar.

Being this is a Windows 7 board, you all should know that even Windows has jumped on this bandwagon. I was asked if it was alright for Microsoft to collect data anonymously and send it to partner companies when I installed windows 7. My protection center keeps telling me Microsoft needs more information on my anti-virus software every so often.

If you are worried about your privacy, Google and the like are the least of your worries. Almost every government has computers that filter every phone call, text message, email, and all content on the web. They openly admit that even checking out a book at the local library can get you a FBI profile. Don't believe me, text or email that you are going to kill Barock Obama or whoever your leader is, and see what happens.

So, until I see or hear about Google ruining someones life or snitching on me to my girl friend for using it to find pornographic material, I really don't see the need for concern.

You would see the need for concern if you Googled your screen name. There's no less than a couple of dozen of your forum posts on there. More than that for me. Seems that you tried Ubuntu out, too. That's my problem with them. Sure, I do want info at times, and fast. But I don't care to read someone's forum posts. For the ultimate in privacy, try lxquick. It is a second slower, but so what? At least your searches are private, the way it should be.

I tend to use lxquick and Webfetch more and more as i hear more and more negative things about Google.

Google and the United States' NSA (National Security Agency) are linked together.

NSA works very closely with Google. I DO NOT TRUST GOOGLE!

Well i don't know about the Devil but in the last few minuets i have deleted Google from Maxthon Hot Link Bar, i use two other search engines that i am happy with, and just to add Steph (my wife has done the same)

SOURCE: http://www.google-watch.org/jobad.html

FOR MORE INFORMATION, READ THIS: http://www.google-watch.org/bigbro.html

I have removed Goggle from the list of my search engines, and have no intention to place it there again.

Lee Harvey Oswald worked for Google. Tell everyone.

Lol exactly, and that is why I love Google.

I don't ever post any personal information on the internet that could be used to harm me in anyway possible, so why is it a bad thing again that you can use Google to find post I have made? I mean, that is after all how I found this site, was Google and a users post on here with the same problem as me. With the help of Google and this web site, I was able to resolve my issue in less then 20 minutes. I had messed with it for two hours before I gave up and Googled it.

And catilley1092, you didn't have to google me to find out information about me using Ubuntu, you could of just gone to your thread on here about "Linux Sucks". It would of been just as easy.

As for this, I don't think I understand what you mean or something... I mean, you read peoples post on here looking for answers, or trying to help right? 99% of the time that I find info on what I was looking for on the web, it's a user post on a forum somewhere or some blog somewhere.

Anyways, it doesn't matter what search engine you use, they all should find information about your activities on the web or else it's not really a search engine is it? I mean, if you have a account on here and you are posting, then you are apart of the internet and should show up in a search right? I can find out a lot more harmful information about someone on Whitepages.com then I can get just from Google alone.


Edit: And Honestly, the first time I did a search for my whole name "Matthew Weed", I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. There is quite a few other people out there with the same name as me. The last name Weed, is a pretty uncommon name if you didn't already know that. And if the searches were so private and had no info on anyone, what would be the point?

Whats to special about http://www.ixquick.com/ ? I still found post made by me on it, just not as many. Does that mean it's better? Or does it just mean it's not as good as Google.,.....

Honestly, at the end of the day, what does it matter... We all have our preferences and prejudices. There are people who know what works for them, and know how to use them, and where their knowledge is lacking, they know how to acquire it. And then there are people who keep re-electing Bush and buying Lexmark printers.

One person likes Bing. Vegetable Lasagna likes Ixquick. Me, I like Google, but then I don't look up kiddie pr0n or bomb schematics. They can record my IP all they want; I have a life to live. I don't have time for the conspiracy theories.