Google Street View Controversy

[OmegaFenix]

Over the last few months I've seen several articles in which Google has come under fire for or while collecting data for its Street View service with some Germans even going so far at to request their homes be removed from the data base. At the same time google has been hit with waves of critisism about collecting wireless date and in a few cases personal information from unsecure wireless networks. Some European countries have even banned the service.

Now my question is... in this day and age shouldn't people protect themselfs by not having unsecure wireless networks. I mean everyone is jumping up and down at google but what is stopping an identity thief to infiltrate those unsecure networks.

Also what is your opinion on what Google is doing with its StreetView and Wireless network mapping?

 

[sycogrim]

Ok I think that it's a good thing to have the street map view, however at the same time it is an invasion of privacy and they should techincally get permission of all Tax payers to have their information placed up on the internet

As for the Wireless issue. People are just stupid if they do not secure their wireless connections in today's day and age...

 

[OmegaFenix]

Ok I think that it's a good thing to have the street map view, however at the same time it is an invasion of privacy and they should techincally get permission of all Tax payers to have their information placed up on the internet

As for the Wireless issue. People are just stupid if they do not secure their wireless connections in today's day and age...

This is something I dont understand, how is taking a picture of your house an invasion of your privacy. If they tagged it with a big "Ms J Poggenpoel, 227 John Doe Street, Hillvalley, USA" that would be invasion of privacy but just a picture of ur house

 

[sycogrim]

This is something I dont understand, how is taking a picture of your house an invasion of your privacy. If they tagged it with a big "Ms J Poggenpoel, 227 John Doe Street, Hillvalley, USA" that would be invasion of privacy but just a picture of ur house

Yeh I suppose its not like ur seeing 2 people standing at their gate having a sexual time roflmao

 

[DenSweeP]

The street view thing, yeah, it's cool to use and all, but it does pose a security risk, however remote. I somehow doubt UBL is gonna come jihad my house, but I'm thinking more along the lines of local crime. Maybe not my house, but businesses could be at risk. I dunno, it just feels like some enterprising criminal could make use of it.

As for the wireless networks being accessed, well, if the mind is weak, the body must suffer. You don't park your car with the doors unlocked or go to bed with the front door open, so why on earth leave your Wi-Fi unsecured? Maybe not everyone is too computer/tech savvy, but honestly, if you can setup your wireless, I'm pretty sure you can figure out how to secure it.

 

[OmegaFenix]

The street view thing, yeah, it's cool to use and all, but it does pose a security risk, however remote. I somehow doubt UBL is gonna come jihad my house, but I'm thinking more along the lines of local crime. Maybe not my house, but businesses could be at risk. I dunno, it just feels like some enterprising criminal could make use of it.

As for the wireless networks being accessed, well, if the mind is weak, the body must suffer. You don't park your car with the doors unlocked or go to bed with the front door open, so why on earth leave your Wi-Fi unsecured? Maybe not everyone is too computer/tech savvy, but honestly, if you can setup your wireless, I'm pretty sure you can figure out how to secure it.

But if you take away everything thing than an enterprising criminal could possibly use we will be back in the dark ages.

Its like with the children and the internet, we must change with the times, become more e-security consious.

I think the biggest issue is Ignorance on the public and even the goverment sides. I think alot of people thing StreetView is going to give other people 24/7 real time viewing access to your home or something equally silly.
I have used street view to get a ground level view of busy london streets and you know what I saw... alot of people with blurred out faces, cars with blurred out numberplates and shop windows. Nothing you couldn't find in a magazine.

 

[Neo]

Nope. I don't see any of Google's services as a security risk. What stops burglars from driving around and scanning an area themselves? It's not like Streetview is real-time footage - so there really is no harm being done. I think it's one of the coolest ideas of the century.

 

[to0kenZA]

Look, if someone REALLY wants to scout your house before planning a break in (I assume this is what some people are worried about), they would just freakin' drive there and sit in a car, like they always have done. People that are freaking out because there is a picture of their house on google street view is just being silly. It's not as if they are taking pictures in your home either, why is it an invasion of privacy?

The wireless network mapping thing is a bit weird though.. Why would they do that?

 

[OmegaFenix]

The wireless network mapping thing is a bit weird though.. Why would they do that?

Technically they are just mapping the wireless traffic in an area, my guess as market research for a possible Google ISP or something but the code the engineers wrote to scan for this data was able to, by accident, get personal info from these unsecure accounts.

 

[czc]

Like DenSweep says, If the mind is weak the body will suffer.

It feels that people want everything to be policed for them, no responsibility, big brother state. The bad side of socialism - it takes the emphasis of people doing things for themselves.

 

[to0kenZA]

Technically they are just mapping the wireless traffic in an area, my guess as market research for a possible Google ISP or something but the code the engineers wrote to scan for this data was able to, by accident, get personal info from these unsecure accounts.

Ya, right!

Very strange.. What can you possibly do with data that says "Ok, so there is x amount of wireless networks in the area" I might be ignorant as to what they're planning, but this seems really odd..

 

[OmegaFenix]

Ya, right!

Very strange.. What can you possibly do with data that says "Ok, so there is x amount of wireless networks in the area" I might be ignorant as to what they're planning, but this seems really odd..

Well im sure you can find a StreetView PR brief from google that will explain it.

What would Google want with personal info? I mean if it was a small company that could kinda hide I would be going "Yeah Right" also but this is google. I mean next to coke and Mc Donalds it is the most recognised brand in the world and given the slew of legal action already slated against them relating to StreetView it would be stupidity of a never before seen level to go out with the intent on gathering personal information.

 

[czc]

There is the whole view that google is evil and wants to take over the world thing.

 

[OmegaFenix]

There is the whole view that google is evil and wants to take over the world thing.

lol! I've seen the website. To say take over the world is a bit much, maybe the virtual world but not the actual world. I am a huge google fan, I love their vision of Cloud computing as the future and their opensource mentality. I mean have you tried SketchUp? I can not believe such a powerful program is free and Google Docs I use on an almost daily basis.

And if they do take over the world I will gladly join their ranks.

 

[to0kenZA]

lol! I've seen the website. To say take over the world is a bit much, maybe the virtual world but not the actual world. I am a huge google fan, I love their vision of Cloud computing as the future and their opensource mentality. I mean have you tried SketchUp? I can not believe such a powerful program is free and Google Docs I use on an almost daily basis.

And if they do take over the world I will gladly join their ranks.

I guess you're right

 

[Maplassie]

 

[OmegaFenix]

Omega Demands local pic.

 

[to0kenZA]

That first picture looks like the gun is photo-shopped

 

[OmegaFenix]

The Plot thickens.....

Washington - Google is being targeted in a class action lawsuit that alleges the search engine violates users' privacy by sharing their personal information and internet search queries with third parties.
"User search queries, which often contain highly sensitive and personally identifiable information, are routinely transferred to marketers, data brokers, and sold and resold to countless other third parties," the complaint said.
"Not only does Google, whose company motto is 'Don't be evil,' promise in its privacy policy not to do this, but Google has publicly denounced this very practice in the past," the attorneys behind the suit said in a statement.
The suit was filed on Monday in a US District Court in San Jose, California, on behalf of a woman named Paloma Gaos, a resident of the San Francisco area, and other users of the hugely popular search engine.
The complaint seeks monetary damages and an injunction against Google ordering it to stop sharing search results with third parties.
"Because of its dominance in the search business, Google, more than any other company, presents a great risk to citizen privacy," said Kassra Nassiri, one of the attorneys bringing the suit.
A Google spokesperson told AFP the company had not yet received a copy of the complaint and "won't be able to comment until we've had a chance to review it".
Google denies transmitting users' personally identifiable information to third parties and says it "anonymises" the results of web queries, removing all traces of personally identifiable information.

- AFP

Who wants to bet this Paloma Gaos is as thick as week old meatloaf?

 

[kwasotsha]

this is very boring