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Distancing myself from Google
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mindwaves
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Jun 2, 2014, 04:23 AM
 
Google is a conglomerate that spans web search, computer hardware, software, robots, drones, and everything else. They have a lot of information on a lot of people and that worries me (not terribly much, but enough), so I have been distancing myself from Google over the last few months. I like my privacy and don't want any ads or anyone tracking me because Google makes money off of this, unlike Apple who just makes money off sales. The NSA is probably reading my email (I am not a person of interest, but they are probably reading everyone's email) also and I trust Apple or someone else more than Google to protect my data from prying eyes.

Here is what I have been doing:

1) Change default search from Google to Bing on my MBP and iPad. iPhone is still set to Google because I find Google to be best still and I need my best when I am on the go.
2) Don't use anything Google except for gmail and maps.
3) Install Adblock and Ghostery to block ads and tracking bugs.
4) Never be logged into Google when visiting youtube.
5) That is what I have been doing for several months. Now I am switching my default email from Google to iCloud email.

However, I will still keep Google Maps because I live overseas and Apple Maps is still a big joke. Google can track me from there.

Anyone else doing something similar?
     
Mrjinglesusa
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Jun 2, 2014, 10:09 AM
 
No, because I'm not paranoid.
     
zro
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Jun 2, 2014, 10:22 AM
 
I just use them for search, although I do have the gmail e-mail address it's not at all my main one.

And I guess YouTube, but WTF did they screw that up trying to wedge Google+ into it.

Google search is as much a PITA as any of the others anymore. I literally hate using it these days. Way too much second guessing going on and filling the results with crap I did not search for. I would love to have the old Google back for search.

Anyway, I don't trust them either. No way after that wardriving / packet sniffing stunt a few years ago.
     
subego
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Jun 2, 2014, 11:13 AM
 
I'm the opposite. The more the overlords know about me, the better they can tailor the data to my needs.
     
unicast reversepath
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Jun 2, 2014, 11:04 PM
 
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Ya.
Ya who?
Sorry, I prefer Google.
If you have Ghosts, you have Everything!
     
besson3c
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Jun 2, 2014, 11:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by mindwaves View Post
Google is a conglomerate that spans web search, computer hardware, software, robots, drones, and everything else. They have a lot of information on a lot of people and that worries me (not terribly much, but enough), so I have been distancing myself from Google over the last few months. I like my privacy and don't want any ads or anyone tracking me because Google makes money off of this, unlike Apple who just makes money off sales. The NSA is probably reading my email (I am not a person of interest, but they are probably reading everyone's email) also and I trust Apple or someone else more than Google to protect my data from prying eyes.

Here is what I have been doing:

1) Change default search from Google to Bing on my MBP and iPad. iPhone is still set to Google because I find Google to be best still and I need my best when I am on the go.
2) Don't use anything Google except for gmail and maps.
3) Install Adblock and Ghostery to block ads and tracking bugs.
4) Never be logged into Google when visiting youtube.
5) That is what I have been doing for several months. Now I am switching my default email from Google to iCloud email.

However, I will still keep Google Maps because I live overseas and Apple Maps is still a big joke. Google can track me from there.

Anyone else doing something similar?

Given that you feel this way, why would you stick with GMail? GMail seems like the biggest source of data mining out of the things you have listed.
     
mindwaves  (op)
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Jun 3, 2014, 12:13 AM
 
Just pure laziness. I am registered with many places so it is a pain to change everything. I am doing so now. It will take a while.
     
Ω
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Jun 3, 2014, 07:03 AM
 
Google is going to bite us in the arse. As they say, when you don't have to pay for a product, YOU are the product. Google is evil. And yes my tin foil hat is on, but no good shall come from this.
"angels bleed from the tainted touch of my caress"
     
Shaddim
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Jun 3, 2014, 07:43 AM
 
I'm not sure how they're that different than Apple's walled garden. Their research in various areas of tech doesn't automatically mean they're turning into Skynet or W-Y.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
P
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Jun 3, 2014, 08:36 AM
 
They are very different. Google makes money by selling ads, and uses free services to entice you to give them information and your attention that make selling adds easier. Apple sells hardware. If you've bought their stuff, they're happy - any free services they have are mostly to make that hardware more attractive so you'll buy more hardware. Facebook works the same way as Google. To find someone who works like Apple, you have to look at a phone manufacturer like HTC (Samsung is different again, as they rely more on making all the components in the chain).

The difference between them is that with Apple you know what you're paying. Arguably you don't know how long your phone is supported so you don't know when you have to buy a new one - my iPhone 4 is not supported under iOS 8, apparently - but that is the one unknown. Both Google and Facebook can turn up the spying - effectively increasing the price - when you are locked-in to their ecosystem.

Personally I find that there is a dishonesty to how Google acts on occasion. Not as much as Samsung, and nothing like nineties MS, but more than the average amount of corporate dishonesty. It hasn't been enough to get me off of their services yet, but it is a concern.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Phileas
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Jun 3, 2014, 09:27 AM
 
Install Privacy Badger.

I do use duckduckgo for searches I consider sensitive, i.e all medical related searches for me and my family. I am not interested in anybody, who isn't a healthcare provider, building a database of our health profiles. There are other parts of my life where I want google to be informed about my preferences, so they can deliver useful data to me.
     
unicast reversepath
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Jun 3, 2014, 10:28 AM
 
Originally Posted by Phileas View Post
Install Privacy Badger.

Thanks for the info!
If you have Ghosts, you have Everything!
     
shifuimam
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Jun 3, 2014, 10:39 AM
 
One thing that bothers me a lot about Google is the whole you-have-to-use-a-real-name thing. This isn't South Korea. I should never be required to provide my full name just to create an otherwise anonymous online identity.

I also really hate how Google Glass now uploads my photos automatically to Google Plus even though I've told it not to. I don't use Google Plus, and I don't really want Google shoving it down my throat.

I'm like the OP - I don't trust Google, and I don't use them nearly as much as I used to. I use Bing for searching (and hey, Bing Rewards means free Starbucks cash, so you can't really go wrong there!) and I pulled my domain from Google Apps over to Outlook.com (no longer available from Microsoft, unfortunately) for email/contacts/calendars.

Unfortunately, Google offers a few things that have no real alternative, including Google Voice and Glass. My partner bought me a pair of Glass for my birthday, so I have to use Google stuff with it for the moment. Google Voice has no real alternative (that's free, that is), so I'm pretty much stuck with that. Hopefully Glass will open up to other service providers soon so that I can add my Outlook.com stuff to it.
Sell or send me your vintage Mac things if you don't want them.
     
P
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Jun 3, 2014, 03:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by shifuimam View Post
One thing that bothers me a lot about Google is the whole you-have-to-use-a-real-name thing. This isn't South Korea. I should never be required to provide my full name just to create an otherwise anonymous online identity.
Well, there is a solution to that: Lie. Just put Donald Duck or something. I don't use any services that require my real name, but several that require my date of birth for age verification, and I always lie. Same about place of birth and that sort of thing. It's not like they can check.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
badidea
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Jun 3, 2014, 05:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by Phileas View Post
Install Privacy Badger.
"Browser not supported"

I'm so used to Safari that I really don't want to use another browser...
Never had a Google account because I started to feel uncomfortable with them quite loooooong ago!
I think it started when I first heard about them trying to scan every book in the world - what happened to that project anyway?
Way to much info for one private company!
***
     
P
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Jun 3, 2014, 06:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by badidea View Post
"Browser not supported"
Ironically, it's mostly a Chrome plugin, although there is a Firefox version as well

Originally Posted by badidea View Post
I think it started when I first heard about them trying to scan every book in the world - what happened to that project anyway?
It's right here. There was a very long and boring legal story as a result of it, someone who has kept up to date on what happened in the end will have to fill you in. I think Google basically settled in a deal that gave them exclusive rights to all written words in perpetuity, and then got pissed when the judge refused to endorse that deal. Or something like that.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Shaddim
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Jun 4, 2014, 10:03 AM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
Well, there is a solution to that: Lie. Just put Donald Duck or something. I don't use any services that require my real name, but several that require my date of birth for age verification, and I always lie. Same about place of birth and that sort of thing. It's not like they can check.
Yep, one name I use with them is Harry Manback, it's not like the check.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
subego
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Jun 4, 2014, 12:02 PM
 
I'm fond of "Yitzhak Spityarn".
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 5, 2014, 05:26 AM
 
You're THE Yitzhak Spityarn?
     
   
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