Simviation Forums

Now I'm a heavy Google user. To me it's what makes the whole internet thing work.

There is Bing, but I simply haven't liked Bing.


For those who don't want either, there is another choice that reputedly values your privacy.

It's not quite there yet, but give it a try - DuckDuckGo.

Aside from the hideous name, the program isn't all that bad.



On the other hand, Google REALLY does push things too far, such as opting you in to a number of things that most people don't want.

I think that it's time for Google to drop the "Do No Evil" motto. It no longer fits.

It's not that I think that they are intentionally "doing evil".

They've simply grown arrogant, and lost touch with normal people.



They do still let you make changes, if you know the What's & Where's.

So lets make a few changes.

5 Google Opt-Out Settings To Check

I just discovered one more.

YouTube settings > Playback

Uncheck all of the annotations and captions options.

Good one Webb, Thanks.



Here's an extremely good reason for restraining Google Plus etc.

Google says GO TO JAIL!


Man jailed for Google Plus invite to ex-girlfriend



This guy had proposed to his girlfriend on Friday.

She said no, one day later, on Saturday.

On Tuesday she got a restraining order against him.

Google sends her an invite, in his name, to join Google+. NOT to join him, but to join Google+, but it's FROM HIS ACCOUNT.

I've certainly gotten unsolicited Google invites. I never gave it two seconds of thought. Google junk mail, right?



So this guy had a restraining order again him by his ex-girlfriend, and he now gets arrested. Straight forward.

That's not your problem. NOBODY has a restraint order against you. Right?



Not so fast there. Suppose some girl goes off the wall because she THINKS that you are stalking her?

HEY! She has a message from your Google plus account, doesn't she? She printed it out to give to the police.

Stalking is one of those laws where the courts err on the side of the woman.

You are guilty. She has the evidence. And if she says that you threatened her, true or not, PROOF or NOT, you're dead meat.



Can anyone recommend an email account OTHER than Google or Hotmail?

OldAirmail wrote:Can anyone recommend an email account OTHER than Google or Hotmail?

Inbox.com

Been using yahoo for years now,.. no problems yet.

I should add that I have a Gmail account for my android tablet but I don't use it.

Steve M wrote:Been using yahoo for years now,.. no problems yet.

I should add that I have a Gmail account for my android tablet but I don't use it.

Congratulations! You have a Google Account.



How Google Accounts work




And you have been opted in for a Google Plus account too.

I'm using Thunderbird!
I've deleted ALL, what so ever has to do with Google or Youtube. I only use it as a search.

My wife got Gmail!! Everytime she logs in on my pc (to print), i see a login option on my Google start page! Must be related to MY IP! My next move will be a "floating" IP, but not sure it'll help....

Who do they think they are (Smilies are out of order )

Like Webb and OldAirmail said... you have to be smarter than Google, go into their Settings and turn EVERYTHING off.

Yes, I think Google is turning into a big megaglopolis, and they're reserving space on the top of the biggest hill around for their mega-compound.

Ooooo! the big bad google!

I'm sorry but I have a really hard time feeling sorry for anyone claiming that google (or any other web entity) is violating their privacy.
Does anyone take the time to read the really fine print when they sign up for things like Google+ or Hotmail, or whatever?

Heres' the deal....these companies, such as google are profit driven. Why shouldn't they be? When you sign up for their "free" services, they need to find a way to make some money so that they can continue to offer you the service for "free".

That means, as we are all aware, that you are going to be subjected to advertisements, and your information (contacts, location, etc..) will be used so that they can try to find more ways to market themselves to drive he bottom line..which is generating a profit. I don't see how this is taken as wrong by so many people.

The solution...start your own domain. register your own webdomain, and run your email through that, instead of the "free" email services you are choosing now. and that is the key word..."CHOOSING"

The internet is anything but private. It never has been. If you don't like it, then don't use their "Free" services or value added features. Heck, even this fine site logs your information. Ever notice the targeted advertisements on the home page (for non-express members anyways...don't know what the other premium members see) even this site needs to generate revenue from YOUR information in order to have money to continue to offer you the service you like to receive when coming here!

That's my 2 cents, take it for what it is. I know that you may not like my opinion, but it dwells more in the realm of reality than believing that you can somehow block the big bad google machine from enterprising off of your name.

I guess that you missed the first post.

But in it, I do point out that there is a company that is doing exactly what you suggest - DuckDuckGo.

It has the nice, simple, and FAST front page that I like in Google.

Search sites like Yahoo give me far more than I want. I want to get on, look up info, and get out. Done



Google is doing what every company must do. Making a profit. If it doesn't, it'll go belly up.

I simple think that we should take advantage of the opportunities that Google gives us to limit how they use our information



"When you sign up for their "free" services, they need to find a way to make some money so that they can continue to offer you the service for "free"."

As far as I'm concerned, they can do it the way TV stations (and SimViation) do it: show adds.

Perhaps this will make more sense - Would you be happy with television stations tracking you and putting in the ads that they think will interest you?

As a member of the over 60 group, I have no interest is seeing adds for funeral insurance, pace makers, or Viagra.

But that's all moot where I'm concerned. I stopped watching TV decades ago.



My contention is that Google has gone far from the SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION - AMENDMENT NO. 9 wherein it states;





I think that their automatic "opting in" of everyone has placed them, not into "evil", but into areas where most people would rather not go - use of your personal information in various ways.

It's all to their credit that they do make it easy to opt-out if you want to. And if you know where to look.



I remember reading a funny article about condoms STAPLED through the middle of the condom onto a card about "safe" sex.

Because I found that article through an unrelated Google search, the moment that I clicked on that article, my "interest" in condoms could be used to target adds for me.

Did it? No. But do I want my web searches being used to direct adds my way? No.



If you read the story about the guy and his EX-girlfriend, you can see how being automatically "opted-in" might be to your disadvantage.

Of course it wasn't malicious on Google's part. They just want to expand Google+. One way they do that is to try and make connections.

If you and John are in the same Google+ circles. And if John has a connection to Judy, and if Judy has a connection to Sue, maybe Sue would like to be in your Google+ circle too.

Google didn't "do evil", and will probably rethink their algorithms.

Meanwhile, the guys' been arrested, surely had to hire a lawyer, will probably have a "stalker" added to a police file that he never had before.

Will he avoid jail? At this point who knows.



As to the so called "right to privacy" on the internet that some people want, I find that funny too.

There is, however, good reasons to want a company like Google to be less free with your information.

But well before Al Gore invented the internet, companies were able, to a limited degree, to track and sell our information.

That was the birth of real paper junk mail.

@ OldAirmail

I think we understand each others points well enough. I guess to expand further on the point that privacy on the internet is not really privacy...

I agree that the more savvy user of the internet will use caution and limit their exposure to the evils of Google et. al.
But...how long until the features that allow us to throttle back the data mining of ones account are essentially stripped to nothing?

I have a feeling that in the next few years, full disclosure of ones personal information and internet usage will be mandatory just to access the internet. If you don't share who you are, then you don't get much back from the internet. How long until companies start claiming to OWN portions of the internet, or start lobbying the government to allow them to purchase specific portions of the operating bandwidth? Recall the cell phone industry for example. I always though it was incredible that a company could purchase the rights to a naturally occurring sine wave at a certain frequency.

It stems down to one simple fact....if people are using it, someone will find a way to make money from it. How long until DuckDuckGo or the likes are swallowed up by the Google machine? Although there may be developers who want to try to practice in as noble a means as possible, eventually the mighty dollar is waved infront of their faces, and "POOF"...you and I are right back square in the middle of another Google like scheme with hidden privacy policies.

OldAirmail wrote:

Steve M wrote:Been using yahoo for years now,.. no problems yet.

I should add that I have a Gmail account for my android tablet but I don't use it.

Congratulations! You have a Google Account.



How Google Accounts work




And you have been opted in for a Google Plus account too.

My android tablet required a gmail account when I set it up. Basically anyone wiyh an Android tablet or phone is in the Google club.

Same here.

I only use the Gmail account for the sites that I don't want to give my real email address to.

I can always "change" my email address later if I want/need to.

Of course "My android tablet required a gmail account when I set it up. Basically anyone wiyh an Android tablet or phone is in the Google club"..... Android is owned by Google.

I really dont understand what the problem is. Does no-one read small print before signing on??
For me, Google & GMail is great. It's made life so easy for me. I'm careful what I use it/them for. So what if my usage is being tracked.. I've got nothing to hide. Unlike a lot of people that use social media to post their whole life.. (mabee insecurities that make them want to share stuff with total strangers).. I just keep myself pretty clean out there.

I also tried Duckduck, but just found Google, for what my needs are, better. But I'll try it again.

Now I'm a heavy Google user. To me it's what makes the whole internet thing work.

I opened with that line for a reason.

I have nothing against Google EXCEPT THAT THEY AUTOMATICLY OPT YOU IN FOR THINGS THAT YOU MAY NOT WANT TO BE OPTED IN FOR!


"Does no-one read small print before signing on??"

GOOGLE AND OTHER COMPANIES CHANGE THIER POLICIES FROM TIME TO TIME.

IF YOU DO NOT SPECIFICLY OPT OUT, THEN YOU ARE AUTOMATICLY OPTED IN.

How often do you want to re-read terms of use looking for those one or two word changes that may make a significant difference?

Personally, I object to the need to do that.