Google Toolbar is Spyware? - Comments

Actually I Think that it is more the case of his IT department being pontifical than clueless. I have found that IT departments tend to want to make every body the same and will fight any and all changes. To be fair I can see their point to a degree.

I am the nearest my small office has to an IT department, and I install Google Toolbar on all new PCs, and some old one too. I have sometimes found another Toolbar installed by the user and removed that, as it is often Spyware. Google Toolbar is immensely nice to have.

I think there are certain groups of people who see spyware everywhere. Every new toolbar, every new feature...they are convinced there is a dark side to everything and that it must have spyware. Some people just don't know a good program when they see it! They should stop being so paranoid!

Forty years of suffering under the tyranny of IT managerial organizations suggests a simple answer. They do it because they can. As in any other organism, their main purpose is to survive and grow. IT functions properly only when their superiors in the organizational food chain require them to be a service organization rather than a supervisory group. In other words, make them do their jobs rather than build empires.

The definitive discussion of this issue (both sides) IMHO can be found at: http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/googleupdater/

Although I like Google's products, they do house a *lot* of information, and are seeking more (there's no such thing as "free" email, and yes, I do have a GMail account). So they obviously find value in information. So they can *say* whatever they want about not collecting personally-identifying information, but unless everyone is sniffing every packet that gets sent in by the toolbar, we are taking their word for it. And in computer world, your IP address is an identifier, and that certainly is available when data is sent in. Like the old saying goes: "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're *not* out to get you."

The simple act of collecting client information does not designate a service as "spyware". Selling or otherwise distributing it without clear & concise permission does. Google uses the info they collect for their & your enhancement of service.

Some thoughts:
1. Not being spyware is not _the_ appropriate criteria for determining whether software can be allowed in an organization. The value of information is context dependent; there are times when simply knowing the sites visited by a competator's employees provides a competative advantage.
2. Given the new data security, recovery, and corporate governance laws (GLBA, HIPPA, SOX, FACTA, PAS56, ISO7799, etc.), it is best to block any software not specifically approved by corporate officers (or the legal department).
3. "Good" companies provide a way for employees to get software approved...
4. Standardizing software reduces support and licensing costs. (It also speeds recovery.)
5. Your work system belongs to your company; it has the right to specify what you run on it. It is stuck with the consiquences of your choices.

These are corporate governance and liability issues. Its easy to forget their impact on your ability to install software on "your" (work) system.

"In order to automatically update this display for each page you visit, the Toolbar sends information about the page you are viewing to the Google servers. Google, Inc. does not collect information that directly identifies you (e.g., your name, email address) and will not sell or provide personally identifiable information to any third parties. We strongly encourage you to read our privacy policy for more information on this topic."

Translating this doublespeak, Google most certainly DOES collect information about you, though it doesn't collect personal info such as your name or e-mail address. What it does collect is a tag that identifies your computer, so that your browsing habits can be tracked. So long as the toolbar is installed you're tracked, evfen if you delete all your cookies, for with the toolbar cookies aren't needed to track you. Look at the toolbar as something like a GPS ankle bracelet that your probation officer provides you with. The Yahoo! toolbar is no different, and ditto for thye Alexa (Altavista) toolbar. When your browser's wearing the "bracelet," participating ad agencies can track you with the help of Google's servers that store all kinds of browsing info.

Never in the history of business has the corporate sleeze factor been as high as it is today. Forget about toolbars, smileys, and all that other garbage that's designed for one purpose: to get you to transfer your money out of your bank account and into someone else's bank account ASAP!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Your claim that "participating ad agencies can track you with the help of Google's servers" is bad-faith speculation... unless you can back up such a claim, it's better not to make it.

I am looking forward to writing about toolbars = spyware on my blog soon, but thought i should let you know this right now!

A program/code that is capable of sending your personal information such as the sites you visit etc which may be after you have used their certain features, the program/code is by the definition of spyware - it really is!

So, enjoy surfing the old days way. No toolbar, no spyware! They are spyware, go read their terms and conditions and see what kind of information they are sending to them and why ? Why can you not have a toolbar for FREE ? perhaps we will get a toolbar that you can BUY?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sorry, but you can't make up your own definition of spyware and declare all toolbars guilty. There are plenty of free toolbars that are quite benign and useful. And I'm sure there are some paid-for toolbars that do nasty things.