I'm still using Google, but I'm considering adding Startpage to my browser instead. They were discussing on a radio show about how Google uses tracking cookies for all the websites you've ever visited, and all the Google searches you ever made.
This information is supposedly kept in a database, and it available for the asking to the police, government, etc. This is usually if they want to trace your steps and profile you in some manner.
I don't have a gmail account, but they are supposed to be the same way. All information in every email from those with a gmail account, or people who send emails to others with gmail accounts.
They recommended Startpage be used on a regular basis instead of Google. In the future, Startpage is supposed to also have an email service available that will be private. Here's more info...
Quote:
Startpage offers you Web search results from Google in complete privacy!
When you search with Startpage, we remove all identifying information from your query and submit it anonymously to Google ourselves. We get the results and return them to you in total privacy.
Your IP address is never recorded, your visit is not logged, and no tracking cookies are placed on your browser.
When it comes to protecting your privacy, Startpage runs the tightest ship on the Internet. Our outstanding privacy policy and thoughtful engineering give you great search results in total anonymity. Here are some of our key features:
�Free proxy surfing available.
�Praised by privacy experts worldwide.
�Twelve-year company track record.
�Third-party certified.
�No IP address recorded.
�No record is made of your searches.
�No identifying or tracking cookies used.
�Powerful SSL encryption available.
To learn more, check out our privacy page and read our privacy policy. We're confident you'll like what you see. https://startpage.com/
__________________ "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~
I've been using Startpage for about a year, and am very pleased with it. It serves up the same stuff as Google, since it uses Google with its own profile. Nothing of yours is passed to Google.
I haven't tried the proxy surfing. I have no need for that, and I find other proxy servers to be very slow.
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- Jim
�Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.� Sir Winston Churchill
Thanks for sharing that Jfh. I remember a long time ago your mentioning Startpage on the forum, when I was talking about Ixquick. I don't know anything about proxy servers. The think I don't like is being monitored by a global brain like Google, and then if I shop online for Thorlo socks, I get Thorlo sock, and all other sock ads on my homepage, and everywhere I look...creepy, IMO.
Tracking cookies aren't a big deal. You can set them to be deleted in most browsers or firewalls and even if you have them going all they do is create a text file with the location of your ISP's closest switch. It's scary to some people but if it can even locate your zip code it is better than most -- it's pretty crummy technology that isn't satisfying to anyone.
Google maintains a lot of info about you, especially if you have a Google account for any of their services, like Gmail. You should disable the Google search capturing of your actiivity, or use something like Startpage. So, it is not just cookies.
I'm so glad you started this thread k2c b/c I haven't been happy with AOL and their search engine compared to what I use to find with google. It is creepy that they advertise the very thing you've done a search for.
My current online activity isn't enough to worry about anything.
But, in the future, I'd like to have a little online business so this info will come in very handy for security.
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The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease
Startpage (Private Search Engine)
Linear Mode
