Posted on 02/19/2012 11:36:10 PM PST by LegendHasIt
OK, a few hours ago I tried to do a google search.... Something very benign (I do all my searches for things that 0bama & co wouldn't like with other search engines anyway).
So I type in my search terms and click the button.
And it comes back with a page saying "We have detected unusual search patterns coming from your computer. You must identify yourself to continue., with blanks to fill in, and one of those security scramble graphics where you have to type in the letters/numbers to prove you aren't a robot.
Of course I got the heck out of there immediately, and swore to never use google again, since I don't trust them anyway.
Then a full computer scan with Ad-Aware reported a "hostile entry attempt from google.com" and submitted it for "Threat Alliance analysis".
Also, if you havent already, switch to Firefox and get the no-script add on. You might also like one called (I think) dont track me, and ad-blocker.
You are thinking of the extension Ghostery (for "dont track me"). I've got that one installed and it's pretty informative.
AdBlock Plus is pretty useful too, as well as Flashblock for those of us on bandwidth limited connections.
With all the hating on Google this might be unwelcome, but I just love me some Google Dictionary. This fetches a definition of anything I select on a page. Pretty nice
This all runs on Chrome too.
That's the SEO industry. Ironically, SEO
stands for Search Engine Optimization. That is to say, optimum for the searchee, not the searcher. I am the searcher (I don't really have a web site I want to promote, LOL). Thus, SEO is my enemy, not my friend. It is also Google's enemy, because it reduces the effectiveness of the Google search engine as perceived by its users (me).
Folks seem to have trouble understanding the search engine business model. To a search engine, the searcher is the product, not the customer. The customer is the advertiser, to whom the search engine delivers eyeballs. The search engine wins by delivering eyeballs to advertisers. It best does that by delivering the best search results with the least effort on the part of the eyeball.
Check out this Firefox add onn
TMN Track Me Not. It sends spoof/false searches to Googel, and has them chasing their tail up a tree.
I got totally fed up with all the Java BS and cookies yada yada yada at Google.
Switched to Yahoo search, much cleaner. If they start pulling stunts like Google, I will dump them and find another one.
Be prepared to plunk down big money.
This is no longer the nice, helpful Google wunderkind of the 90s.
Small businesses are summarily steam rolled by the Big Guys.
Oh, I had redirected all the google-analytics, googleads and doubleclick URLs a long time ago, although they seem to come up with new ones pretty often, and yeah, I had experienced horrible stalls and slowdowns prior to that , especially over at HotAir.
Earlier tonight I added google.com to the redirect list.
That ought to be interesting.
Hey i could have written your. Awesome. My phone barely knows i own it.
Is it safe to add on to Firefox?
I use Ubuntu Linux, Firefox with add-ons and ixquick for anonymous searches.
But nothing is foolproof;
How a father found out his daughter was pregnant;
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/
I have used Google Patents (since when it was a “beta” feature) to search for very old patent information. Sometimes you have to examine many patents to find what you want, because their search based on OCR processing of scanned patent images from the USPTO, and that doesn’t work reliably on very old patents. In extreme cases, you might have to look at dozens or maybe hundreds of patents.
I have had exactly the same problem as what you have described, including the “unusual search patterns” message and the “Captcha” entry roadblock (which I could never get past no matter how many times I tried.
But this wasn’t recent-this was several years ago. I haven’t had the problem recently, though.
I’m more inclined to think this is a software glitch rather than anything sinister, an attempt to block “bots”.
But with Google, you’re never sure.
Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File
It includes the entry you mentioned, and hundreds more.
I havent see that. I just did a Google search to check it out.
I havent see that. I just did a Google search to check it out.
Now, damn near every web page has advertisements and links to some seller of electric golf carts.
“(I do all my searches for things that 0bama & co wouldn’t like with other search engines anyway).”
WH/DNC pressure on google?
Sounds like a phishing attack - someone trying to get your info to use for themselves.
It is for this reason that I NEVER use Google’s search engine. I use Ixquick.com or Scroogle.com, which perform anonymous searches through their proxies.
On my Droid, the stupid google box with squiggly letters came up on my phone. I don't remember the reason they gave for this but, it took me several tries to figure out what the darned letters were to be able to even get to FR on my phone. I can't read those stupid squiggly letters! I was so annoying!
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