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Google desktop delivers 'unacceptable risk'
The Age Company ^ | February 21, 2006 | Louisa Hearn

Posted on 02/21/2006 6:19:41 PM PST by george76

Gartner, the technology research group, has added its voice to warnings about a feature in Google's new Desktop beta that allows users to transfer data between two computers.

The Desktop 3 update was released a fortnight ago by Google, and a new feature called Search Across Computers enables the transfer of information such as emails, instant messages and other files so they can be searched from another computer.

But to enable the transfer, the user must first authorise Google to store material from the PC on its own servers for up to 30 days.

"The newest release of Google's desktop search application is fine for technically adept personal users.

But the Search Across Computers option should be disabled or heavily managed by enterprises,"...

Google believes the product would appeal to those wanting a way to use their home computer to search through data stored in the office, or vice versa, but agrees that users and organisations would have to give up a degree of privacy to use it.

Gartner said that as convenient as that feature might be, it also brought with it "a degree of risk".

It advises any companies using the enterprise edition to immediately disable the feature and restrict its use among employees.

"...an unacceptable security risk to many enterprises."

Google told technology news site ZDNet in the UK that some companies could choose to disable the feature...Andy Ku, European marketing manager for Google.

(Excerpt) Read more at theage.com.au ...


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: beta; computer; computers; desktop; desktop3update; desktopbeta; emails; enterpriseedition; g78; gartner; goog; google; googles; googlesdesktop; instantmessages; otherfiles; privacy; researchgroup; searchacross; spying; technology; zdnet

1 posted on 02/21/2006 6:19:44 PM PST by george76
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To: george76

Me no trust google. Me use clusty and alltheweb instead.


4 posted on 02/21/2006 6:25:54 PM PST by the anti-liberal (Hey, Al Qaeda: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent)
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To: george76

Well, if I find it in my IT department, it's gone.


5 posted on 02/21/2006 6:30:12 PM PST by Lunatic Fringe (North Texas Solutions http://ntxsolutions.com)
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To: Lunatic Fringe; ShadowAce

What do you recommend ?


6 posted on 02/21/2006 6:31:26 PM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: george76

Google needs to hire a professional web designer before anyone will use their operating system, lol.


8 posted on 02/21/2006 6:42:36 PM PST by TeenagedConservative
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To: TeenagedConservative

operating system = desktop

>_>


9 posted on 02/21/2006 6:43:08 PM PST by TeenagedConservative
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To: george76

For the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone would load their toolbar -

How hard or time consuming is it to actually go to google to use google rather then to have a bar taking up another 5% of your screen all the time ?


10 posted on 02/21/2006 6:48:30 PM PST by RS ("I took the drugs because I liked them and I found excuses to take them, so I'm not weaseling.")
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To: RS

I cannoot imagine ..I have a list of search sites in favorites and just click on!


11 posted on 02/21/2006 7:26:42 PM PST by MEG33 (GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES)
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To: george76
What do you recommend ?

I'm giving it a pass. I don't even use Google as a search engine.

12 posted on 02/22/2006 5:35:30 AM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: RS; Grampa Dave

13 posted on 02/22/2006 1:10:29 PM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: TeenagedConservative

14 posted on 02/22/2006 3:07:40 PM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

15 posted on 03/13/2006 7:15:19 AM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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