Scroogle has been set up by people who oppose this type of snooping and invasion of privacy and are very clear on the terms of usage of their proxy. That is all records are deleted within a limited time.

Stop trying to scare people Nunya with spam comments on silly articles. It is not about good or evil. Google are not evil. They are just trying to make a lot of money by invading your privacy and building a vivid picture of who you are and recording all information about your IP address including names and contacts, preferences etc. This folder could in the future be used against you in a court of law which would be wholly unfair if you had done nothing wrong and false misrepresentations were made based on simple search terms you had used over the course of a lifetime.

The human mind is infinite and based on stories in the press and different subjects could search for a myriad of different topics in an effort to educate oneself. Most of us don’t search for instructions on how to build bombs or uranium enrichment, but if you did out of curiosity should you find a government agent at your doorstep one day or be sent to jail because of this search that was made on such a such date? If you were at the scene of a crime and arrested and the government agencies were to look at your search engine records and they show “possible terrorist activity” because you once searched on how to build a bomb would this be fair? People should have the right to look for whatever they want in their own privacy provided they are not looking at paedophilia or harming anyone.

I think scroogle are doing a great job and are very clear on what their proxy is about – the maintenance of your privacy. Stop trying to scaremonger and frighten people!

http://anonymous.livelyblog.com/2007/01/16/do-you-feel-safe-using-scroogle-to-hide-from-google/

For more information see http://balafria.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/ixquick-protects-your-privacy/

There are many good proxy servers out there, but alas also many bad ones, as you so rightly pointed out to Bassfisherman that many do not have any reassurances or policies……stick only with safe and trusted proxies

All the best

Colin

And again agree on the the belief it’s upto you to decide what’s best for you. Reminds me of a before-they-were-famous Razorlight song with the powerful words “but I wish… you’d make up your own mind”

And thanks Tio, a compliment from you my friend is a compliment I’m proud to receive.

Cheers,
Pete

Thanks for the compliment. I admire your ambitions and I think you are on a worthy path.

Peace my friend. Take it easy

Tio

I guess I also feel it’s a bit late for me – I was ignorant to the extent that this information is stored for a long time. But I also use the web loads and for me it’s just too much hassle to worry about this (along with everything else!)

Informed decisions are very important tho, and you opened my eyes further so thanks again too.

We are all individuals at the end of the day and we have to make decisions for ourselves. Alot of my work is aimed at raising public awareness. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world today. I feel that with this in mind, it is vital that we think about what data we are potentially sharing with others and that we seek to protect ourselves and maintain our privacy at all times. Whether it be when using the internet or in life in general.

In the world we live in today it is wise for a person to think about the information that they are giving to companies about themselves and to choose wisely what they wish to divulge. I don’t think this is paranoia. From my own personal usage of google products I have become more and more concerned at the blatant desire to track my searches and target me with personalised ads. I don’t like it. I don’t like advertising and marketing. When you add the fact that search engines are compiling over a long period of time a portfolio on you and your IP address it starts to get a bit too invasive. I don’t like it. I am strong believer in civil rights and liberties and I believe that we as individuals and as a collective need to strive to protect our rights and privacy. We should not surrender our freedoms.

This post and similiar items in my blog regarding the subject of protecting your privacy online are pulled together from my own personal interest in learning more and intended for people who feel similarly about the way that search engines operate. If you are willing to accept risks to your privacy and feel comfortable to keep using gmail and google directly then this is of course, your right. If you feel that you are not happy about it and would like to learn more then research and learn more.

Thanks again

Tio

Now I know they work with the Chinese government and others but we’re all compromised to some degree as Mr Zinn rightly tells us. We can only try to do our best, which if we keep trying can keep improving, and we should keep looking in the mirror, and try with a bit of friendliness and style to hold it up to other people as well!

Paranoia can be very negative on ones productivity and progress, and those in power can get every bit of information about me anyway, so tho I’d prefer they didn’t I’m not gonna go out of my way to stop google collecting the information that runs through my head, especially cuz I’m not even sure my efforts would even be successful. We can only keep trying our best and we can’t keep worrying about everything.

Still thanks for another well put together article Tio, it’s good to know.

Thanks but no thanks Bassfisherman…