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Thread: Is the Google Toolbar spyware (tracks your navigation)?

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  1. #1
    Data64 Guest

    Re: Is the Google Toolbar spyware ( HELL YES! )?

    "Vanguard" <rztqf6v02-nix@sneakemail-nix.com> wrote in news:vXQ7b.415338
    $uu5.74857@sccrnsc04:

    I am not trying to be a troll, just curious. Why exactly do you use
    google bar ?

    To search google I go to the address box and type
    "g spyware" to search for spyware. If I wanted to search in google groups
    then I would type "gg spyware" and so on.
    This works in IE too (although I use it in Mozilla) using the QuickSearch
    web accessory from Microsoft.
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/...cess/ie5wa.asp




    data64

  2. #2
    Dick Justice Guest

    Re: Is the Google Toolbar spyware ( HELL YES! )?


    "Data64" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
    news:Xns93F2E606A1DBFData64Bigfootcom@130.133.1.4. ..
    > "Vanguard" <rztqf6v02-nix@sneakemail-nix.com> wrote in news:vXQ7b.415338
    > $uu5.74857@sccrnsc04:
    >
    > I am not trying to be a troll, just curious. Why exactly do you use
    > google bar ?
    >
    > To search google I go to the address box and type
    > "g spyware" to search for spyware. If I wanted to search in google groups
    > then I would type "gg spyware" and so on.
    > This works in IE too (although I use it in Mozilla) using the QuickSearch
    > web accessory from Microsoft.
    > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/...cess/ie5wa.asp


    I wasn't aware of that search feature!



  3. #3
    Vanguard Guest

    Re: Is the Google Toolbar spyware ( HELL YES! )?

    I have the IE5 Web Accessories installed (for IE6). Entering "g
    <anything>" just brings up the MSN search results. For me, that
    technique doesn't work to use Google. Then I hunted around a bit more.
    I opened the Search pane and clicked the Customize button. I saw the
    Autosearch Settings buttons and clicked on that. You then get a
    drop-down listbox of providers to use for the auto-search where you can
    then select Google. However, entering "g firewall" and "gg firewall"
    resulted in both just doing a Google Web Search; i.e., the "gg firewall"
    did not display a search result from Google Groups. In fact, using "g
    firewall" resulted in a Google Web Search on "g firewall" and using "gg
    firewall" resulted in a search on "gg firewall". It looks like you are
    still expected to use "? <string>", "go <string>", or "find firewall" to
    do the auto-search from the Address bar. All the [Google] search will
    default to using the Google Web category. You have to click the
    QuickSearch link that the Web Accessories install put into your Links
    toolbar and add the definitions:

    For Google Web Search: g = http://www.google.com/search?q=%s
    For Google Groups Search: gg = http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%s
    For Google Images Search: gi = http://images.google.com/images?q=%s
    For Google Directory Search: gd =
    http://www.google.com/search?cat=gwd%%2FTop&q=%s
    For Google News Search: gn = http://news.google.com/news?q=%s

    Note the doubled percent sign ("%%") in the URL specified in the
    QuickSearch definition; it is needed to escape the "%" used for the
    "%2F" hexadecimal value for the "/" character needed in the resultant
    URL (the original URL was
    http://www.google.com/search?cat=gwd%2FTop&q=%s). That's a lot of work
    and a bit of research to find the shortest URLs that you can use just to
    replace the Google Toolbar. Also, you know have to remember all the
    prefixes (g, gg, gd, gi, gn) to know where you will be searching, or
    just use g for the search and then click on the other tabs in the
    results page (which will then double the amount of time to do the search
    since it gets performed again). And to understand what the Quicksearch
    does, you'll have to visit http://snurl.com/ie_tools to get a glimpse on
    how to use it from the terse description.

    While you can select Google for the search engine used for the
    AutoSearch feature in the Address bar, it doesn't appear as a choice for
    a search engine in the Search pane. Google will let you select it as
    the default search engine for the entire Search pane but not as a
    selection of an additional search engine to include with other search
    engines.

    Other features that I like about the Google Toolbar:

    - Search through the current site (instead of a Google search).
    - Search for a dictionary definition of the search string.
    - The Highlighter button to instantly highlight the search string in the
    results page or in a page you navigate to from a Google search result
    link. Lets you know where in the document the search string appears
    without having to use Ctrl+F to do a find on the string.
    - Word Find buttons (one for each word in the search string) that let
    you walk through the results page or through a page you linked to from
    the results page. You don't have to hit Ctrl+F nor is the Find dialog
    window in your way.
    - Having a separate history for searches (in the Google Toolbar) rather
    than messing up the URL history list in your Address bar. In fact, I
    had autosearch disabled in the advanced options because I didn't want
    the search strings polluting my URL history in the Address bar drop-down
    list, so Quicksearch wouldn't work anyway.
    - Block popups, handy if you don't already have a popup blocker (I use
    PopUp Cop). I suspect it is rather simplistic, however.
    - Page Ranking (if you don't mind divulging "anonymous" statistics on
    where you navigate, and that you don't have a problem getting the
    intended target site through their server).

    So there is enough handy extra features in the Google Toolbar that make
    it desirable over using the more simplistic Address bar, having to
    install the IE5 Web Accessories, and then having to manually configure
    all those search prefixes and remember them. My big concern was that
    they were recording my navigation to web sites even when all the
    privacy-divulging options were disabled. An uninstall and reinstall
    (using their downloadable installer rather than doing an on-demand
    install) fixed that. The problem with not getting to some web sites
    after installing the Google Toolbar went away after doing a re-install
    of all components of IE6. There is also some suspicion that a Windows
    Update occurred and got installed but required a reboot to complete and
    might've contributed to the problem of some sites being unreachable. I
    seemed to have slammed enough updates and reinstalls on my computer to
    whack IE back into working now.

    --
    __________________________________________________ __________
    ** Share with others. Post replies in the newsgroup.
    ** If present, remove all "-nix" from my email address.
    __________________________________________________ __________


    "Data64" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
    news:Xns93F2E606A1DBFData64Bigfootcom@130.133.1.4. ..
    > "Vanguard" <rztqf6v02-nix@sneakemail-nix.com> wrote in

    news:vXQ7b.415338
    > $uu5.74857@sccrnsc04:
    >
    > I am not trying to be a troll, just curious. Why exactly do you use
    > google bar ?
    >
    > To search google I go to the address box and type
    > "g spyware" to search for spyware. If I wanted to search in google

    groups
    > then I would type "gg spyware" and so on.
    > This works in IE too (although I use it in Mozilla) using the

    QuickSearch
    > web accessory from Microsoft.
    > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/...cess/ie5wa.asp
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > data64




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