Google Goes Down Again?

[Octet]

For those of you who don't know, Google, Amazon and Microsoft recently experienced major issues relating to their online services.

This is something that you might expect from a small website, maybe even something like the BBC but when Google drops off the net causing 40% of all traffic to stop (and taking most of the backbone with it) then it begs the question as to what is happening.

Youtube.com appears to be down at the moment, with Google's servers issuing an HTTP 502. Ordinarily you would put this down to a problem with a web server... but with the number of backups and redundancy plans Google has in place then I'm sure it's going to get a lot of people asking some very big questions.

The problem that I see this having is that all these services are "big data" holders, meaning whether you like it, know it, or want it to happen... they shall be holding vast amounts of data on each and everyone of us. (I'm not suggesting that the current issues being faced are a result of an attack or an attempt to obtain information from Google)

So, the question I pose to you is:

"With an increasing number of people, especially young children, making themselves more and more vulnerable online... is it time for someone to act and what should be done about it (if anything), or is it an unavoidable consequence of the changing times?"

 

[slowmotion]

Don't use Google. It really is that simple if you doubt their motives. After their wireless network trawl by the camera cars, I do.

 

[Octet]

Don't use Google. It really is that simple if you doubt their motives. After their wireless network trawl by the camera cars, I do.

Personally I don't use their web search any more (DuckDuckGo instead), I block tracking cookies and I have JavaScript disabled by default. The problem is that the majority of people shall use the service (which is fine), but even if you simply don't go to Google or any of it's associated websites then you are still being tracked (by both Google and many others), and your data is still being collected.

The main problem however is people who voluntarily place data onto the world wide web without thinking about what they're doing.

 

[Wobblers]

Don't use Google. It really is that simple if you doubt their motives. After their wireless network trawl by the camera cars, I do.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Google services are everywhere. Google analytics, adsense, your email to any gmail address parsed, analysed and stored... oh, and a significant portion of internet traffic passes through their network. Unless you make considerable effort - at a very minimum using the noscript plugin on Firefox to block all javascript from a Google domain, and likewise blocking all cookies from Google domains as well as avoiding all Google services - you're stuffed.

 

[Octet]

Yeah, good luck with that.

Google services are everywhere. Google analytics, adsense, your email to any gmail address parsed, analysed and stored... oh, and a significant portion of internet traffic passes through their network. Unless you make considerable effort - at a very minimum using the noscript plugin on Firefox to block all javascript from a Google domain, and likewise blocking all cookies from Google domains as well as avoiding all Google services - you're stuffed.

And Google is only part of the problem, thousands of services exist which shall do a similar thing in addition to the data that people voluntarily put up in the form of comments on content, pictures and video, likes and dislikes etc.

Nowadays you wouldn't even need to do a social engineering attack to work out who people are... as a lot of people shall willingly put it on the internet!

 

[Cycling Dan]

Its back up.

 

[Cycling Dan]

Don't use Google. It really is that simple if you doubt their motives. After their wireless network trawl by the camera cars, I do.

I don't think that's actually possible.
At least 40% of internet traffic is Google related. Makes for slim pickings.

 

[slowmotion]

Yeah, good luck with that.

Google services are everywhere. Google analytics, adsense, your email to any gmail address parsed, analysed and stored... oh, and a significant portion of internet traffic passes through their network. Unless you make considerable effort - at a very minimum using the noscript plugin on Firefox to block all javascript from a Google domain, and likewise blocking all cookies from Google domains as well as avoiding all Google services - you're stuffed.

Crikey! All that old stuff about Grassy Knolls seems positively benign.

 

[Wobblers]

Crikey! All that old stuff about Grassy Knolls seems positively benign.

I'll have you know that I find my custom made tin foil hat very comfortable, thank you very much.

 

[Octet]

I think the point of this thread has been miss-understood.....

 

[Frood42]

The pace and change of technology has gone so quickly that governments were ill prepared and too slow to act on what was happening and did not fully understand the potential of it all.

These services are not for free, otherwise they would not exist, or would not have moved on at such a rapid pace as they have and still are.

There is some change happening, like increased privacy controls, but these are simple measures to keep a majority happy enough.

I use Google's services and have been happy enough with them, and I am not overly bothered about a computer script/programme looking at my inane mostly pointless personal emails.

I also like Google Play, its not a bad attempt at creating an infrastructure to challenge piracy, and I much prefer it to iTunes.

I would be more concerned about the news where councils are selling electoral roles to 3rd parties.

 

[Longshot]

Well, my Google is working today but, for some reason, it's in Greek.

 

[Keith Oates]

So you can learn Greek for free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pplpilot]

they can have what ever info they want about me, I don't consider myself that important to worry about it.

 

[mr_cellophane]

DuckDuckGo

Never heard of that, so I Googled it. Was that wrong ?