For Privacy's Sake, Switch to

[pennyjangle]

Dear Colleague:

Recent privacy discussions about Microsoft and Google have re-ignited
the important debate about search engine privacy. In a CNBC interview
aired last week, the issue was made clear:


        "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe
        you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. If you really need
        that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines --
        including Google -- do retain this information for some time and
        it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the
        United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all
        that information could be made available to the authorities."
       
        [Source: ]


Even a Mozilla executive is now recommending on his blog that people
look at alternative search engines for privacy reasons.
[Source:
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/asa/archives/2009/12/if_you_have_nothing.html ]

Startpage (www.startpage.com) by Ixquick is a search engine that is
uniquely positioned to be that alternative. Fully focused on privacy
since 2006, Startpage (known as Ixquick.com in Europe) is the only major
search engine that does not retain your personal data.

Startpage's privacy policy is widely considered the best in the
industry:

- No recording of your IP address.
- No identifying cookies.
- No collecting of personal data.
- No sharing of personal data with third parties.
- Offering secure, encrypted connections (HTTPS/SSL)
- And a full proxy service to be launched next month.

This information could be a useful resource to your audience in these
important discussions.
Please contact me if you would like additional information, or to
arrange a phone or radio interview.

Sincerely,

Dr. Katherine Albrecht
US Media Relations, Startpage by Ixquick
(877) 434-3100
[email protected]
www.KatherineAlbrecht.com


Has anyone heard of Startpage?

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

But I don't search for illegal things, so why should any of this worry me?  I'll stick to google.

[muman613]

But I don't search for illegal things, so why should any of this worry me?  I'll stick to google.

The issue, for me, is not illegal things... It is that they know what you are searching for, and they sell this information and use it to target advertisements to you. This is why I get annoyed because I use google mail and since I get many Torah related articles often they target me with non-Kosher 'messianic' advertisements. I also fear that should it become illegal to study Torah {as it was during the Greek domination} then it would be an easy matter to track me down.

I am begining to fear google because they are attempting to move us all to 'cloud' computing where we no longer store things on a local harddrive and instead store all our files on the network, so we can access it from any device... While it has its conveniences it also has its inconveniences since we no longer own the data which we accumulate, instead google owns it. We are also locked into paying them for the service via monthly bills, where it costs me nothing to add 1T of storage to my system today... I am very much afraid of the future model which google is designing because we will lose our freedom, and are at the mercy of a power which may be too powerful.

[briann]

Personally, I think the smartest thing to do, is to access JTF on a completely separate, isolated browser... one that can run simultaneously with your 'normal' browser.

The best way to do this, is by using firefox, and create a shortcut with a target like this:

"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -p jtf1 -no-remote      (jtf1 is just an arbitrary name of this profile).  Click on it, create the jtf1 profile, and you are set.

Now, use the jtf1 browser ONLY for jtf (and stuff related to it)

Use your normal browser for personal stuff.  (Still set it to clear cookies when you exit though)

You can also do this, by just using another browser (like Google Chrome or Opera) for JTF, and continue to use firefox for your main.

[muman613]

Good idea brian but that doesn't really address the google search engine issue. The google search engine can track via Ip adress and that doesnt change when you you a different browser profile... Maybe if you don't allow cookies it may provide some additional security, but cookies also make the session easier to use.... I think google needs to be more transparent about how they use this information.

[briann]

Good idea brian but that doesn't really address the google search engine issue. The google search engine can track via Ip adress and that doesnt change when you you a different browser profile... Maybe if you don't allow cookies it may provide some additional security, but cookies also make the session easier to use.... I think google needs to be more transparent about how they use this information.

I was not aware that google is using IPs to track searches.  If this is true, this is truly awful.   One nice thing about the profile method that I mentioned with firefox, is that your JTF browser could use a proxy, while simultaneously having your regular browser without a proxy.  This would make it close to impossible for any service to trace your regular browsing with your JTF usage.