Posts Tagged Google
Google: We didn’t help the NSA (or did we?)
Posted by Chris Soghoian
Google is now the first of the major search engines and e-mail providers to make a firm statement on the issue of the National Security Agency’s wholesale surveillance of Internet content.
Google has stated it didn’t help the NSA search your e-mails. More specifically the company denies participating in the NSA’s Terrorist Surveillance Program. But the company’s carefully worded denial might not be enough to reassure savvy readers.
The Wall Street Journal recently revealed the true extent of the NSA’s surveillance system:
“According to current and former intelligence officials, the spy agency now monitors huge volumes of records of domestic e-mails and Internet searches.”
This builds on what we learned the previous week, when The Washington Post revealed that the primary motivation for the White House’s wiretapping immunity demands is to protect those firms that assisted with illegal, mass-scale surveillance of e-mail traffic.
Google has now taken the interesting step to become the first major Internet company to deny helping the NSA. In an on-the-record e-mail with a company spokesperson on Friday, I was told that:
“Google was not part of the NSA’s Terrorist Surveillance Program.”
Is that enough to reassure you?
If Google was obligated to give up search/e-mail records, it is likely that this request would be made via a Patriot Act authorized National Security Letter. A recent Journalarticle confirmed as much, stating that the information gained from National Security letters ended up in the gigantic NSA databases. But recipients of those letters may not be allowed to tell anyone about it, and may in fact be forced to lie.
The owner of an ISP who received one of these secret orders explained the significant restrictions placed upon him in a letter to The Washington Post back in 2007.
Under the threat of criminal prosecution, I must hide all aspects of my involvement in the case–including the mere fact that I received an NSL–from my colleagues, my family and my friends. When I meet with my attorneys I cannot tell my girlfriend where I am going or where I have been. I hide any papers related to the case in a place where she will not look. When clients and friends ask me whether I am the one challenging the constitutionality of the NSL statute, I have no choice but to look them in the eye and lie.
If this poor gentleman had to lie to his girlfriend and family, it’s possible that Google, if it did receive a FBI National Security Letter, might be placed in a similar position.
Careful wording
My original question to Google was, “Is Google sharing ‘huge volumes’ of search records with the government?” I never asked about the NSA’s Terrorist Surveillance Program specifically.
As Salon’s Glenn Greenwald has explained, the Bush administration has been very careful with its use of the term “Terrorist Surveillance Program.” Many snooping activities, some of which were clearly illegal, do not come under this definition. Simply put, Google could have handed over a copy of every search request and every e-mail sent by a Gmail user to the U.S. government and it would still be able to quite correctly deny participating in the Terrorist Surveillance Program.
In any case, on January 17, 2007, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced that the Terrorist Surveillance Program would not be reauthorized by the president, but would be subjected to quasi-judicial oversight. So the Terrorist Surveillance Program, at least by that name, no longer exists, and Google could be actively handing over millions of e-mails, while the statement made by its PR people would be completely true.
Continued concerns
What if Google’s PR people are telling the truth? What if Google really didn’t help the NSA, and that the spooks are collecting millions of search records via wiretaps placed on the Internet backbone?
It’s worth pointing out that Google has stood up to the feds when they demanded search records a couple years back–but this was the DOJ, not the NSA.
The problem remains that Google is not doing a single thing to protect its customers from this kind of large-scale surveillance. While the company supports SSL-encrypted Webmail sessions, it does little to advertise it, and has taken no steps to turn it on by default.
However, the biggest problem is search. Google offers no way for its customers to search the Internet without an evil ISP (such as AT&T) from snooping in on the traffic. Google could very easily enable SSL search sessions, but has not taken any steps to do so.
When asked about the webmail security problem, and which steps customers should take to protect their search traffic from snooping Internet service providers, Google’s spokesperson directed me to the company’s much ridiculed YouTube Privacy channel.
I spent a few minutes browsing through the channel, but couldn’t find any specific advice on protecting myself from illegal wiretaps and government surveillance. YouTube seems to be a great place to find videos of skateboarding dogs, but not such a great source of privacy tips.
For those of you who care more about your privacy than cute YouTube videos, I highly recommend the Tor anonymous web proxy, as well as the Customize Google Firefox browser extension.
Source: CNET
Add comment March 17, 2008
Amazing! Exciting Hidden Game in Google Earth! Flight Simulator!
Fly over your favorite location
By: Bogdan Popa
When Google released the 4.2 version of Google Earth, the fans from all around the world were absolutely
amazed by the Sky function which brings a new perspective for the available imagery. As you probably
heard, Google Sky allows you to analyze the starts and the galaxies straight from your computer. Soon after that, it was discovered that Google offers many more hidden functions through the downloadable mapping tool but it never mentioned them. For example, the search giant updated the placemarks icons, replacing the old ones with newer and more attractive imagery.
But, there is something that you would never expect to see in Google Earth: the Mountain View company implements a flight simulator, an exciting game that allows you to fly over your favorite location and enjoy the collection of photos offered by the application. All you need to do is press open Google Earth and press Ctrl + Alt + A if you’re a Windows user or Cmd + Option + A if you have a Mac. Instantly, a pop-up that allows you to choose from two aircraft should be opened. As you can see by yourself, you can fly using an F16 airplane or a SR22, “a high-performance four-seat propeller airplane,” as the description states.
Then, you’re required to choose your start position: your current view, your last position in flight simulator (supposing that you used the function before) or you can take off straight from an airport. In addition, you can control the airplane with a joystick in order to become a better pilot.
What’s most interesting is that Google Flight Simulator was actually a hidden function but, once you discover and run it for the first time, it will be included in the ‘Tools’ menu of Google Earth.
This is it for now, have a nice flight without nausea or headaches. For a complete list of shortcuts for the game, visit this website.
Source: Softpedia
2 comments March 17, 2008
Google to Launch Its Operating System Next Week
By: Bogdan Popa, Security and Search Engines Editor
A while ago, the Internet world talked about a potential GooglePhone, especially created to fight with the Apple iPhone. At that time, the Mountain View company avoided commenting on the speculation; the only thing mentioned was that Google will remain a software firm and not a hardware one. So no GooglePhone; but in the meantime, the search giant released several new mobile flavors of its products. Take the example of Gmail, Google Search, YouTube, Google Calendar. Now, what do you understand from this: Google remains a software company, but it develops mobile versions of its products? That’s right, Google wants to conquer the mobile software industry but how else can you do it if not through a mobile operating system?
The most recent rumors sustain that the Mountain View company prepares a mobile operating system that is scheduled to be released very soon, maybe sometimes next week. The folks from Engadget claim that it might be entirely based on a Linux platform, because several Googlers are quite experienced in this domain. “At Google, Andy’s team has developed a Linux-based mobile device OS (no surprise) which they’re currently shopping around to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a flexible, customizable system — with really great Google integration, of course,” Ryan Block from Engadget wrote.
Obviously, the entire operating system would be bundled with Google’s technologies such as search, YouTube or Gmail. Actually, I think it would probably contain all sorts of shortcuts to allow the handheld owner to access the Google services in a matter of seconds if an Internet connection is available.
But the main question is: which mobile companies will implement the operating system into their devices? As you might know, Google signed deals with some famous phone producers such as Samsung, but there is no evidence that the Mountain View company might bring the OS on their devices. In fact, the entire operating system might be only pure speculation
Source: Softpedia
Add comment March 14, 2008
Yahoo! Expands Yahoo! Video
A week after introducing their new Lifecasting streaming service, Y Live, and a matter of days after buying video advertising firm, Maven, Yahoo continues to expand their online video offerings by rolling out a brand new version of Yahoo Video. Among the site’s new features is a wider screen. The new Yahoo! Video supports a 16:9 player that’s “far ahead of what most sites are offering,” according to Yahoo. The site has upped its capacity, as well; filmmakers can now upload videos up to 150 MB. Yahoo Video’s content has also been expanded, featuring videos on topics including music, movies, TV, news, and sports.
Taking a cue from Google-owned YouTube, Yahoo Video is also expanding its sharing options, letting users embed videos in their blogs and Websites. Users can also create and embed video playlists.
On the social side of things, Yahoo Video is seeking to expand its community by adding more in-depth profiles, letting users create nicknames, design user playlists, add contacts, and leave comments.
According to a post of Yahoo’s Video Blog, the site will be rolling out even more features in the near future.
Source: PC Magazine
Add comment March 12, 2008
The Search for the Killer iPhone App
Many developers are hard at work building tools for Apple’s popular phone, despite what some consider limits on their ability to collaborate
Executives at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers had a running bet as they announced a $100 million fund to encourage developers to build tools for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. The wager was over how many business plans they’d receive in the first 30 days after the Mar. 6 announcement. Kleiner Perkins partner Matt Murphy won’t divulge the number, but says it was exceeded within 36 hours.
So great is the interest among developers in creating a software-based tool, or application, for Apple’s popular iPhone or iPod Touch that on the same day Apple announced the release of the software developer’s kit, or SDK, Apple’s Web site crashed. Many developers resorted to grabbing the file using BitTorrent file-sharing technology.
Nondisclosure agreement
At stake not only is a slice of funding from storied Kleiner Perkins, an early investor in such companies as Amazon (AMZN), Genentech (DNA), and Sun Microsystems (JAVA), but potential bragging rights to building the next killer app for the iPhone. Programmers are generally pleased with the kit, but many are already running up against a lack of guidance from Apple on thorny questions, as well as limits on their ability to compare notes with other developers.
Craig Hockenberry is a principal at developer Iconfactory who hopes to create a tool that would make it easier for iPhone users to use microblogging site Twitter. “They’ve done an absolutely fantastic job,” Hockenberry says of Apple. “The problem that Apple has right now is, there’s too much interest in the iPhone SDK.” Several iPhone developers contacted by BusinessWeek.com say they’ve already sent Apple questions or reported concerns via phone or e-mail. Most don’t expect to get a response back for several weeks. The company didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment on this story.
Many programmers feel inhibited from turning to one another for help because of the confidentiality agreement they need to sign before downloading the free kit. Among the stipulations in the 2,700-word document: “You agree not to disclose, publish, or disseminate any confidential information to anyone other than to other registered iPhone developers” who work for the same firm. The restriction hasn’t stopped some developers from using public forums to answer each other’s questions—though it has given some pause. “Apple considers the SDK to be covered under an NDA [nondisclosure agreement] by developers,” wrote a participant in a discussion on Apple’s site who identified himself as Scott. “They don’t want people discussing it.”
Fat Fund
Apple is not the only company to impose NDAs on developers, notes Richard Doherty, director of consultancy Envisioneering Group. Yet the cell-phone software disseminated by Google (GOOG) contains language that appears to be less restrictive than Apple’s.
Erica Sadun had hoped to publish a book on the iPhone SDK within days of the publication of the beta, or test, version. Now she’s concerned she’ll have to wait until June, when the kit is released officially. “Apple is not clarifying what comes under the NDA,” she says. She’s particularly leery of language like this: “You agree not to use Confidential Information in any way, including, without limitation, for your own or any third party’s benefit without the prior written approval of an authorized representative of Apple in each instance.”
Meantime, programmers are muddling through. Chris Sloop is chief technology officer at WeatherBug, which provides weather updates to cell-phone users. He wants to know whether the iPhone will eventually be able to run several applications simultaneously, something the device can’t do today. That would enable WeatherBug, for example, to send an inclement weather alert while also providing alternate travel routes.
When Sloop and others like him come up with their cool new features, they may find a ready reception at Kleiner Perkins, which views the iPhone as more than just another cell-phone software platform competing with Nokia-led Symbian, Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Mobile, and various flavors of mobile Linux. “Amazon, eBay, Netscape, Google—we’d like to find the peer group of those companies on the mobile Internet,” says Murphy, who says his fund could swell to more than $100 million. “A lot of the pillars, foundational applications for the mobile Internet, will grow up on the iPhone.” Doherty believes that rivals Nokia (NOK) and Google might start similar funds, encouraging application innovation for their cell phones and software.
Plenty of Ideas
Indeed, several developers are pressing ahead, seemingly undeterred by disclosure restrictions. “We are really trying to think big thoughts about what’s the right advertising solution for the iPhone,” says John SanGiovanni, founder of Seattle-based Zumobi, a Microsoft spin-off that lets advertisers publish mobile widgets offering snippets of content as well as ads. Today’s mobile ads tend to consist of boring text messages or unattractive banners; SanGiovanni wants to make mobile advertising more interactive. After all, the new kit lets programmers tie their software to iPhone hardware, such as its accelerometer, a feature that could, potentially, gift the iPhone with capabilities of Nintendo’s Wii: Users might be able to “play” through ads by waving their phones around.
Another startup, Jajah, plans to take advantage of the access Apple provides to the iPhone’s microphone, speakers, and a Wi-Fi wireless broadband connection to build a highly capable Web-calling application. The application would allow frequent travelers to place calls via airport and coffee shop Wi-Fi and avoid expensive international roaming, which has left many an iPhone owner with a hefty wireless bill. This software would also allow users to look up phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and schedules of contacts from a corporate Microsoft Exchange address book. “If things like this are available, companies will give employees a choice of an iPhone vs. the BlackBerry,” says Frederik Hermann, director of global marketing at Jajah.
And even those awaiting guidance, Hockenberry says, are confident Apple will lend a hand eventually.
Source: Business Week
1 comment March 12, 2008
