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I'm pretty sure that everything you use from Google has, and therefore has the potential to distribute - intentionally or not - some personal information about you.

 

I'm a long time Firefox user and keep up with the extended service updates (so I don't get offered a new update every few days) but there are a few sites that I use now and then for which certain parts don't work with Firefox. If I need one of those parts, I switch to Chrome, because, it seems, that always works.

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:yeahthat:

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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Google and I have been enemies for a long time. I have a cheap, crappy Android cell phone, got it from Tracfone for $30.

Google keeps tightening up their upgrades so it is more and more difficult to elude them using my data to track me.

 

Today I attempted to disable some Google crap and it hosed my text messaging system, leaving only the option of using a Google talking service for text.

So I went back and re-enabled some other snoopy piece of crap software.

 

My strongest defense has been that I have NEVER logged on to anything on my phone, no internet, no email, no passwords, no purchases. Calls, text and a very occasional photograph that gets transferred quickly to my computer are all I use my phone for, period. It's cheap, I pay around $100 a year to have it. I guess the more you pay and the more services you use, the more likely your information will be compromised.

 

I use Duck Duck Go as my search engine. I use Safari and Firefox and am considering trying Brave Browser which would cut some surveillance according to their own ish.

 

Between that and Fakebook having 55 million accounts hacked last September, I am not very trusting of this dubious "security" on the interwebz. Ugh, Kuru

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I refuse to use Google mail and try to avoid Chrome. Face it, Google is built on gathering information and selling it.

 

I will say that the latest version of Microsoft Edge is so much better than the version I was using a few weeks ago. I was never so happy to see an update request pop up.

This post edited for speling.

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IMHO Google distributes voluntary spyware.

 

I don't use Chrome and I don't use Google Search.

 

I use Firefox for a browser, with security add-ons. There are a few sites that won't work on Firefox as they are Chrome only, in that case I use Brave or Opera, which are built on the chrome 'engine' but supposedly more secure.

 

For search I use StartPage or DuckDuckGo. StartPage uses Google but places an intermediate in between and doesn't record any of your personal info.

 

Here's why I switched.

 

Years ago I bought some "Etymotic Music Pro Active Electronic Ear Plugs". They suppress loud music but in between songs they are transparent so I can hear what audience members are saying.

 

They use hearing aid batteries. I did a google search for pricing as the small packs at my local drug store were a bit expensive. Not that they would break the bank, but I figured if I could get them much cheaper in the long run I'd save some money.

 

After the search I started getting targeted ads for hearing aids, adult diapers, walkers/canes, walk-in bathtubs, and all kinds of geriatric supplies. To make things worse, I started getting the same as spam in my e-mail.

 

I tried to dilute it by searching for guitars and saxophones, but I guess musical instrument companies don't buy those lists.

 

So I tried bikinis, figuring I'd at least enjoy the pictures. But that didn't work either.

 

It took over 6 months for the geriatric supply gear to start tapering off,

 

BTW, Amazon has the best price. I've been buying them there ever since and they don't appear to be selling my purchase history.

 

OK adult diaper ads are not a big thing. But sooner or later many companies get hacked. If the wrong people get my search history, it might make it easier for them to either try to scam me or steal my identity.

 

I know privacy is a fantasy, but i try to keep it to a minimum.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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I still use gmail, but have switched to using duckduckgo for search. The drive-by wifi collection (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/may/15/google-admits-storing-private-data) said alot about the corporate culture, and that does not change overnight.

 

Same here.

 

Google shares my search info with Facebook. Less than a day later I would see ads in Facebook for the very item I was searching for in Google. I dropped Google for DuckDuckGo, and I no longer open ANY other websites while Facebook is open.

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Yes, ...

 

I dropped Chrome some time back, and all the others save one.

 

I stick with Firefox. Incrementally they sem to be making it more secure, rather than less so.

With it I installed uBlock Original (the original is important) and, with a bit of tweaking, I seem to be less and less bombarded with bl00dy adverts. :-)

After reading my gmail and yahoo mail i open the tools and in options/privacy and security, I "clear data, which wipes all the cookies and other rubbish.

 

Like others, I now use duckduckgo for searching.

 

Feeling mush more secure these days.

Akai EWI 4000s, Yamaha VL70m, Yamaha AN1x, Casio PX560, Yamaha MU1000XG+PLGs-DX,AN,VL.

 

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The whole Google thing is a disappointment to me for two reasons.

 

First, their code of conduct used to be "don't be evil." They dropped that along the way, and while I just found an article saying it was good they did because that set the bar too low, it seems to me that instead they removed the bar entirely.

 

Secondly, Sergey Brin is a Terp. I'm a Terp. I love to support companies owned by and that support Terps. I do think he gives lots of money back to our alma mater, much more than I ever could, but I can't support his company because of its behavior.

 

Duck Duck Go is my primary search engine, and I avoid using Google's products when I can. I cannot avoid them entirely though. I wish I could.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Anyone use Opera these days?

 

No, I would like to know why it is good please. Also curious about Brave browser, I've downloaded the installer but haven't installed it yet.

 

A Google free world may be impossible but a minimize Google world is a good world.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Funny, because of the security requirements of my tax business I'm all about internet security but Goggle doesn't bother me at all. My definition of the term "personal information" is things like my social security number, birthdate, bank info, address, employers, things that are serious identity theft risks. Google has nothing to with that stuff it's anonymous data mining and nobody knows your name unless you click on one of those popup ads and buy something. Browsing history? Who cares?

 

If you're concerned the best thing you can do is pay ten bucks a month for a good VPN. I signed up with number one ranked Express VPN a few months ago for other security reasons and it also stopped all that shopping history tracking. Actually to start, Express has a deal where you prepay them $99 for 18 months so that's less than $6 a month. I checked out how VPN's work in detail. They block your identity completely from everybody and as far as any trackers are concerned you don't exist. If someone has a court order then yes, they have to release your account details and browsing history otherwise the big name VPN's specifically talk about how your internet use is end to end encrypted and they release nothing to nobody. You're an unknown cypher running around the internet and I have it on my computers and phone meaning you don't need to use a crappy cheap phone, get a nice one, take advantage of it's pretty cool features, the VPN has you totally covered. It's exactly how terrorists and criminals protect themselves from routine police tracking and there's nothing illegal about it so you may as well use it too.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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Anyone use Opera these days?

There are a few, very few pages that are written for "chrome only" that won't work with Firefox.

 

For those pages I use either or Opera or Brave. They have better security functions than Chrome. Opera is more feature rich but I think Brave is the most private of them all. At least that's what PC Mat, CNet and other tech publications tell me.

 

And as Jazzmammal Bob suggests, a good VPN is a very good thing to have. Beware of the free VPN's though. If you want to go with a free one (or even a paid one for that matter) do your research first. Some of the free VPNs have proven to be spyware posing as a VPN.

 

The VPN encrypts the data to a different server. It can sometimes slow your Internet speed down a bit, but not a significant amount, and not nearly as much as the TOR browser can.

 

With my Band-in-a-Box aftermarket business, i have customer data I need to protect. I protect their data more than my own.

 

I don't download credit card numbers, and I chose a very secure shopping cart company to take care of that. It had and continues to have very high ratings.

 

I do save my customers' names, addresses, phones, and e-mail addresses. I feel using a VPN and secure browser will keep their info safe in the transit to my office. Then I move them to a computer than never goes on-line, figuring if it isn't on line, they can't hack it. I also encrypt the drive so even if someone breaks into my office and steals the computer, the data is as secure as technology will allow.

 

I have read that the google bots have been caught 'reading' gmail looking for key words, so I wouldn't put it past them doing the same with chrome. My customers are too important to take that chance. I could be overcompensating this, because I have no evidence to support it, but when it comes to the safety of those who trust me with their info, I'd rather err on the side of caution.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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While we're on the subject, I'd like to stop Google from copying ever photo I take with my phone camera to my photos.google.com web page (that I didn't know, for a long time, that I had). I've looked for sync settings to turn off and I can't find any. I Googled the question, of course, and most of the answers were that I couldn't turn it off.

 

And who know what else it's copying to some other place that I didn't know "belonged" to me.

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How did you search Mike? I typed in "How do I turn off automatic syncing on android phone". Tons of hits. This is only the first one:

 

https://joyofandroid.com/disable-auto-photo-sync-backups-android/

 

Every high tech gadget from your music gear to your computer to your DAW to your phone requires you to take the time to understand how it works and what it does and most importantly doesn't do. So many urban legends out there about this stuff. You control every app on your phone, simply turn them off, change settings or do a complete uninstall. Just like your computer you can also do a factory reset wiping everything out and turning it back to when it was new in the box. You're thinking like Android is somehow installing something behind your back for some nefarious purpose. Just figure it out, it's not that hard.

 

Bob

Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff...
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Thanks. I'd found that link previously and turned off Sync as shown, but I was still seeing copies of new photos added to my Google folder. Checking the Sync setting again, I found that it had been turned on.

 

I just repeated the procedure to turn Sync off so I'll see if this time it sticks. I'm not paranoid, and I understand Android pretty well, but since every maker's version is a little different, it's hard to be sure that what works with one will work with another. I'm careful about updates and don't let any, at least those that I can control, run automatically. I guess this is something I'll just have to keep track of.

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Funny, because of the security requirements of my tax business I'm all about internet security but Goggle doesn't bother me at all. My definition of the term "personal information" is things like my social security number, birthdate, bank info, address, employers, things that are serious identity theft risks. Google has nothing to with that stuff it's anonymous data mining and nobody knows your name unless you click on one of those popup ads and buy something. Browsing history? Who cares?

 

Bob

 

Here where I work Chrome is the main browser and gmail is for the masses (albeit by some arrangement we have corporate name for the domain) while the firewall is certainly very tight. Levels vary of course, in some labs around here you need top secret security clearance.

 

At home I typically prefer using Firefox although I can't cite any particular reason other than I've become accustomed to it. I guess I've softened some and now see humor in things I've recently browsed/shopped popup on FB and at the top of gmail.

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