Google Chrome web browser

[Gamekiller]

I've been using Chrome sense release with absolutely no problems.

[ahmad]

Well, now we can be pretty sure that updater sends something more - personal number, so even people with variable IP are being tracked correctly.
Also..what are the "Usage statistics" entries in the registry?

Clever observation. Yes that is a huge issue cause I change my IP quite frequently.

[FrogBite]

How does google earn money again? And just because its opensource doesnt mean its not tailored for it. Personally I put google to be worse than both Apple and MS.

My thoughts exactly.

[m^2]

Clever observation. Yes that is a huge issue cause I change my IP quite frequently.

Some internet providers give you IP from a shared pool every time you connect.
Also, some people use their laptops out of home....

[m^2]

2 more headlines:
tgdaily:Chrome is a security nightmare, indexes your bank accounts.
cnet:Google's Omnibox could be Pandora's box.

[rge]

2 more headlines:
tgdaily:Chrome is a security nightmare, indexes your bank accounts.
cnet:Google's Omnibox could be Pandora's box.

Quote from second link:
"Provided that users leave Chrome's auto-suggest feature on and have Google as their default search provider, Google will have access to any keystrokes that are typed into the browser's Omnibox, even before a user hits enter. What's more, Google has every intention of retaining some of that data even after it provides the promised suggestions. A Google representative told CNET News that the company plans to store about 2 percent of that data--and plans to store it along with the Internet Protocol address of the computer that typed it."

I want a browser designed to protect my privacy not invade it. The fact you can disable part of the spying is irrelevant, their clear intent to spy and store for profit at the expense of individuals is enough to make me steer clear.

And from first link, it sounds like they spent all their effort in ways to track, and security was an afterthought. The EULA is simply laughable.

[ryanmartini]

You can say what you want, but about everything google has touched thusfar has turned into gold.. Google.com, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Code very useful, hell now this.

Considering their impressive track record.. I see some good things coming in the future of Google's web browser. Once we get addons and skin changes, this browser will rock.

[ryanmartini]

Quote from second link:
"Provided that users leave Chrome's auto-suggest feature on and have Google as their default search provider, Google will have access to any keystrokes that are typed into the browser's Omnibox, even before a user hits enter. What's more, Google has every intention of retaining some of that data even after it provides the promised suggestions. A Google representative told CNET News that the company plans to store about 2 percent of that data--and plans to store it along with the Internet Protocol address of the computer that typed it."

I want a browser designed to protect my privacy not invade it. The fact you can disable part of the spying is irrelevant, their clear intent to spy and store for profit at the expense of individuals is enough to make me steer clear.

And from first link, it sounds like they spent all their effort in ways to track, and security was an afterthought. The EULA is simply laughable.

they rewrote the eula.

[Manabu]

I think I will stay with Opera for now. One process for tab isn't very fun when you have 60+ tabs open and 512mb of ram...

[ahmad]

they rewrote the eula.

Umm, did you download a new version of the browser, or are you still referring to the same copy you downloaded a while back.

"Hey lets change the text to make it more confusing so that people actually think that a EULA will affect their web browser"

Does that make any sense to you? All they did was change a text file, nothing has changed from data theft point of view.

I hope this is a wake up call to all those people that install google "junk" on their desktops. Every software that comes out of google is questionable, and people seem to think "Hey wow google is so nice. They spend millions of dollars every year on FREE software!". Even google earth keeps track of locations you were interested in .

Microsoft does it for the money, everyone knows and so they would never care about your personal data. Not like google does. I think that if the Microsoft PR team was any good, they would begin using this to their advantage and totally destroy google's image.

[Jowy Atreides]

Umm, did you download a new version of the browser, or are you still referring to the same copy you downloaded a while back.

"Hey lets change the text to make it more confusing so that people actually think that a EULA will affect their web browser"

Does that make any sense to you? All they did was change a text file, nothing has changed from data theft point of view.

I hope this is a wake up call to all those people that install google "junk" on their desktops. Every software that comes out of google is questionable, and people seem to think "Hey wow google is so nice. They spend millions of dollars every year on FREE software!". Even google earth keeps track of locations you were interested in .

Microsoft does it for the money, everyone knows and so they would never care about your personal data. Not like google does. I think that if the Microsoft PR team was any good, they would begin using this to their advantage and totally destroy google's image.

I love this post

Chrome is threatening to me, it signifies the beginning of an OS-like platform they are destined to create.

Google will possess a monopoly worse than mankind has yet seen.

[Lestat]

wow, if you guys only knew how much of your sh|t is available to s like me WITHOUT you or me using Chrome you would stop getting on the internet all together.

chrome isn't stealing your data and its not putting your exact info out there in search engines as you type.
all its doing is pulling a URL history JUST LIKE IE and FIREFOX DO!

as long as your on https or 128bit ssl, your fine, for the most part

[m^2]

I love this post

Chrome is threatening to me, it signifies the beginning of an OS-like platform they are destined to create.

Google will possess a monopoly worse than mankind has yet seen.

OS-like? The platform is so pathetic...all web apps I can think of have very little functions with very low performance. Plus security concerns. Advantages?.......... They don't need installation. Usually it doesn't apply as most require registration instead.
I don't see myself ever using them regularly. I use only maps as I don't know any good (and free ) offline alternative.

[ahmad]

OS-like? The platform is so pathetic...all web apps I can think of have very little functions with very low performance. Plus security concerns. Advantages?.......... They don't need installation. Usually it doesn't apply as most require registration instead.
I don't see myself ever using them regularly. I use only maps as I don't know any good (and free ) offline alternative.

Maybe so, but Jowy's point still holds because that is their primary objective. Getting a faster javascript engine is the first step (google's baby). Then comes the developement and deployment of various applications through your web browser.

Stage 1 of ...

[DelaMaris]

Google Chrome 0.2.149.29 Beta is out!

Changes:
Currently Unknown

[Psykocyber]

Any difference?

[rge]

wow, if you guys only knew how much of your sh|t is available to s like me WITHOUT you or me using Chrome you would stop getting on the internet all together.

chrome isn't stealing your data and its not putting your exact info out there in search engines as you type.
all its doing is pulling a URL history JUST LIKE IE and FIREFOX DO!

as long as your on https or 128bit ssl, your fine, for the most part

Firefox is not permanently storing what I type in a search box along with my IP address and a unique identifying number. My IP provider writes over the data in time, so while it is available for a while, it is not permanently stored.

As you accurately point out privacy concerns abound. So should the consumer then support a company whose very goal is to profit by invading consumer privacy, and thus help set the bar even lower? Or should he refuse and in essence demand companies make products that improve privacy.

To me that argument is like saying...look at all the crime around, it is everywhere...might as well embrace it and support those who do it.

And even if all they are storing is seach data...for now...I am not going to support anyone moving the privacy bar in the wrong direction...cant wait to see how low it will go.

[illidan]

some skins for Chrome
click for download

How to install this theme:

1. Close Chrome if you have it running.

2. Browse to the following folder (Replace USERNAME with your user):
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\LocalSettings\AppData\Google\Chr ome\Application\0.2.149.27\Themes
Windows Vista: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appl ication\0.2.149.27\Themes

3. Backup the default.dll there (If you should decide to use the default theme again)

4. Replace the default.dll there with the default.dll in the zip

5. Run Chrome and enjoy the theme!

[Helmore]

Firefox is not permanently storing what I type in a search box along with my IP address and a unique identifying number. My IP provider writes over the data in time, so while it is available for a while, it is not permanently stored.

As you accurately point out privacy concerns abound. So should the consumer then support a company whose very goal is to profit by invading consumer privacy, and thus help set the bar even lower? Or should he refuse and in essence demand companies make products that improve privacy.

To me that argument is like saying...look at all the crime around, it is everywhere...might as well embrace it and support those who do it.

And even if all they are storing is seach data...for now...I am not going to support anyone moving the privacy bar in the wrong direction...cant wait to see how low it will go.

If you are concerned about privacy then you should not use the internet, it's as simple as that. Every single search engine stores some search data. From a privacy point of view, Chrome is just as bad as FF, IE and Safari. Then something else, Chrome is, just like FireFox, open source so anyone can look at the source code and check what it does.

BTW, the EULA was changed within 2-3 days after the first public release of the beta, just check this:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/softwa...In-48-Hours/p1

[p2501]

Any difference?

From 0.2.149.28 on the bug where you can completely crash the whole thing is gone (involving invalid input followed by :%).

The carpet bomb flaw, which originates in an old WebKit version is still there, though.

[LaMpiR]

I noticed with 0.2.149.29 that new facebook is working properly...

[p2501]

Just installed .29 too, it is still the old AppleWebKit/525.13 version, so still vulnerable.

[ahmad]

If you are concerned about privacy then you should not use the internet, it's as simple as that. Every single search engine stores some search data. From a privacy point of view, Chrome is just as bad as FF, IE and Safari. Then something else, Chrome is, just like FireFox, open source so anyone can look at the source code and check what it does.

BTW, the EULA was changed within 2-3 days after the first public release of the beta, just check this:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/softwa...In-48-Hours/p1

Why does it keep going back to search engines! So right now when I am using IE or Firefox, you are telling me google has access to all my bookmarks, all the links I visited, and every piece of data I have submitted over the internet?

There is a huge difference! Everyone knows this about search engines, they keep the search terms you used. But probably 70% of links I visit, I do directly from the URL. Imagine google stores that I visit xtremesystems.org 3 times a day. don't give me bs that this is the same as using IE/Firefox.

[g1raffe]

Tried chrome briefly the other day, works quite well, I like it, however will stick to FF for the addons/extensions.

[rge]

If you are concerned about privacy then you should not use the internet, it's as simple as that. Every single search engine stores some search data. From a privacy point of view, Chrome is just as bad as FF, IE and Safari. Then something else, Chrome is, just like FireFox, open source so anyone can look at the source code and check what it does.

BTW, the EULA was changed within 2-3 days after the first public release of the beta, just check this:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/softwa...In-48-Hours/p1

There are differences.

Google is admitting they will be assigning a unique number that identifies the individual even if that individual uses different IP addresses over time, and permanently storing the information for profit. Google is intent on making it easy to invade my privacy 20 years from now even if my IP address has changed hands many times.

And any argument that Chrome is not much worse than the status quo, my response is it is a step in the wrong direction. If consumers refuse this product, they can steer developers towards products that improve privacy, instead of those that worsen it.

And regarding not using the internet, I am less concerned with my privacy at the status quo than the naive or apathetic consumer towards those that invade it.