Google To Hijack Your Mic And Listen In, Wake up! Options

Check this link out and do the research. Google is planning (if not already) to tap into your microphones and listen in to you, your tv, etc.

http://techeffect.thedealblogs.com/2006/06...le_thinking.php

Tivo, OnStar, and your cell phones do the same thing already. This is just one more piece of technohell dragging us into a worse predicament than even George Orwell could have predicted.

I wonder what ad google would send me if they find me doing a ritual.. me with a dagger doing the LBRP & LBRH in black robe..

or if they see me talking to a mirror!! with hebrew words etc...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/banana.gif) ..

Me i would always be tempted to show some fingers or send the DX sign via the web cam if i know someone is using it the other side with me not knowing... I sometimes do it at the security cams in the building of my work place..LOL...

Well to be serious, I guess Google knows everyone will simply disconn the Web cam and mic.. But if we use free services like MSN etc that have video support during a chat, then MSN could use the video between two person i guess... They can lawfully put a notcie that if we want to use msn for free, they have the right to peep through.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/yikes.gif)

*shudders* 1984 here we come... Apparently verizon cell phone company refused to go along with something like this (the phone tapping and giving out the list of names and records). So, suffice to say, their business boomed afterwards since people trust them to not hand out their names...even to the government.

But, from what I read it's not that bad, and it's probably not going to start recording you in your home. (By the way, Bush didn't get 'that' bill passed and tapping the phones of the american public is illegal, as is spying on them in their own homes.)

Actually, reading the original blog posting about it, it's actually kinda neat, if you want to be served ads and such. Tell you what, advertisements (specially google's) makes BIG bucks, and the people who post them. One blogger by the name of shoemoney had a picture of his google adsense check...$130,000!!!!!!!!

I agree it is kinda creepy that something will be merging your computer and the sounds of your home, but are you really surprised? Seriously, even the A.I. in video games has evolved tremendously. Lucas arts has built a new physics program for the new Indiana Jones game for the players and the enemies. This has got everyone hyped since now the bad guys won't follow a prescripted plan and will actually "learn" from their attacker. Such as, they'll fall off a cliff and grab something and climb back up. Or they'll know you attack a certain way and then team up with another attacker to defeat you so on and so forth. It's an interesting system and I bet the programmer who did that is going to make Lucas arts some major cash. I'm actually not surprised with all the things being offered nowadays that now it's moved beyond your computer.

this is simply not true. They have no technical means to do such a thing.
And no servers to manage the bandwith.
msn can also not steal your webcam input.

Google cannot do that, unless you install a program from them wich does steal your webcam feed, or unless they have some help from microsoft. A browser is technically not able to do such a thing, without help from flash or whatnot, and then only when the browser is running.

Their servers park may be one of the biggest on the world, but they are not by far capable of handling, storing and reviewing web cam data from everyone. The amount of processing power it takes to read webcams and send adds based on them will not be doable in the next 20 years or so, and even then the costs don't outweigh the rewards.

Msn's server also cannot handle the webcam traffic from all the msners. So on what basis would they select traffic. Also, the program is scrutinized by many security specialist, and they would notice us of such behavior. When doing a webcam talk, there is a direct link between your computer and the person you are camming with, so there is nobody listening in on you. The msn servers have nothing to do with the webcam or audio conversation. it is a direct point to point connection between you and your friend. It does not or never will pas trough the servers of microsoft !
If they did take your webcam feed trough their server, their servers would crash under all those webcamming teens. They are not capapble of doing it any other way.

And really, why would google or microsoft want to see what you are doing behind your computer. I am sure it is nothing they could use, and is utterly boring. Nobody wants to see someone staring at a screen, really, if the cia wants to see my typing this message, they can do so. All they would be seeing is my face and my blank blue wall behind me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

And i am not just making this up, i have a diploma in I.T. that says i know what i am talking about. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/angel.gif)

So relax, and don't be so paranoid. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

and they certainly cannot force such a program upon you. If you choose to use gmail or any of their services, you do so free of choise.
Also, such a function needs a program installed on your hard drive to work, wich you choose to install yourself.

I also am in the IT domain and doing stuff on Distributed systems. It is possible to do that. Msn uses Client server for first configuring your PC to use peer to peer, but a thread can be made t orun in the background to send the video to another server.. that easy to do for the developers of MSN...

I dont know legally if they have the right now.. but if they put that in contract for free services, then they can do that technically. But now doing that on large scale is something different , they would require lots of resources.. so possibly they could use targetted samples.

But for the time its true, no need to get paranoid on that as its too costly in terms of resources to do that. Though security services play with such technologies..

Mystick

This post has been edited by mystick: Sep 8 2006, 06:22 AM

You could always turn the computer off when you're not using it.

say bye bye to your privacy....
damn fascist state... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/Gigakach_02.gif)