More on Google
Standard Mischief has more on Google v. .gov. He notes:
Google gives you a cookie with a unique number in it that’s sorta like your Socialist Insecurity number except it’s a lot easer to get, and get rid of. That cookie is sent back to Google every time you interact with Google. Even if your ISP provider changes your IP address. Even if you access Google at a coffeehouse or a friends house. And because Google does not have a “data retention policy”, all of that data presumably gets warehoused, forever, just in case they ever find it useful.
He even tells you how to rid yourself of annoying Google cookies.
January 22nd, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Thanks for the linkage.
Actually, you do retain a Google cookie, because the Google cookie is useful. However, we file off the serial number and rewrite it as “000000000000000”. That way your number is exactly the same as mine and everyone else’s.
You could just toss the Google cookie and get a new one each time you restart your browser, but then you would have to reprogram your preferences each time too.
Oh, and it works on Firefox only.
January 22nd, 2006 at 8:06 pm
Also, the cookie sits on the hard disk of your computer. It is not magically transformed to the hard disk of the computers in a ‘coffeehouse or a friends house’. Unless of course you log in to Google.
January 22nd, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Yea, that’s not very clear. This technical writing stuff is harder than it appears. The cookie (and I hope I don’t have to put quotes around that, it’s not a real cookie) will travel with you if it’s on the hard drive of your laptop, and you take it to a friend’s house or to a coffee house, and either jack in there, or use Wi-Fi (802.11b)
It will also travel with you if you have a copy of Portable Firefox (USB Drive-Friendly) and take it with you like I do to avoid using IE on someone elses computer.
Thanks for the feedback.
January 23rd, 2006 at 3:46 pm
Aaah, laptop! I did not think about laptops and external media. We are not that advanced in the Netherlands:-)! But you are right. In that case you are fu. . eh. .googled! May I advise Knoppix (knopper.net/knoppix/). And plain, simple Mozilla with different ‘profiles’: ‘N.N. Anonymous’. ?