Seriously, What’s Up with Google?
9-Feb, 2009
I consider myself an avid user of all-things-Google: Gmail, Calendar, Reader, Google Earth Pro, Docs, Search, and even Adsense for a nice, little skating club website I manage. I recently [manually] upgraded to a more current version of the Google Earth API software and decided to follow the Google Groups discussion for the GE Browser Pulgin. The next morning, a message in my inbox had the subject “Mac Plugin Installer Installs Software Update.” Interesting. I read about this little “behind-the-scenes” updater for users of Google Chrome on Windows and it was discussed in detail on Security Now: 161. To remove this “phone-home spyware” (some call it), Mac users can open their terminal and perform the following to disable the updater:
sudo rm /Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo touch /Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo touch ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo touch ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo chmod 000 /Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo chmod 000 ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo chmod 000 ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.keystone.agent.plist
sudo rm -rf ~/Library/Application Support/Google
sudo rm -rf ~/Library/Google
sudo mkdir ~/Library/Application Support/Google
sudo mkdir ~/Library/Google
sudo chmod 000 ~/Library/Application Support/Google
sudo chmod 000 ~/Library/Google
Seriously? Did you get that? It’s not the updating that bothers me, it’s the fact that (1) Google doesn’t let you know this nonsense is going on, (2) you have no control over what gets updated and when, and (3) if you delete it from your computer it comes back like Terminator 2.
To make things even more spicy, Google is following Apple’s lead in forcing politely shoe-horning their browser down your throat. Does anyone else find it odd that a web browser now released from beta, “checks for updates every fifth hour of use,” (according to Rafe). Huh?
Several, recent booboos, instances of human error, and Google’s ongoing saga to archive everyone’s medical records cause many on the world wide tubes to discuss the online data/cloud big picture and question the logic of having a giant, single company being responsible for the world’s information. So, I’ve decided to put on my tin-foil hat and go Googleless for two weeks. Others have done it, so why can’t I?
A good friend of mine had this to say:
Some might say, just don’t opt-in to Google Health, but what if my health insurance provider obligates me to opt-in? Others may say the CIA, NSA or [insert random Big-G acronym here] already knows everything about you. That may be true, but I hope that the information they have on me is protected by a little more than my Google account password.
So after much bitching and moaning in dramatic fashion, I’m giving this “no-Google-for-2-weeks” thing a whirl. Google really does need some competition, but without it all we can do is voice our opinion and stop using their software. I’ll say this; Yahoo! mail is crap. Slow, clunky, and no IMAP support (free version). Thank God there’s Zenbe.
10-Feb, 2009 at 1:19 am
I know you’ll last the 14 days. I suspect, strongly, that you’ll be miserable and pissy at about day 6, however. That said, I hear (and share) your concerns. I guess I’m just to the point that if gets out there to the innertubes, I guess I just don’t care. I think you should keep everybody updated though.
10-Feb, 2009 at 1:31 am
That said, this scares me.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_mccaughey&sid=aLzfDxfbwhzs
11-Feb, 2009 at 8:05 pm
How are you getting your email? Maybe you should just go computer cold-turkey.
11-Feb, 2009 at 9:40 pm
My Gmail is being forwarded to Yahoo! mail for the next 2 weeks. Yahoo! mail actually works great on the iPhone, so I got that going for me, which is nice. I don’t think I could go computer cold-turkey, because then I wouldn’t be able to reply to those wonderful people who write comments.
;-)
13-Feb, 2009 at 5:11 pm
http://abstrusegoose.com/110
14-Feb, 2009 at 8:17 pm
[...] in email, google, mac, software It’s day 4 of going Googleless and to be honest it’s not that bad. It was a bit of a struggle ensuring everything that I was [...]
16-Feb, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I’m sorta curious to know why you haven’t just forwarded everything to your MobileMe account. I don’t ahve MobileMe, and haven’t ever seen it live… Am I mistaken? I thought this could/should be an alternative to Gmail and all of the synchronization stuff.
16-Feb, 2009 at 9:47 pm
@Kelly I do have/use MobileMe and for some ungodly reason, forwarded mail from Gmail to MobileMe never arrives in my MM inbox. As I’m sure you know Gmail allows you to forward mail to other accounts, but I have had no luck whatsoever. See here, and here, and here. I have found MobileMe works for syncing Address Book and Calendars, especially for $62.
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