G Mail

[Biff]

I've noticed that many of you have signed up for Google's free e-mail accounts, GMAIL. I was wondering whether you all knew about the negative aspects of using such an account. Such as the fact that Google will spy on and search all of your emails for trends, browsing/shopping habits and such like.

Have a search on the tinternet and you'll find loads of forums, professional privacy organisation etc raising serious concerns regarding GMAIL.

Here's a starter: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04..._evil_privacy/


Big Brother is watching you.

[Coyote]

I'll just have to send letters saying how cool hot pants are and polka is the new hip music

[Skunk]

Big Brother is watching you.

If someone wants to know, they can find out. Every ISP you use can get the same info on you by the same method. Plus they can tell where you surf too...

[James Deuce]

I've noticed that many of you have signed up for Google's free e-mail accounts, GMAIL. I was wondering whether you all knew about the negative aspects of using such an account. Such as the fact that Google will spy on and search all of your emails for trends, browsing/shopping habits and such like.

Have a search on the tinternet and you'll find loads of forums, professional privacy organisation etc raising serious concerns regarding GMAIL.

Here's a starter: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04..._evil_privacy/


Big Brother is watching you.

A. Don't Care.
B. Don't Care.
C. As an IT "professional" working for a Border Security oriented Government department, you realise pretty quickly how little electronic communication is private. None. Zip. Nada. It can all be trolled through, either in real time, or on demand, by everyone from your Mother-in-Law to the Pope.
D. I would rather use Gmail's spam filter on their server than have to manage it myself.
E. I need a hardware independent messaging service. Hotmail sucks. So does Yahoo mail.

Every commercial web page you go to is collecting info on you for analysis. The people who write the site wouldn't be doing there job if it didn't, and if you use cookie blockers, firewalls, etc, THAT information is being logged to see how much of whose product is being used.

That type of scaremongering on that website is naive in the extreme. Big brother may be watching, but he's been doing it for years and he now has better tools. If you don't like, stop connecting to the Internet.

[Biff]

In my last job I ran a customer facing network security division for a major defence contractor. I know all the pitfalls of using the internet. But there are some pretty basic things you can do in order to protect traffic over a public network, the most basic being secure tunnelling.

The problem with G Mail is that they actively trawl through your mail and don't just support the lawful interception mechanisms employed by every ISP and telephony company in the world.

I've used Hotmail for years for most mail (with very few hiccups and certainly no major ones), but for sensitive mails I use my private account which has a powerful (add on) encryption package imbedded. I know for a fact that should a government (of many developed country) agency really want to read these mails they could. But it would take them an awful long time to do so, and I seriously doubt whether some nations could do it for themselves without some help from another "friendly nation" anyway. Besides, my personal and business mails no longer contain any information that they would want to spend their resources de-crypting.

But we're digressing - e-mail and surfing the internet are different. E-mails are pretty much point-to-point messages. While surfing the internet you are far more prone to having personal information logged in various places. Although most honest commercial organisations no personal information about you or your general surfing habits, simply your PC's configuration.

C. As an IT "professional" working for a Border Security oriented Government department, you realise pretty quickly how little electronic communication is private. None. Zip. Nada. It can all be trolled through, either in real time, or on demand, by everyone from your Mother-in-Law to the Pope.

That's simpy incorrect Jim. You need to get your boss to put their hands in their pockets in order to locate and buy some decent ComSec kit. If you work for a government department then you could buy some kit that could provide significant protection from "friendy nations", such as the UK, as the Ozzie's do (and several other nations). Some nations, may or may not, even send short term Top Secret information via the internet, and I'm sure as hell they wouldn't do this if my mother in law could not only identify and intercept it, but also read it.

Oh - and I block cookies using an "acquired" advanced cookie blocker and can also mask my IP address if needed.

[Blakamin]

The problem with G Mail is that they actively trawl through your mail and don't just support the lawful interception mechanisms employed by every ISP and telephony company in the world.

I dont give a toss either... it's better than hotmail with size... If I want personal emails sent to me, I give my proper address...anything else can go to gmail or hotmail... (or yahoo which I use for KB)
you can even email me at blakamin @ Ieatcatsforfun dot com

[Biff]

I dont give a toss either... it's better than hotmail with size... If I want personal emails sent to me, I give my proper address...anything else can go to gmail or hotmail... (or yahoo which I use for KB)
you can even email me at blakamin @ Ieatcatsforfun dot com

Fair dinkum. I'm happy with my 250 Meg Hotmail account and limitless personnal accounts.

[Blakamin]

Fair dinkum. I'm happy with my 250 Meg Hotmail account and limitless personnal accounts.

I still get emails from hotmail telling me my space is running out, must be the 2mb limit still .... only use hotmail for shit anyway so i dont care... was the first web mail I used... before microsoft owned it!! had it for years and only use it out of habit i think
[edit] just looked online instead of using my mail program and it still says 2mb even tho the welcome page says I should have 250... what a surprise

[Biff]

must be the 2mb limit still ...

That's interesting. Free 250Meg limits were introduced in the UK in October 2003, and I registered for Hotmail while living in the UK.

[Blakamin]

That's interesting. Free 250Meg limits were introduced in the UK in October 2003, and I registered for Hotmail while living in the UK.

I've had hotmail since '97...... IIRC.... cant remember tho...might have been 96... in Oz

[Biff]

I've had hotmail since '97...... IIRC.... cant remember tho...might have been 96... in Oz

Pass! Maybe is because they know you're using G-Mail and are sulking!! :spudwhat:

[James Deuce]

Email isn't point to point. There is no way to guarantee the path of your email, encrypted or not, once it hits your ISP's POP3 or SMTP server. They could hand it on to any number of intermediary ISPs along the way.

Hotmail delete your account if you don't use it. Nazis. Gmail don't, plus there is the space thing. There are plenty of ISPs that allow active trawling of email as it passes through their email servers.

No sulking here. Hotmail and Yahoomail don't provide the kind of service I want, plus bear in mind that they are most likely doing the exact same thing to your email data, irrespective of what they say in the Terms and Conditions, thanks to "Homeland Security"

[James Deuce]

That's simpy incorrect Jim. You need to get your boss to put their hands in their pockets in order to locate and buy some decent ComSec kit. If you work for a government department then you could buy some kit that could provide significant protection from "friendy nations", such as the UK, as the Ozzie's do (and several other nations). Some nations, may or may not, even send short term Top Secret information via the internet, and I'm sure as hell they wouldn't do this if my mother in law could not only identify and intercept it, but also read it.

Oh - and I block cookies using an "acquired" advanced cookie blocker and can also mask my IP address if needed.

Would you actually be that patronising to my face? Or are you just enjoying the opportunity the appear to be taking me down. I don't appreciate being called a liar publicly or being spoken down to.

You can block your IP address. That's nice.

[Biff]

Email isn't point to point. There is no way to guarantee the path of your email, encrypted or not, once it hits your ISP's POP3 or SMTP server. They could hand it on to any number of intermediary ISPs along the way.

True, you certainly can't specify the messages path. Which is what I was alluding to by saying, "pretty much point to point", in that the mail header contains a specific address and originates from a specific origin (at least with html). What I mean is that it's a real live person to person communication as opposed to person to automated web site server. Disounting automated spam of course.

Sure they "could" pass it on. But they don't. Not unless you pose a threat to national security or are suspected of illegal activites. What I'm saying is that GMail actively scans every mail, not just a selected few because they may contain information that could prove useful to governmental organisations.

I don't follow your statement that they could pass your mail or even browser habits onto any number of intermediary ISP's along the way. Do you mean telco's? ISP's don't own backhaul networks (unless the Telco also offers their own ISP package), they lease network capacity from telephone and cable companies.

[Biff]

Would you actually be that patronising to my face? Or are you just enjoying the opportunity the appear to be taking me down. I don't appreciate being called a liar publicly or being spoken down to.

You can block your IP address. That's nice.

wowww, calm down bro - I apologise if you feel that I was being patronising. I certainly didn't mean to be and sorry you took it that way. But would I say what I said to your face ? Sure I would. In a heart beat.

I most certainly did not call you a liar Jim, nor do I think you are, nor did I mean to infer you are. I'm simply telling you what I know, based on over 10 years working in the field of network security.

Relax dude.