6. Google's toolbar is spyware:With the advanced features enabled, Google's free toolbar for Explorer phones home with every page you surf, and yes, it reads your cookie too. Their privacy policy confesses this, but that's only because Alexa lost a class-action lawsuit when their toolbar did the same thing, and their privacy policy failed to explain this. Worse yet, Google's toolbar updates to new versions quietly, and without asking. This means that if you have the toolbar installed,
(which is many times a day). Most software vendors, and even Microsoft, ask if you'd like an updated version. But not Google. Any software that updates automatically presents a massive security risk. Taken from this link... Link |
With all due respect this site is well, a bit over the top. It ain't spyware IMO because Google tells you what it does, how it does it and why.
Just turn off the Advanced Features and it won't track you anyway.
Yeah, it does autopdate if you let it (I have ZoneAlarm not letting it out), as stated when you accept their privacy policy.
That statement in the article that "Google essentially has complete access to your hard disk every time you connect to Google".... The autopdate occurs via an ActiveX control. They don't access to your drive, and if they did, they're not going to look through it!
