February 20th, 2006
Google responds to security concerns about new desktop search
C|Net’s Tom Espiner has a report today that Google has responded to concerns recently expressed by many, including Gartner, about the implications of the Search Across Computers feature in the company’s Google Desktop 3. According to the report, Google spokesperson Andy Ku, the company’s European marketing manager, conceded that the feature could potential pose a risk similar to sending proprietary information via e-mail. Ku agreed with Gartner’s recommendation that enterprise organizations use Google Desktop for Enterprises which allows the feature to be turned off by default for all machines regulated by group policies.
Ku also said that if an individual user has a concern about the privacy implications of the feature they should not enable it - the same advice I gave in my earlier post about the new version (dutifully filed in the "Like, duh!" category by more than a few readers I’m sure).
Marc Orchant has been building, testing, and sometimes breaking hardware and software for 25 years. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
