Google Creepy-ness - RV-Dreams Community Forum

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Google Creepy-ness

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

I activated the Google+ associated with my You Tube channel, and "people I know" popped up, that I have never contacted through any Google service, and are not subscribers or friends on You Tube. One was my brother, another was a guy who I briefly dated 3 years ago, another was a woman who fed my birds while I was away for a few days, 3 years ago. How does Google know these things? I haven't had any contact with some of these people for 3 years! None of them have a Gmail. It was disturbing, so I deleted that Google+.

I figured out the Google tracking. I have an Android cell phone, and I use that channel one to watch You Tube on my phone. I have also used that Google account for downloading and testing my apps. Apparently, Google is accessing my phone contacts and address book. When Google basically forces you to "verify" your identity by giving them your cell phone #, which, I guess, also gives them access to everything on your Android (Google OS) phone, which they then cross reference with everyone else's Google accounts and cell phone address books. Isn't that creepy? I guess I will need to delete any stalker ex-BFs from my cell phone before I do anything on Google+. I figure, if they are popping up as "friends" on my end, I might pop up on theirs.

Google, Don't Be Evil. furious

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

Maybe while you are at it, you can teach the 6th graders how to irritate a teacher, then use their cellphones to record incriminating video evidence against them, post it on Facebook, then get their teacher fired and crucified in the media... oops! Kids these days already know how to do that! (I'm being facetious!)

Edit by moderator: Slight change in wording. Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Friday 26th of April 2013 08:44:22 PM

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

They certainly can track you, if they wanted to. had a coworker, a nice enough guy from Morroco, on my phone address book because we could cover each others shifts. Turns out the mosque he goes to had some radicals and some people who were very close to a fine line of "cultural differences" and child molesting. OK, and I was in his "social circle"? He never got accused of anything, and nothing happened, but I was in his address book along with people probably on a watch list. Yikes!

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

If anyone should think that the video that Bear II linked to could be a staged event, I can attest that the technology is certainly available to almost anyone to find out a lot about people with just a little slueth work.

Jo and I both work for a state law enforcement agency here in Oklahoma. One year, during a training event, one of the agents gave a demonstration as to how easy it was for a perpetrator to find out information about a young girl. In his demonstration, he showed how Facebook, MySpace, and other social media sites could give a perpetrator a lot of information. Casual comments by the young girl on one or more of the sites could lead to the discovery of the schedules of both the child and her mother, thus making it easy for the perpetrator to have an easier time of "attacking" the young girl.

Even comments on forums such as this are "mined" for information. If one has both a stix n brix and an RV and talks of taking a vacation, guess whose home is suddenly vulnerable.

Terry

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well, Google went ahead and invited all my "friends" from my phone address book before I even hit the button... I received an invite to myself from another email I have. I did not hit the invite button, and in fact, deleted that Google+. (Unless Google second guessed me on that too!) That Google account does not have my real picture, and my name is spelled a little different, so maybe the ex and others I want to keep out of my personal life will over look it. Just because you might have your bosses phone # doesn't automatically mean you want to "friend" them into your "circle". I am going through my phone tonight, writing down some numbers and deleting them. "They" make you sign these user agreements just to have a phone, or internet service, then that gives them access to your address book, and allows them to arrange your social life? OMG.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hina, I totally agree with you!

Sherry

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm teaching this very subject right now to my 6th-graders. We're going to look me up and see what they can find. Should be interesting.

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

Actually, our kids are pretty good. Recently word got out that one of the coaches was going to be fired as coach (which meant that he would probably resign as teacher) even though he had taken the team to Districts. The students rallied, called the news media, etc. and forced a special Board meeting, at which the coach was offered his job back. Even though this was a high school teacher/coach, even the middle school kids were wearing shirts supporting him and some were at the rallies. I'm going to miss them when I retire at the end of this school year.

nightsky · RV-Dreams Family Member

Google IS watching, and tracks pretty much everything you do online. This webpage has 3 trackers, one is Google +, one is Google AdSense. Trackers are everywhere. Ghostery is a small program that blocks web trackers, it's available for Windoze and Mac systems.

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

I can't see a problem. Those might be words I live to regret. When you consider identity theft and all the scams being perpetrated, being able to easily pull up little facts about ones life could be dangerous. On the other hand, all these social tools can certainly help keep in touch with friends and family.

Certainly lends credibility to six degrees of separation and seemingly provides a way to prove it on anybody.

Six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world, so that a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

And Google isn't just tracking on the web; if you have an Android smart phone, they also have access to your address book, and can use that to cross reference with every other Android phone and Google account. They demonstrated that to me yesterday. Maybe you have a clean record and nothing to hide, but what about that guy 6 steps away?

Raytronx · RV-Dreams Family Member

I guess the flip side is it's harder to be a jerk or criminal and blend into the crowd these days. People used to be able to pull all sorts of stuff on line, now they get caught pretty easily by law enforcement. I agree it is kinda creepy tho. One thing I like about Google is you can get Authorship and then when you write a blog post on your site it is recognized by Google as your content. If it is plagiarized, they know.

There is always good and bad with new tech. Think what people thought when the first phones were installed and they were party lines. :)

Ray

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hey, I remember party lines. They were OK for us because we lived in a small town of less than 600 people. Trust me, in a town that small, folks know what's going on with whom. People had to be courteous to each other, and back in that day, people were just that. I'm afraid that working for a law enforcement agency and hearing of all the crimes, it isn't that way anymore.

Just as criminals are out there trying to scam the citizens, companies are as well. And, Google is doing a LOT of data-mining, even to reaching out for information of people's wi-fi data. That is one of the reasons that I moved from Google's Blogger over to WordPress.

Terry

FLCoastalChick · RV-Dreams Family Member

A year ago b4 I paid off my Harley I somehow forgot to send them a payment check. I didnt answer the 800 number on my cell phone... long story short: Harley had called all of my contacts that I had texted or called in the month looking for me. Some of whom were just business people in case I couldnt make it in. I asked them about it when I called my payment in. (embarrassment when a friend tells you Harley is looking for you). They told me that all businesses now have a way to track your activity on a number that you give them.

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

That sounds illegal, unless, of course, somewhere in the fine print of your phone contract.... All Seeing Eye, Big Brother. Are we really just human batteries trapped in the Matrix? I might poke into that, and see if what they did violated any privacy laws

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

I remember when "privacy" was a given and back then, things were private but maybe because everyone wasn't trying to pry into our lives. To me, it is spooky to see the name of my city appear immediately when I go to a website because they know who I am and where I am! I keep the tracker turned off on my cell phone. One of these days I'm going to run over my cell phone and become "private" again. We keep just the simple flip phones but I know they will become extinct. Yahoo keeps asking for a phone number to associate with my email account and they aren't getting it. Now, if you review a product online, they would like a "photo". I don't think so. Well, if I don't get to fulltime RV and be able to run from them, I'm packin' it in and movin' to the woods! Which "woods"? Can't tell you because it would go "viral"!

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yeah, and everytime I search for a product on Amazon, I get ads for those things everywhere I go. You Tube keeps harassing everyone to use their real name... when they actually get around to forcing people to, will they be liable when someone gets killed by a stalker? Don't think so.... and did you know, falsifying information on an "online agreement", such as using a fake name to open a Google account is some sort of Federal crime, that can land you in prison for like 30 years or something? Of course, you can't open a Google account these days without giving over your phone number, and new accounts force you to use your "real name", which they will then use to track you via GPS...

Here is an interesting video from an alternative/conspiracy researcher who inadvertently got caught in some sort of Facebook sweep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzlYdWDhohQ&feature=share&list=UU4c4sA164EJ4uhBTcdtvsdQ
This guy isn't a "shouter" or a "revolutionary" just a rather studious fellow who likes to dig deep into things, such as analyzing Nasa images. Facebook suspended his account for some bogus reason, then wanted him to scan his driver's license, and send it to them!

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

SnowGypsy wrote:
I remember when "privacy" was a given and back then, things were private but maybe because everyone wasn't trying to pry into our lives. To me, it is spooky to see the name of my city appear immediately when I go to a website because they know who I am and where I am! I keep the tracker turned off on my cell phone. One of these days I'm going to run over my cell phone and become "private" again. We keep just the simple flip phones but I know they will become extinct. Yahoo keeps asking for a phone number to associate with my email account and they aren't getting it. Now, if you review a product online, they would like a "photo". I don't think so. Well, if I don't get to fulltime RV and be able to run from them, I'm packin' it in and movin' to the woods! Which "woods"? Can't tell you because it would go "viral"!

The knowing your city only works with some internet services since they trace your internet address. Using Verizon wireless they are convinced I am in Potwin Kansas most of the time, which I find humorous since I am thousands of miles away.

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

With internet connections, they use the IP address, which is static, but they can trace you from there, at least your billing address. You can use a VPN tunnel. With cell phones, they are tracking you in real time.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Use the Tor network if it is really important to be anonymous - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network) .

Hina · RV-Dreams Family Member

U.S. government secretly collecting data on millions of Verizon users: Yahoo Report

Penny and Paul · RV-Dreams Family Member

I wrap all of our electronics in tinfoil...

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQTN9S4ucxBQ1TPd3CNgFgYyowe9hsPSeTq68SzGG-K7iJ02UjC

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Penny, laughing out loud!!

Penny and Paul · RV-Dreams Family Member

Man, I wish I could take credit for that, but it was my DH, Paul.

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

This is one of the reasons I don't have a Smart Phone, and don't want one. All I need is a basic flip phone so that I can send and recieve calls and that's what I have. I've had it for several years and it works just fine.

FLCoastalChick · RV-Dreams Family Member

There is a tech term for what the agencys do.. I am trying to research it so I can post it. I should have done that when I first found out but I was so floored and embarrassed I forgot all about writing what they can do to find someone. I do remember it is something than an A starting the next word. But Tim and Robyn at the time that happened to me I did not have a smart phone, I did not run off of a major company...mine was Boost mobile and I switched to Virgin Mobile now...yes still off of Sprint towers. Basically it was a pay by the month phone. They can track any number that you give out for a loan, online, for bills, etc. So it is just not on flip phones...sorry. I now have went to Walmart and have bought a "burner" phone which I put all my personal business on (incl. utilities snumbers) My regular phone has my day to day contacts, etc. After the initial cost of the phone and a

FLCoastalChick · RV-Dreams Family Member

phone card... I have had no problems since... costs me 25.00 a year to keep up that burn phone