Google Trends a bit dodgy right now?

It pays to be careful these days when surfing the Net because nothing is sacred to spammers, scammers and other worldwide nasties.
According to Computer World on 27 February:
"Cyber crooks are using one of Google's own tools to poison search results with links that spread fake security software, a researcher said Thursday.
"Malware distributors have abused Google Trends before," said Craig Schmugar, a senior threat researcher with McAfee. "But I've never seen them use it as aggressively as they are now."
Google Trends, a tool the search giant rolled out last June, highlights the most popular searches of the past hour. At mid-day Thursday, for instance, the No. 1 search phrase, according to Trends, was "Obama budget."
Scammers and malware makers are closely monitoring Google Trends to guide them in selecting search phrases and legitimate news content, which they then integrate into their own fly-by-night sites, said Schmugar. The idea is to "game" Google into ranking their malware-hosting sites near the top on scores of high-profile, current events-related search results.
"I'm not talking about just a few sites," Schmugar said. "I've collected a lot of them, with poisoned links [in Google search results] that are pretty high up, almost always in the top 10."

And Google Flu Trends is raising privacy concerns itself, with "The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking US federal officials to disclose how much user search data the company has recently transmitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, as part of its Google Flu Trends effort."
However, Google Inc deserves a pat on the back for its "This site may harm your computer" function even if it has a few glitches.

How Google Ads see the Clarence Valley

I was having a bit of a browse at The Daily Examiner online when I noticed something strange about Google's targeted site advertising there.

So many of the pages contained ads for fat reduction or flat stomachs and one page contained a single issue overkill:

Search Criminal Records

Instant Criminal records lookup. Criminal records online database.

Criminal.GovtRegistry.com

Online Criminal Records

Search anyone's criminal records. Unlimited Access to GOV. Databases.

Criminal.australian-records.com
Criminal Records
Search anyone's criminal records Online criminal record resources.

Criminal-Records.Gov-Reports.net

With another page plugging an ad combination:
Criminal Background Check
Detailed & Unlimited Criminal Check Never Pay Per Report. Search Now!
Australian-Records.com
1 Rule of a flat stomach:
Cut down 9 lbs of stomach fat every 11 days by obeying this 1 tiny rule
FatLoss4Idiots.com
Background Checks
Instant Australia background checks Online background record resources.
Background-Check.Gov-Reports.net

It looks suspiciously as though Google thinks that the Clarence Valley abounds with obese, low IQ lawbreakers.
Perhaps it's all those screaming headlines DEX editor Chapman now favours.

WARNING, WARNING! Digital world domination attempt underway??

Gizmodo sounds a bell about Google's new Chrome browser:

Here are the juicy bits in question:

11. Content license from you

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.

11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above license...............

Why in the hell would Google want ownership of every single blog post or email written in its browser? It's so unreasonable that it borders on the insane. [my emphasis]

Is Google Inc. is developing the same delusions of grandeur as US multinational Monsanto or is this just a sensible commercial decision.

You decide.

Update:

Thanks to an alert reader I now know that Google has backtracked on these license conditions.

Section 11 now reads simply: "11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services."

CNet alerts us to the fact that we still may need to be careful using this new browser as in certain configurations it will transmit and store a user's keystrokes (even before the send key is hit):

All this is separate from the issue of what information Google plans to store on its servers. Provided that users leave on the auto-suggest feature in Chrome and have Google as their default search provider, Google has the right to store any information typed into Chrome's Ominibox, which serves as both search bar and address bar. The software maker told CNET News it plans to store about 2 percent of all such data, along with the IP address of the computer that entered the information.

Given the fact that Google Inc. will cooperate with security and intelligence services when required to by law, this level of information gathering may be of some concern to private individuals and political bloggers.

Dear Google........

Dear Google,

I've had a peek at your Street View program on Google Maps and I'm not impressed that my residence comes up in a simple search, with a photograph of the full property frontage.

I am especially not impressed because the instructions on how to apply to have this image removed don't seem to help, because it doesn't present like this.
It comes up as a smaller fish-eye photo [cbk.jpg] without a Street View Help link in any way attached.
Ergo, no facility to have the image removed.

I might live in a NSW Northern Rivers street where the biggest thing to disturb the peace is usually the weekly garbage collection; however, this is not always the case and a private residence in my street has been subject to politically motivated ******** ***** **** *** **** ****** [redacted for privacy reasons].

I haven't spoken to anyone yet who appreciates pictures of their homes being copyrighted and given international distribution.

Now seriously thinking about pulling your adverts from this blog.

Yours in disgust,

clarencegirl

UPDATE: Google has now removed the photograph [10.08.08]