

Google Toolbar Tracks Browsing Even After Users Choose "Disable" - indy
http://www.benedelman.org/news/012610-1.html

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pilif
the article assumes that the x to close the toolbar is part of the toolbar
itself.

it's not.

the x is a new feature of IE 8 and it is used to make IE not load the plugin
responsible for drawing that toolbar.

So when you press the X, the toolbar isn't loaded next time you start IE, but
isn't notified of this either.

The enhanced reporting features are part of the Google Toolbar BOH (browser
helper object) which is not disabled when you click that X. The reason for
that is the fact that IE as host of these plugins can't be 100% sure that the
BOH and the toolbar are related.

Earlier versions of IE didn't have the X so there was just one way to turn the
toolbar and/or reporting off: To use the methods provided by the toolbar
itself (using the uninstaller or to disable the enhanced reporting using the
toolbars official UI).

This current situation, IMHO, is just a consequence of the toolbar not being
updated to the new situation (i.e. the x being drawn by IE).

Based on the technical knowledge I would not jump ahead and assume malice (on
this part at least - the crappy taskbar button is another issue).

The irony behind this is the fact that IE added the x as a usability
enhancement to deal with the growing amount of auto-installed toolbars and now
they created a real mess due to not correctly track dependencies between
different plugins.

~~~
gjm11
The article alleges that even when the Google Toolbar Notifier BHO is also
disabled, the tracking continues, and implies (though it doesn't quite state
explicitly) that there is no way to disable whatever's doing the tracking
other than a complete uninstallation.

~~~
blahedo
Right---the _core_ problem here is "can't disable"; there is a secondary
problem of "it looks like I've disabled but I haven't", but nearly all the
criticism in the article stands even if the X is none of Google's doing.

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gojomo
The word 'evil' does not appear at the target article, in either the headline
or text -- so why prepend it to the submission headline? The article and
author are more credible without the gratuitous editorial spin.

~~~
indy
Apologies, have changed the submission title back to the original article's
headline.

------
Asa-Nisse
Disclosure: I serve as co-counsel in unrelated litigation against Google,
Vulcan Golf et al. v. Google et al. I also serve as a consultant to various
companies that compete with Google. But I write on my own -- not at the
suggestion or request of any client, without approval or payment from any
client.

I think the above says pretty much everything. If you're doing sensitive
stuff, why even install third party plugins?

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BearOfNH
How long before we have a plug-in to report random page fetches to the
toolbarqueries site? A la FF's Track Me Not.

(Edit: "random" meaning unrelated to the user's page fetches, as opposed to "a
random sample of actual pages fetched").

