Google CAN track every site you visit!

They would not waste time going for privately owned smaller networks, as that is not something viable for them unless it is easier for them to identify such networks through their algo. Let them access what they want to, why fear when you are doing all that you really must.
 
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Changed to OpenDNS just now.
Thanks for the heads up
 
klaatu97 said:
They track what you are writing in GMAIL account, so it's quite obvious that every site we visit can be tracked by the big G!
Click to expand...

Oh come on, people, let's stop talking out of your asses, can we? Google doesn't track what you write in Gmail, they scan so they can insert "relevant" ads. That's a whole lot different.
 
DamageX said:
Why would anyone use Google's DNS servers instead of their ISP's?
Click to expand...

I use them because my ISP has DNS lookup problems. About 50% of the time it fails to find the website. So I changed to Google's DNS. I live in a developing country and there aren't many choices for half decent ISPs. I asked them about it and they stared blankly at me. So I had to fix it myself!

I tried a few other public DNS services, but Google's was the best.

Anyways, I've got nothing to hide! Let them see me watching redtube! ;)
 
tony_d said:
I had an alarming realization a moment ago.

I, like many of you, am using Google's DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4). This actually means Google DOES know every website I visit, even if I type it directly into my browser bar.

Google could log all requests made to their DNS servers, and use that data to know exactly who controls websites/PBNs, etc.
For example, if G suspected www.pbnsite.com was a PBN site, they need only to trawl their logs to see who requested pbnsite.com/wp-admin, and then trawl their logs again to see what other /wp-admin requests that user made...!

This theory, when expanded, also can mean that with sufficient data retention and analysis, they could in fact easily discover which individual users made which 2.0 properties, forums posts, tweets, etc.

This theory relies on my assumption that the entire URL is transmitted to the DNS server. It seems logical that it would, otherwise the browser would have to strip the request to the root domain level, query the DNS for the IP address of the web server, then re-send the entire page-level request to the web server. I don't imagine that's very efficient, so I presume that's not how it works.

so... changing DNS settings now. I suggest you do the same.

I also presume some people will say "the connection is HTTPS secure, so they can't see what you're requesting"... but, I would make the point that in order to establish the secure connection, the URL first needs to resolve to a destination, and it does so via the DNS server.
Click to expand...

They must be having a blast going through my dns logs while gscraper and GSA are running in the background!
 
tony_d said:
This theory relies on my assumption that the entire URL is transmitted to the DNS server. It seems logical that it would, otherwise the browser would have to strip the request to the root domain level, query the DNS for the IP address of the web server, then re-send the entire page-level request to the web server. I don't imagine that's very efficient, so I presume that's not how it works.
Click to expand...

Huh? A host passing a URL to a DNS server would be the opposite of logical. That's not how the protocol works, its only purpose is to resolve a machine readable address to a human readable name. It doesn't care for what purpose (web, ftp, ssh, irc, etc).

Don't believe me? Fire up wireshark and examine a DNS query more closely:
3PUKgUG


Anyways, of course they are going log the use of their service. They're not hiding anything: https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy . I also really doubt the spam team is making any sort of indexing decisions based off of some temporary DNS server log files when they have vastly superior spam detection techniques at their disposal.

Sorry tony, but you're theory is full of holes... I do appreciate you not going full tinfoil however ;)
 
It is clear to me they have access to a lot of information even from sources they have no physical ownership of.

I don't think a tin foil hat is required as aside from recent mud slung in their direction data = accurate marketing. Except when they get it wrong.

I discovered how much they are gathering by chance.

Using my kindle fire ( not google) I have been doing a lot of routine surfing from my home location in scotland. Other than social networks my searches tend to be regionally focussed as most of us do (i am also very carefully to limit footprints as much as possible) . However google having no access to my GPS information as it is switched off, should logically follow my search patterns for Scottish things, they don't. They will naturally narrow my searches and serve up northern Ireland (if I don't specify otherwise). I have never used this device in northern Ireland, I have never had an online identity in northern Ireland.

I do however have a large social circle of friends on face book from northern Ireland as I did live there for quite some time. My security settings are tight, and no crawler can gain access ......allegedly. Yet still my results are refined for northern Ireland.

Go figure Facebook seems to let google, (or google has gained access to Facebook's ) data.
 
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So what if they track it's not like they have banned you or anything. And you reply about staring at the window is in my mind idiotic, they are completely different things. For example you can't lie that you are a woman in the real world and sell shitty products, but on the internet you can do that. In most cases google doesn't give a shit if you rank your site with software and etc, because many websites are built using the technique, and google would lose relevancy on some field
 
The URL is NOT transmitted, it is as you described below.

So, for a e.g. a GET request: http://mydomain/bla.html
your browser makes first a dns request for mydomain.com => 1.2.3.4
and your browser then performs:
GET 1.2.3.4/bla.html



tony_d said:
I had an alarming realization a moment ago.

I, like many of you, am using Google's DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4). This actually means Google DOES know every website I visit, even if I type it directly into my browser bar.

Google could log all requests made to their DNS servers, and use that data to know exactly who controls websites/PBNs, etc.
For example, if G suspected www.pbnsite.com was a PBN site, they need only to trawl their logs to see who requested pbnsite.com/wp-admin, and then trawl their logs again to see what other /wp-admin requests that user made...!

This theory, when expanded, also can mean that with sufficient data retention and analysis, they could in fact easily discover which individual users made which 2.0 properties, forums posts, tweets, etc.

This theory relies on my assumption that the entire URL is transmitted to the DNS server. It seems logical that it would, otherwise the browser would have to strip the request to the root domain level, query the DNS for the IP address of the web server, then re-send the entire page-level request to the web server. I don't imagine that's very efficient, so I presume that's not how it works.

so... changing DNS settings now. I suggest you do the same.

I also presume some people will say "the connection is HTTPS secure, so they can't see what you're requesting"... but, I would make the point that in order to establish the secure connection, the URL first needs to resolve to a destination, and it does so via the DNS server.
Click to expand...
 
rob1977 said:
It is clear to me they have access to a lot of information even from sources they have no physical ownership of.

I don't think a tin foil hat is required as aside from recent mud slung in their direction data = accurate marketing. Except when they get it wrong.

I discovered how much they are gathering by chance.

Using my kindle fire ( not google) I have been doing a lot of routine surfing from my home location in scotland. Other than social networks my searches tend to be regionally focussed as most of us do (i am also very carefully to limit footprints as much as possible) . However google having no access to my GPS information as it is switched off, should logically follow my search patterns for Scottish things, they don't. They will naturally narrow my searches and serve up northern Ireland (if I don't specify otherwise). I have never used this device in northern Ireland, I have never had an online identity in northern Ireland.

I do however have a large social circle of friends on face book from northern Ireland as I did live there for quite some time. My security settings are tight, and no crawler can gain access ......allegedly. Yet still my results are refined for northern Ireland.

Go figure Facebook seems to let google, (or google has gained access to Facebook's ) data.
Click to expand...

just out of interest, what does a geolocation lookup for your ip say?
http://www.iplocation.net/

its not always very accurate, mine is way off!
 
rob1977 said:
They are undecided, glasgow, Manchester and London, so a range of about 400 miles but not in the direction that google keep placing me ???
Click to expand...
in that case it would be bugging the hell out me and i'd have to start clearing cookies etc to see how they pin you to that location as its unlikely google and FB are sharing that kind of data...unless you bought a 2nd hand router from one of your northern Ireland friends and the google streetview data is placing it there of course...but i think that would only be android devices. :)
 
Like many have said in this thread, I'm struggling to think of a reason why you'd use Google's DNS Servers. If you're own ISP's aren't enough, and you're worried about what Google may or may not be doing with your data, there are plenty of other alternatives out there!
 
tb303 said:
in that case it would be bugging the hell out me and i'd have to start clearing cookies etc to see how they pin you to that location as its unlikely google and FB are sharing that kind of data...unless you bought a 2nd hand router from one of your northern Ireland friends and the google streetview data is placing it there of course...but i think that would only be android devices. :)
Click to expand...

Lol no, router is only mine, and I'm an electronic clean freak.

Just had a thought though. If my Facebook friends don't have similar security settings to me, there may be a smattering of information (enough for google to make a footprint) available to crawlers. Still doesn't make 100% sense though.
 
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