Comments on: Google's Omnibox could be Pandora's box

If you are not careful with your privacy settings, Google has the right to log every keystroke you type into Chrome's address bar.

[onlyauser]

Well, I think I have paranoid about Google Chrome. I could careless what Google does with my browsing information. I have no doubt this is simply about marketing and internet statistics. This will not have adverse effects on anyone.

[BadSquishy]

The auto-suggest feature has been in the Firefox search bar some quite some time, and has now been added to the Google home page. Does Google collect typed keys and IP addresses in those instances as well? I don't see this as a problem with Chrome in particular, but a potential problem with the auto-suggest feature wherever it is applied. Auto-suggest doesn't seem to work in the search bar in IE7, so at least they aren't collecting info from there.

[Nofoilrequired]

What annoys me is the uninformed biased posts by the authors of such blogs.

Ok so the "Omnibox" auto suggest feature rings home to the Google servers for ideas and lists them, big deal. "Ohh dear Google Chrome is nasty, it is spyware. I am uninstalling it now, and never using it again. How dare they".

Ok let back track. do you use the Google search box on firefox???? Firefox has had that little feature installed in the browser now for a very long time now. Don't believe me, check the http logs of your firewall, it sends data out as you type.

Internet explorer 7 through 8, same box.
Vista, Google box on systray.
Safari Google search box.

They all have they all do it, so lets just unplug the internet and get outside and play with the kids... Ohh wait we cant do that, big brother has hi-res satellites that can watch every move....

Get over it. your favorite local bakery probably has more personal knowledge about you than Google does.

So to the blogers of these sorts of posts, do some more research before brainfarting out paranoia to the masses.

[Aroll605]

So is Gmail actually secure or they are reading our emails too??!!

[albizzia]

Actually, I don't care if they know about most of my web browsing, that I visit C/Net or Autoblog or MSNBC or any of the common sites. It doesn't matter, it isn't embarrassing, it isn't a big secret, it isn't incriminating in the least.

And for those few times that I want to keep my web browsing a secret (like planning a surprise party? or searching for a hemorrhoid treatment!) there is Incognito mode - something previous browsers lacked.

[Pygarp]

"In theory, that means that if one were to type the address of a site--even if they decide not to hit enter--they could leave incriminating evidence on Google's servers. "

It's not incriminating evidence unless you hit enter. If you are planning on looking anything up "incriminating" then stick your butt behind a proxy and ****.

[russkeller]

Damn it! I absolutely loved chrome until I read this.

Oh well just let my buddies know to get rid of it and spreading the word.

[sexyresults]

I hope in time you realise how idiotic you have been.

[AshevilleLocal]

There is a FREE version of the Chrome Code by a german company. but without googleupdater, with ad-blocking, and without a number of privacy invading settings:

It is called:
SRWare Iron
http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php

[sexyresults]

Who really cares if it stores 100% of what every one types in the bar at the top? Honestly, I don't care if google knows I look up video games, do my university research, occasionally look up porn, visit social networks, download various things. I don't give a ****, and neither should you. Unless your looking up something as illegal as say, child pornography, then why worry. Are you worried some server some where in the world will have a series of text logs next to some IP address that will probably never be used? And if it is what harm could come from it? People get far too worked up over things like this. If you switch browsers based on something as trivial as this, your an idiot.