1

Its from The Guardian and it was not published in April.

I know Google was always collecting data about me and I have so far decided to let it slip as a compromise in light of their contributions to the internet and also because I though they weren't personally identifiable.

But if this story was true then this is seriously not okay, its one thing to ask for your real name and home address directly through filling up a form, its another thing to snoop them up without your knowledge.

Anders
  • 64,406
  • 24
  • 178
  • 215
user117840
  • 11
  • 1
  • Try it yourself, you will soon find out. I dont think its trueeee – Adam Sitemap Jul 18 '16 at 09:23
  • 4
    In its current form, I don't think this question is on-topic. It _might_ be on-topic on [Skeptics.SE], but be sure to read their Help Center before posting there. – S.L. Barth Jul 18 '16 at 10:03
  • You may be interested in this question: [Why would someone trust DuckDuckGo or other providers with a similar privacy policy?](http://security.stackexchange.com/q/12664/5405) – S.L. Barth Jul 18 '16 at 10:04
  • 2
    What do you mean with "it was not published in April"? According to the page (and the URL) it was published on 1 Aug 2013. What is the importance of that not being April? – Anders Jul 18 '16 at 10:05
  • 3
    @Anders April Fool's Day? – techraf Jul 18 '16 at 11:34
  • yes, the story is true. the guardian is not in the habit of making up news. but, you misread it. – dandavis Jul 18 '16 at 13:37

1 Answers1

6

The article itself clarifies that the source of the tip was an employer:

Update: Police in Suffolk County, NY, released the following statement on Thursday evening:

"Suffolk County Criminal Intelligence Detectives received a tip from a Bay Shore based computer company regarding suspicious computer searches conducted by a recently released employee. The former employee's computer searches took place on this employee's workplace computer."

Employers have a legal right to review employees' computers and Internet traffic, and if the employee was being released for any reason, it is highly likely that the employer would exercise that right - it's kind of standard to monitor people who are being released, usually to ensure they aren't exfiltrating company data.

(The article is dated August 2013; while the author doesn't time the exact incident, it's reasonable to believe the web searches would have been inspired by the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which used a pressure cooker bomb carried in a backpack. And it's also reasonable to believe that police would have paid attention to such a report in that timeframe.)

gowenfawr
  • 71,975
  • 17
  • 161
  • 198