thewayne: (Default)
The Wayne ([personal profile] thewayne) wrote2022-03-25 10:14 am
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Amazing how many don't realize how scummy Google is

Google is pretty much under constant anti-monopoly investigation, and they hide communications by training their people to CC all of their emails to the company's attorneys! Regardless of whether or not the email is in the least bit significant or needs legal consultation, they do this and if a subpoena comes along, Google then claims attorney/client privilege. This absolutely flies in the face of the fact that this action completely does not establish attorney/client privilege. They have even been previously cautioned on it, and continue doing it! The attorneys mostly ignore the emails and never respond, probably don't even look at them unless they're from certain managers - think of the time and charges involved if they looked at this flood!

Remember Google's alleged motto a few years ago? "Don't be evil". I laughed at it then, I laughed at it now.

While I do use their search engine, Maps, and Gmail, I don't use Gmail for anything resembling private communications. It's throw-away stuff and mailing list collectors.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/03/google-routinely-hides-emails-from-litigation-by-ccing-attorneys-doj-alleges/
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warriorsavant: (Default)

[personal profile] warriorsavant 2022-03-25 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)

Some years back, I switched to DuckDuckGo as my search engine. I admit G**gle is marginally better, but I don't want to let them have anything.

thewayne: (Default)

[personal profile] thewayne 2022-03-25 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)

Another good search engine is Ecosia.  It's run by Germans and based on Bing: every X number of searches that you do, they plant a tree!  They have a very good managed reforestation project and detail it on their web site.  They have plugins for most any browser and you can also default it on most any browser.

elayna: (Sheppard Bzuh?)

[personal profile] elayna 2022-03-25 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)
It's interesting you recommend against using Gmail. I'd got one several years ago, tried to import my emails from my Comcast addy, it was a fiasco, I've since ignored Gmail.

But I'm retired and have more time now, and occasionally Comcast makes me hate them and I think about resurrecting my Gmail so it's easier to move to a different provider if I ever decide to leave Comcast.

Is there a different email provider you would recommend? One not tied to a particular internet provider?

I'm not actually sure I've ever move off Comcast, so many different things are tied to that account, but you seem like the kind of person who would know the best option.
thewayne: (Default)

[personal profile] thewayne 2022-03-25 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)

If you're interested in starting your email life over from scratch, I'd seriously consider ProtonMail.com.  They offer end-to-end encryption, it was founded by engineers from Cern and is based in Switzerland and is bound by Swiss/EU privacy laws.  They have a free tier that has minimal restrictions: 500 meg storage overall and 150 email a day, which is not difficult to abide by for most people, and a paid tier which is about $50US a year. My big complaint about Google, which most people don't understand, is that YOU are the product.  Everything is free because they mine every bit of information that they can glean about you and sell it to advertisers.  It is theoretically anonymized, but at their core they are an advertising company, the largest in the world.  This is why I'm hesitant to give them much in the way of personal information about me and don't use their email for personal comms.

kraig: Salty+Zack (Default)

[personal profile] kraig 2022-03-25 10:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Some co-workers swear by Fastmail. I don't think they have a free tier, but you get what you pay for.
thewayne: (Default)

[personal profile] thewayne 2022-03-25 10:35 pm (UTC)(link)

At $30 annually for the basic plan, that looks like a pretty good service!

disneydream06: (Disney Shocked)

[personal profile] disneydream06 2022-03-25 11:55 pm (UTC)(link)
WOW google, Paranoid much? :o
Hugs, Jon
captainsblog: (Lawyers)

[personal profile] captainsblog 2022-03-26 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
It's also an incredibly stupid technique, because by including a third party in a communication, the alleged asserter of the privilege waives it.
silveradept: A kodama with a trombone. The trombone is playing music, even though it is held in a rest position (Default)

[personal profile] silveradept 2022-03-27 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
Having been old enough to get Google before they were actively ignoring their promises not to be evil, it's not quite as easy to disentangle myself, and I still like running Android apps and such, so. Google gets my data, like so many other companies. I would like to be able to tell them that they can only use it for the least intrusive manners and they don't get to sell it to anyone, but until we have something more like the GDPR in the US (and I shudder to think of what kind of information breach would be needed to get such a thing passed over all of the lobbying money that those companies deploy), I'm hosed. I like participating in the corrupt society too much, I guess, to try and do things completely privately.
thewayne: (Default)

[personal profile] thewayne 2022-03-27 04:54 am (UTC)(link)

I don’t see how the USA will ever get a GDPR. California passed a law much like one, I’m not sure what types of protections it enshrines and how effective it will be, much less when it takes effect. There’s a lot going on right now with FB etc: they thought they had achieved a carve-out with the EU concerning a data-sharing arrangement, and a U.S. judge just passed a not directly related ruling that pretty much tore apart that arrangement. So all we can do is wait and see and keep the popcorn coming.

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