more on more on Another new Google twist..

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "ken harris." <kenharris () gmail com>
Date: January 10, 2006 11:43:43 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Another new Google twist..

Prof. Farber,

I believe that the history displays are actually not cookies based
(rather pulled from google's db), or available to everyone. They only
appear when you are logged into your Google Account (GMail etc).

It ties in with their 'Search History' and 'Personalized Search'
features (that allows you to search your search history):

"View and manage your past searches
Browse and search over your past searches, including the web pages,
images, and news headlines you've clicked on. You can remove items
from your Search History at any time."

And you do have the ability to pause it, turn it off, or remove  
specific items.

It's a convenience feature, that is all.

Cheers.
Ken


On 1/9/06, David Farber <dave () farber net> wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
> Date: January 9, 2006 2:41:01 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: capek () ieee net
> Subject: Re: [IP] Another new Google twist..
>
> This is not entirely a straightforward situation.  First, such
> history displays are almost certainly based on cookies, so persons
> who do not allow Google cookies are unlikely to see such output.
> (Note however that this is a separate issue from Google's internal
> logs of user search activity presumably tied to IP addresses.)
>
> Also -- at least for users with Google cookies turned off -- Google
> does not always link internally for search results.  That is, for
> most search results you are taken directly to the site that you click
> on, not via an internal Google link that would reveal to Google
> which sites you had chosen to visit.
>
> As I've noted in the past, Google has tended to "seed" some search
> results with internal tracking links -- these tend to appear in
> clusters -- but typically these have been a small percentage of the
> total search results.  Some other search engines routinely seed *all*
> results with internal tracking links, by the way.
>
> The above is based on my current understanding, especially as relates
> to non-cookie Google users.  Users who routinely allow Google cookies,
> or who are using other Google search products (toolbars, etc.), may
> see other effects.
>
> --Lauren--
> Lauren Weinstein
> lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () eepi org
> Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
> http://www.pfir.org/lauren
> Co-Founder, PFIR
>    - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
> Co-Founder, EEPI
>    - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org
> Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
> Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
> Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
> DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com
>
>   - - -
>
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > From: Peter Capek <capek () ieee org>
> > Date: January 9, 2006 12:12:56 PM EST
> > To: dave () farber net
> > Subject: Another new Google twist..
> >
> > I noticed over the weekend that Google search results now indicate
> > whether, and when,
> > you last visited a site that's returned as a result.  So, if you re-
> > do a search that you did
> > a few days ago, you can see which of the earlier sites you visited.
> > The information appears
> > as a date, or if the earlier visit was today, a time, to the right of
> > the main line of the search
> > result.  I haven't found any mention of this addition in a cursory
> > check on the Google ste.
> >
> > This is perhaps most interesting because it will make it apparent
> > even to casual users that
> > Google retaining this history, and is able to observe which sites you
> > visit from their search
> > results.  A propos of today's earlier discussion, this history
> > keeping is not confused by the
> > prefetching of the first search result.
> >
> >                   Peter Capek
>
>
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