Google Desktop - Anyone using it? Anyone have security or privacy concerns?

[Drew2k]

I've always been leery of using an third-party search tool like Yahoo! or Google, but I was just looking at the features Google Desktop offers, and they're pretty compelling... gadgets, too.

Does anyone have any pros or cons on Google Dekstop (http://desktop.google.com/features.html)?

What about privacy or security concerns?

I'm asking because Google just introduced a Media Server gadget (link to DIRECTV forum thread (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=1660828#post1660828)) and I'm very interested in the what the DBSTalk community thinks about it ...


Thanks!

[EXTACAMO]

Nope. I feel the same way about stuff like that. Allot of software you buy today offers to install it. You have to watch your software installs carefully. I won't install that weather bug thing either. You know that little thing that gives you instant access to your local weather. Nobody gives you something for nothing.

[mstanka]

I've always been leery of using an third-party search tool like Yahoo! or Google, but I was just looking at the features Google Desktop offers, and they're pretty compelling... gadgets, too.

Does anyone have any pros or cons on Google Dekstop (http://desktop.google.com/features.html)?

What about privacy or security concerns?

I'm asking because Google just introduced a Media Server gadget (link to DIRECTV forum thread (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=1660828#post1660828)) and I'm very interested in the what the DBSTalk community thinks about it ...


Thanks!

The issue with Google Desktop that I have found is if you use Outlook 2k7 with a PST file.
With Google Desktop installed and when closing Outlook, GD would keep the PST file open, I believe for indexing. The next time that Outlook is opened, Outlook would give an error that the file was not closed properly the last time. Not really a major issue, but I could see that it MIGHT cause an issue if data is attempted to be written when it is closed.

Usually Outlook will perform a check and if any issues (I've not had any at all) it will attempt to fix it. I just got tired of seeing the error so I removed GD as it was not really a program that I used (Came preinstalled on my Dell).

I still use the Google Toolbar and have no problems at all.

Hope that this helps.

Michael.

[Capmeister]

I have google desktop and the latest outlook and I just tell it not to index the outlook. It works fine. I love google desktop.

[GregLee]

I installed it on my Linux system. It won't stay, since Google did not supply source code, but I was curious. I'm really paranoid about installing foreign binaries, so I did not use Google's install process, but unpacked the distribution by hand and read over the install script to see what it would do. It seems pretty innocuous -- it doesn't try to make changes of any consequence to the system areas of my computer. Well behaved.

Personally, I don't see the point of it, so far. I know what's on my system, since I put it there, and I've got a few simple search tools to remind me when I forget.

The "gadgets" might be interesting, but they seem to be only for msdos, not Linux.

Thanks for pointing this out.

[Rob-NovA]

I've been using Google Desktop on my work laptop. It's a godsend for finding files and emails when I need to do proposals and other documentation work. It didn't seem to install anything else out of the ordinary and works as advertised for the most part. It's a lot better than Microsoft's desktop search tool.

As far as security and privacy go, I've never heard anyone complain about the core Desktop program. However, since it's extensible, I can't vouch for any of the third party plugins.

I'll have to take a look at their Media Server offering. Didn't know that existed!

[Drew2k]

Thanks for the feedback ... I think the privacy factor was more of a concern to me than anything else. Everyone's concerned about spyware, and in some early reviews of Google desktop there was major concern about how it search across desktops in the network, and how that could potentially lead to full control taken of any PC on the network. I couldn't find recent reviews or critiques on Desktop 5.x, so have those concerns and issues been put aside?

[Rob-NovA]

Thanks for the feedback ... I think the privacy factor was more of a concern to me than anything else. Everyone's concerned about spyware, and in some early reviews of Google desktop there was major concern about how it search across desktops in the network, and how that could potentially lead to full control taken of any PC on the network. I couldn't find recent reviews or critiques on Desktop 5.x, so have those concerns and issues been put aside?

Drew:

You bring up a good point, one which I had forgotten since I installed Desktop. I've only got it enabled on one PC at the moment, and I specifically disabled linking multiple PCs together via my Google account. I couldn't then (and still can't) see a real value in linking the different machines together.

[GregLee]

... there was major concern about how it search across desktops in the network, and how that could potentially lead to full control taken of any PC on the network.
From searching to control? I don't understand that. I was only commenting on the Linux version, which does not need to have system privileges. On a Unix system, an application can usually look wherever it wants, but for control or to cause damage, it needs to get system privileges.

[Drew2k]

From searching to control? I don't understand that. I was only commenting on the Linux version, which does not need to have system privileges. On a Unix system, an application can usually look wherever it wants, but for control or to cause damage, it needs to get system privileges.It was from early reviews of Google Desktop, so my "summation" should not be construed as authoritative. Essentially by searching across multiple PCs in a network, there were some security risks exposed, and the reviews noted that there was potential for those risks to be exploited. I believe the reviews were for XP.