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[jough]

Hi,

If you can't read this, it's because you're using the new Google Web Accelerator.

This malicious piece of spyware caches every page you surf to on Google's web servers, and then serves that cached version up to other people asking for the same page.

This means your bank account statements, logins, private email (when using  a web-based email client - ironically Gmail is succeptable to the GWA) will be viewable by other users.

We're advising people to NOT install (or uninstall) this new spyware from Google.

But if you don't, no worries.  You just won't be able to visit any of MY sites because I'm blocking Google caching.

[Turbo Ninja]

Is this method common to all "web accelerators?"  I'd hate to think the good people at NetZero are using the same cache scheme to sell people cheap dial-up access because: If you're still using dial-up, ain't no way you know or care enough about spyware to know what this can do to you.

[miles]

Um?

I'm not advertising for it at all, however.  I think web accelerators are, if not bad ideas, not that great at all.  I used to have Earthlink, and it was ridiculous.  It didn't help that much, and meant that if I didn't clear out it's special, hard-to-locate-until-I-posted-here-cache I couldn't properly load updated websites.

But maybe it's (GWA) not quite as bad as it sounds?  I agree though that it is creepy.

If you're still using dial-up, ain't no way you know or care enough about spyware to know what this can do to you.

This might be true, unless you have the advantage of reading TOUAMB.  I still have dial-up because it's cheaper, and for a long time I was mainly using the internet at school.  Paying for broadband doesn't make much sense if you're only home when you're sleeping.

[arkabee]

are there banks allowing logins on non https pages still?

[jough]

They claim to not cache https pages, but they're lying.

The GWA also ignores #*#*#s.txt, nofollow, etc.  It's a highly malicious spider on every link of a page.

Luckily they use a common UA header and only cache/request pages from a certain bank of IPs - if they wanted to the GWA could be a lot worse than it is.

In any case, use it or not, you won't be able to use this site (or any of my sites) if you also use GWA.  Sorry.

[V-Adore]

Bringing the strong sack, I see, Jough -- and with much justice. Man, honestly, what the hell does Google think it's going? Let's hope they take it in the shorts on this.

[jough]

Their general rule is "Don't be evil" but damn, this thing is pretty evil.

Their thing where they started using the Google toolbar to re-write sites' content to feature ads built right in to the middle of content was like a frat boy prank compared to this thing.

[Suckin_Dick]

frankly i think it's not a bad idea in and of itself, seeing as, if there's any company i trust to cache this crap it's google and not M$.  frankly i think it's a good idea for people who are a bit short of funds who need to be able to still get at web content on some of these ridiculously large web pages... like seriously, who needs a fuck*ng all-flash webpage.  arrogance.  

though honestly to our lo-bandwidth friends out there i'd reccomend a switch to *nix and a simple text-based commandline browser.  much simpler.

[St_Zartan]

I don't know, dude, those Homestar Runner guys don't really come off as all that cocky.

[arkabee]

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ARRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.