Big Brother Google: Cyber Surveillance for personalised results? 28th October 2010, Edinburgh Karen Blakeman, RBA Information Services This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

This is me Email: karen.blakeman@rba.co.uk Web site: http://www.rba.co.uk/ Blog: http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/karenblakeman Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/karenblakeman Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/karenblakeman authorSTREAM http://www.authorstream.com/User-Presentations/karenblakeman/ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karenblakeman 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 2

Themes for this session The information about you that Google (and other search engines and web sites) collect while you browse Impact this has on search results and privacy What could possibly go wrong Can you control what is gathered and how? 10/11/2010 3 www.rba.co.uk

Google is used as the main example because it is one of the most transparent in allowing you to check what information it gathers and holds on you. But it often tells you after the event and it doesn’t tell you everything. Google are the good guys – sort of. What Google can do, other less scrupulous or criminal sites can do just as easily (and more!) 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 4

For the purposes of accurate research for this presentation I enabled Google’s web search history, suspended my usual advert and cookie management, and disabled my browser ad blocking plugins. The ads drove me mad and my Google search results began to go all over the place. It was a ghastly experience!! 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 5

Where are you? IP address location (not mobile geo-location) Sites present you with what they think is the relevant country version e.g. google.co.uk “local” content is given priority and more emphasis access to some sites and information blocked to those outside of local “region/area” e.g. US, UK Not always correct - try catching up with TV programmes in a UK Accor hotel using their broadband 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 6

Location information gone wrong! 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 7

Your browser, device, operating system... Panopticlick https://panopticlick.eff.org/ 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 8

10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 9

Learn How Google Works: in Gory Detail http://www.ppcblog.com/how-google-works/ 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 10 Already out of date!!

Is your web history on? Switched on for everyone by default Google adjusts search results according to past page views Stored in cookies so browser and machine specific See: Personalized Search for everyone http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/personalized-search-for-everyone.html Google web history 10 November 2010 11 Karen Blakeman www.rba.co.uk

What have you “allowed” Google to collect? Do you have a Google account - gmail, maps, Docs ? Do you know which Google services and products you are using? Do you know if you have made that information private or left it public? many of Google’s services and applications are public by default Check your dashboard “What Google knows about you(1): check your dashboard” http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2010/06/24/what-google-knows-about-you1-check-your-dashboard/ sign in to your Google account http://www.google.com/dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 12

Google dashboard I use Google for business so make use of as many Google services as possible to promote my business I have several Google accounts for research purposes I research and experiment with new services and technologies Therefore my Google dashboards are horrendous, yours may not be as bad The following dashboard screenshots are not from my main business account – that has a lot more on it! 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 13

Google dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 14

Google dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 15

Google dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 16

Google dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 17

Google dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 18

Google dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 19

Google dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 20 Used to purchase Google Adwords on 2 occasions

Google dashboard 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 21 “Is this everything? In a nutshell, not yet.” “There are other kinds of data that Google records when you use its services, but which are not associated with your Google Account. To protect your privacy, that data is intentionally kept separate from your Google Account and thus is not visible on this page. “ ??

Before you go and make that coffee sign out of your Google account! 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 22

Google social search Included in your search results if you are signed in to your Google account - maybe 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 23

Google social search 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 24

Your social circle 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 25 List of direct and secondary connections

Your social circle – social content 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 26

Check your ad preferences So you think you don’t have ad preferences? Check out http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/ Do not have to be signed in to a Google account “Preferences” based on pages you view Information stored in cookies different browser, different machine = different cookies Ad preferences are used on any site with Google ads Sometimes extends to determining content You can remove and add categories, or opt out all together You will still see ads if you opt out but they will be generic 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 27

10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 28 Ad preferences ??

Google ad preferences in action 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 29

Google ad preferences in action 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 30

Opt out of other ad networks Network Advertising Initiative http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp Browser specific, machine specific Opt out cookies life span of 5 years or until you delete them 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 31

What could possibly go wrong? Can totally mess up your search results Your Google results are about to get weirder http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2009/12/17/your-google-results-are-about-to-get-weirder/ Shared computer, someone uses your desktop computer while you’re making a coffee, confidential research What if Google - or whoever - were taken over by SeriouslyDodgyWebSite.com? do you know that has happened? changes in privacy policies and data use (not just when sold – Facebook repeatedly updates privacy “options”) privacy policies may disappear altogether what are they doing with your data and personal information? 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 32

Can you control it? Not entirely but damage limitation sometimes possible Decide whether or not having a web history is going to be a help or a hindrance If you have a Google account (or an account on Bing or Yahoo) log out of it when you are not actively using it regularly check your dashboard and privacy settings delete “stuff” and clear histories if you don’t need them Check your ad preferences in Google and also consider using Network Advertising Initiative http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp Cookie management if you delete all cookies periodically you will lose opt-out cookies as well! 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 33

Reject all cookies? You won’t get very far on the internet without cookies Active management of cookies? Can be time consuming and may lose opt-out cookies 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 34

Try and find out and become familiar with what information search tools and web sites are gathering and keeping Ad-blocking plug-ins for browsers such as Firefox or Chrome only mask what is going on Regularly check settings, preferences etc. And finally, apologies.... If you weren’t paranoid at the start, you certainly will be now! 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 35

Big Brother Google: Cyber Surveillance for personalised results? 28th October 2010, Edinburgh Karen Blakeman, RBA Information Services This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Postscript This video sums it up “Don’t be evil?” (aka as the Google ice cream man) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouof1OzhL8k 10/11/2010 www.rba.co.uk 37