If You See This Google Warning, Act Fast: Big Brother is Watching

[sigma6]

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/05/internet-security-virus.aspx

Looks like another government created 'stuxnet' type virus, which is now popularly attributed to the US/Israel.

Big Brother is watching. No kidding. And the warning is coming from none other than Google, which says government spies may be spying on you. Some believe the Google announcement may be related to the recent discovery of the data-mining virus named "Flame." In a June 3 New York Times article, Andrew Kramer and Nicole Perlroth write1:

[Sierra]

Scary. Quoting from the article above mentioned by sigma6:


Google Also in the Privacy News

Beginning the first week of June, Google will warn you every time it picks up activity on your computer account that looks suspiciously like someone trying to monitor your computer activities. Google won't say how it figured out that state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer. But it's promised to let you know if it thinks Big Brother is tuned in to what you're doing.

As recently reported on the New York Times' blog6, the warning will pop up at the top of your Gmail inbox, Google home page, or Chrome browser, stating:

"Warning: We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer."

According to a Google blog post by Eric Grosse, VP of Security Engineering at Google7:

"If you see this warning it does not necessarily mean that your account has been hijacked. It just means that we believe you may be a target, of phishing or malware for example, and that you should take immediate steps to secure your account.

Here are some things you should do immediately: create a unique password that has a good mix of capital and lowercase letters, as well punctuation marks and numbers; enable 2-step verification as additional security; and update your browser, operating system, plugins, and document editors.

Attackers often send links to fake sign-in pages to try to steal your password, so be careful about where you sign in to Google and look for https://accounts.google.com/ in your browser bar. These warnings are not being shown because Google's internal systems have been compromised or because of a particular attack."

[Ilie Pandia]

Scary. Quoting from the article above mentioned by sigma6:


Google Also in the Privacy News

Beginning the first week of June, Google will warn you every time it picks up activity on your computer account that looks suspiciously like someone trying to monitor your computer activities. Google won't say how it figured out that state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer. But it's promised to let you know if it thinks Big Brother is tuned in to what you're doing.


This is hilarious!!!

Google sounds exactly like this:

A thief leaves you a notice: "I was snooping around to steal your TV and notice that a concurrent thief already stole your jewelry! By the way, would you kindly leave the door unlocked next time? I promise I'll let you know if I notice anything suspicious!"

I should say, I did not study this from a tech point of view yet, BUT I am very curios how on earth does Google know what is happening on my computer? Who is spying it no less... Hm....

[ThePythonicCow]

This is hilarious!!!

Google sounds exactly like this:

A thief leaves you a notice: "I was snooping around to steal your TV and notice that a concurrent thief already stole your jewelry! By the way, would you kindly leave the door unlocked next time? I promise I'll let you know if I notice anything suspicious!"

I "trust" that Google would not be doing this unless they (hence, therefore, some one at the NSA) wanted to rile up some users, get them angry at or paranoid of Big Brother, and present Google as their "do no evil" friend in that battle for personal freedom.

[Ilie Pandia]

I've read the article about the Flame virus. I guess the privacy concerns are real, but the tech talk is just a bunch of mambo jumbo that makes no sense...

The author either did not want to be boring by using proper technical descriptions or he does not know what he is talking about...

The problem with "software viruses" (unlike biological ones), is that someone has to run them, otherwise they are just 1s and 0s sitting there doing no harm...

Ah just noticed Dr Mercola is a medical doctor. I'll have to look for and read a review from someone who specializes in "software viruses" :biggrin:

[eni-al]

Seems like its just inbox monitoring, screening for untrustworthy emails and account activity.

[ThePythonicCow]

IAh just noticed Dr Mercola is a medical doctor. I'll have to look for and read a review from someone who specializes in "software viruses" :biggrin:
Mercola is a bit of an alarmist by nature ... he has good stuff ... he reports some seriously important and out of the main stream medicine and gives some alternative health experts a valued platform. But he tends to select his material in good part on the basis of whether it something alarming that will attract readers.

[WhiteFeather]

I agree Google could possibly be funded and or supported by The 3 Letter Government Agencys, much like i have heard that The CIA had interests in Facebook. For these are two highly popular websites without a doubt.

[sigma6]

The problem with "software viruses" (unlike biological ones), is that someone has to run them, otherwise they are just 1s and 0s sitting there doing no harm...

an .exe program could be self initiated based on some other variable, timer, another sequence of predictable code, etc... these are supposed to be 'sophisticated' viruses... ie. big government money deals, with elite programmers, the 'wizards'

[SKAWF]

This is hilarious!!!

Google sounds exactly like this:

A thief leaves you a notice: "I was snooping around to steal your TV and notice that a concurrent thief already stole your jewelry! By the way, would you kindly leave the door unlocked next time? I promise I'll let you know if I notice anything suspicious!"

I should say, I did not study this from a tech point of view yet, BUT I am very curios how on earth does Google know what is happening on my computer? Who is spying it no less... Hm....



you're wondering how google know's whats happening with your computer?

i'm assuming that you use google to search for things......

have you noticed how advertising on different websites, is now sync'd up to your searches?

just try it out.... type 'kylie edessa throw' into a google search, and you'll see it pop up on all kinds of websites
(as an aside, its a very nice throw!)

which means that there has been a restructuring of the way advertising is delivered.
almost like google now controls what content goes into the space reserved for advertising, on websites.

either that or....

they are giving information relating to your searches, to other agencies,
who are then using it to ply us with advertising.

google knows where you go,
and when.
it probably has more data on you, readily accessible,
than you, yourself can recall.
it remembers things that you forget.
it knows what you do...... when you are in private.
when no one else is looking.

not only that.....

there was a way of checking this.....

google uploads from my machine, probably 1000 times a month.

it know's exactly whats going on with your machine.
or it tells others....
or both of those.

steve

[Ilie Pandia]

Hello,

In theory Google should be able to read only the text in my inbox, and the text on pages that I read that have Google Ad Sense on them. Google should NOT be able to see anything else that is happening on my computer: like what programs do I currently run, what network connections do I have open, do I have a firewall or not... and so on.

However, if you have Google Chrome (the browser from Google) installed on your computer, that is a full program with full access to your machine and could easily be used to inspect anything that you do. But that would be "Trojan horse" behavior and I expect someone would detect it...

[David Trd1]

hhmmm

it seems to me to be a massive push to centralize and connect even more data,while i agree passwords should be changed regularly,in the last few months particularly every time i log in to my account i encounter a screen that states a password is not enough and to give my phone number and the impression given is that i have to do it to proceed(which is false).

Connecting phone numbers to emails enables even more tangible data collection on said user.i.e.access to your home address and thus a cross corellation across social security data,internet,phone,living area,bank etc.

it looks to me to be an effort to ''fill in the gaps'' as it were.

I smell a massive rat,the less information avalibile to them the better in my opinion

[Sirius White]

Intuition is a crazy thing!

My guess was this virus was created by us. I heard from just a few sources that the virus was sophisicated. It struck me as having some advanced or highly funded algorithim/code. Of course i could be wrong on the mechanics. And remember how the FBI was going to get info from everyone computers who were infected??

[GarethBKK]

Google have been saying that their customers have fallen victim to coordinated attacks from people (possibly state-sponsored) who aim to get passwords to Gmail accounts or dupe users into logging in to fake sites by faking the SSL certificates. Google algorithms would be able to detect patterns of behaviour out of the ordinary - hence a warning that you may be targeted. My Gmail connection to Google is through their genuine SSL. Can governments decrypt? Yes, at huge expense. Does Google share my data with governments? In some countries, I'm sure they have to.

[bogeyman]

I lot of these attacks on US government systems and other systems, from various groups such as Anonymous, may be orchestrated, such as this Google warning. There are teams who's generic name are called "tiger teams" which test systems security for the government and possibility private contracters. Similiar groups exist which attack these systems in order to implement certain regulations, and laws (under FEMA and other agencies) which restricts the freedoms of american and foriegn citizens, accessing too much information. The internet is deemed a threat. Victor Marchetti stated in a article in 1979 (CIA employee) the government prefers an ignorant and guliable public.

[SKAWF]

Hello,

In theory Google should be able to read only the text in my inbox, and the text on pages that I read that have Google Ad Sense on them. Google should NOT be able to see anything else that is happening on my computer: like what programs do I currently run, what network connections do I have open, do I have a firewall or not... and so on.

However, if you have Google Chrome (the browser from Google) installed on your computer, that is a full program with full access to your machine and could easily be used to inspect anything that you do. But that would be "Trojan horse" behavior and I expect someone would detect it...

okay then, we're kind of at the limits of my knowledge here

i was wondering how far beyond the realms of possibility it is....

that a third party could have, or gain access to the system registery?

and also,

would a program that we agree to install the features of.....
be detected like an ordinary trojan?

does the system not create exceptions?

cheers