Google quietly launches Data Saver extension for Chrome
(Venture Beat):
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/25/google-quietly-launches-data-saver-extension-for-chrome/
"In case you've never heard of it, Google's data compression proxy
service is meant to save the user bandwidth, load pages faster, and
increase security (since sites go through Google's servers, the
company checks for malicious webpages) on your phone and tablet. It
has been entirely aimed at mobile (until now), though there have been
whispers of a desktop version for some time. Now those whispers have
been realized."
- - -
You may find this useful, especially under draconian data caps, but
read on: Whether or not you'll actually see the suggested data savings
will depend on a whole bunch of factors (and of course, if you're on a
severely underpowered machine, you may not want to take the
compression/decompression CPU hit). Many sites already compress most
or all of their data, and videos/images are already highly compressed.
Potential users will need to consider the ramifications of routing
routine browsing through such a proxy -- in some corporate and/or
government environments this may actually be a violation of corporate
data security regulations, irrespective of SSL/TLS use (which does not
actually go through the proxy). I'm personally confident that Google
won't do anything untoward with the proxied data channels, but I also
personally prefer not to funnel all my browsing through single points.
Hell, I don't really like the fact that I have to funnel all my
browsing through my ISP! One other thing -- I've received reports of
persons unable to access some popular sites through such proxies,
apparently due to IP banning triggered by abusive users also using the
same proxies. In such a circumstance, simply disable the proxy to
access such sites.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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