Michel Jullian wrote:
> Regarding Google Desktop, it operates strictly locally, Google doesn't > see the data. Right. The same with other indexing programs such as the one built into Windows. Gmail is a different story, in theory the data are not > seen by humans but that's only theory. Of course the same goes for any > email provider. The same goes for most programs these days. They communicate with the Mothership, downloading updates and uploading trouble reports. They could be scouring your disk for credit card numbers and uploading them, and you would not know it. Software, the Internet, the banking system and many other institutions are predicated on trust. We trust that software companies will not engage in criminal behavior, and most of the do not. There are punishments for such behavior but in many cases it is unlikely anyone will detect it. When trust fails in institutions such as banking or Wall Street, chaos ensues and the institution collapses. You cannot depend solely upon law enforcement and double checking (or firewall software in the case of computers) -- although you need these things too. - Jed
