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Google Enterprise Desktop Search Counters Privacy Concerns By Kimberly Hill May 19, 2005 7:20PM     Google Enterprise Product Manager Matthew Glotzbach explains how the company's new Desktop Search for Enterprise product puts the user in control of privacy settings -- even in the context of corporate deployment.   Related Topics google Latest News Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly Barnes & Noble Nook Is Delayed Flat PC Shipments Hurt Dell's Stock Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social Editor's note: Update to earlier report titled "Google's New Enterprise Desktop Search Raises Privacy Concerns." Adds clarificaton regarding user-configurable privacy settings. Google has fired the latest salvo in the desktop search battle, introducing an enterprise version of its popular tool Wednesday. Google Desktop Search for the Enterprise offers additional security features that I.T. managers will find useful -- including the ability to encrypt the index of files on the computer to prevent unauthorized use. But even authorized use presents some privacy and security issues that enterprises will have to address, Jim Slaby of Yankee Group pointed out. "The problem is," he said, "that there are certain things on most people's desktop computers that they don't necessarily want to be found." Legitimate Personal Use For example, many enterprise computer policies allow employees to use their desktop machines to perform basic online tasks during their free time, like on a lunch break. Corporate employees perform a wide range of personal tasks during those times -- accessing their financial accounts via online banking, for instance, or viewing personal e-mail via Web interfaces. Some of those Web pages, noted Slaby, will be cached by Internet Explorer and served up in the results of a desktop search. Even if the page was accessed through an encrypted Internet link, confidential information might be stored on the personal computer. Google Counterpoint Matthew Glotzbach disagrees with Slaby, pointing out that Google has taken privacy concerns into account and has implemented settings that the user can configure to suit their preferences. First, Glotzbach points out that, contrary to Slaby's statement, Google's Desktop Search for Enterprise does not actually index the browser's cache, but rather uses a separate mechanism to index the Web pages as they are being viewed by the user. Second, Glotzbach adds that, by default, Google Desktop Search is configured so as not to index secure Web pages -- that is, those that start with the "https://" prefix. The user, he explained, can choose to enable the indexing of secure pages manually and, in fact, can do so as selectively as he or she chooses. For example, the user can choose to index secure pages generally, but can exclude a particular secure URL, like one that displays private online banking information. "The user has a large amount of choice of which Web pages the Google search will index," he said. (continued...) 1  |  2  |  Next Page >   Advertisement  Tech Trends 1.   New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social 2.   Salesforce Makes Business Social 3.   Cisco, Logitech Target Mainstream 4.   Could This Be the Season for Web TV? 5.   AMD Powers Top Cray Supercomputer Frugal Twitter-Only Device Offered TwitterPeek doesn't need a data plan. Average Rating: Social-Networking Security a Concern Facebook hijacking shows dangers. Average Rating: Cisco, EMC Team on Private Clouds Partner for new data-center approach. Average Rating:  Random Bytes Google Buys Internet Calling Tech Companies Cut Back on Holiday Gifts Electronic Arts Acquires Playfish Social-Networking Security a Concern

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Network Security Spotlight

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Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking Cloud Engines has released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely.   Apple Tablet Rumored Delayed as Publisher Gears Up There have been so many rumors of an Apple tablet that it has taken on legendary status. But now the legend is being revised with reports of a delay and that a major publisher is getting ready.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats Smartphones are increasingly prevalent and adept at handling more tasks, including trading stocks, paying bills, and buying stuff online. That makes them attractive to thieves and hackers.   FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies Hackers are targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients.

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