Googling Security: How Much Does Google Know About You?

What Does Google Know about You? And Who Are They Telling?   When you use Googles free services, you pay, big timewith personal information about yourself. Google is making a fortune on what it knows about youand you may be shocked by just how much Google does know. Googling Security is the first book to reveal how Googles vast information stockpiles could be used against you or your businessand what you can do to protect yourself.   Unlike other books on Google hacking, this book covers information you disclose when using all of Googles top applications, not just what savvy users can retrieve via Googles search results. West Point computer science professor Greg Conti reveals the privacy implications of Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk, Google Groups, Google Alerts, Googles new mobile applications, and more. Drawing on his own advanced security research, Conti shows how Googles databases can be used by others with bad intent, even if Google succeeds in its pledge of dont be evil.   Uncover the trail of informational bread crumbs you leave when you use Google search How Gmail could be used to track your personal network of friends, family, and acquaintancesHow Googles map and location tools could disclose the locations of your home, employer, family and friends, travel plans, and intentionsHow the information stockpiles of Google and other online companies may be spilled, lost, taken, shared, or subpoenaed and later used for identity theft or even blackmailHow the Google AdSense and DoubleClick advertising services could track you around the WebHow to systematically reduce the personal information you expose or give away   This book is a wake-up call and a how-to self-defense manual: an indispensable resource for everyone, from private citizens to security professionals, who relies on Google.   Preface xiii Acknowledgments xix About the Author xxi   Chapter 1: Googling 1 Chapter 2: Information Flows and Leakage 31 Chapter 3: Footprints, Fingerprints, and Connections 59 Chapter 4: Search 97 Chapter 5: Communications 139 Chapter 6: Mapping, Directions, and Imagery 177 Chapter 7: Advertising and Embedded Content 205 Chapter 8: Googlebot 239 Chapter 9: Countermeasures 259 Chapter 10: Conclusions and a Look to the Future 299   Index 317