Google seems to have developed a secure WiFi VPN software tool - Google Secure Access Client. The information can be found here. Google Rumors has all the details. To sum it up, what they are doing is giving away a VPN tool that takes some of the security risks out of open WiFi. Companies like JiWire and Boingo also have these type of secure WiFi software solutions. While on paper this sounds like a perfectly good deal, Inside Google says not so fast, and writes, “Google Secure Access has the same benefits for Google as Web Accelerator did, with fewer of the things that scared away people the first time.” They dig deep into the GSA privacy policy …
Google may log some information from your web page requests as may the websites that you visit. We do this to understand how Google Secure Access is being used and to improve our services. Google Secure Access does not log cookies and strips potentially sensitive query data from the end of requests to help better protect your privacy.
Oh did I say, its a PC download. (Mac guys can exhale!) I wonder if people on the web are forgetting the age old saying - there is no such thing as free lunch. I could trot out the Google Net story, but you have had enough of that! Though, the GSA FAQ does say…
Where can I go to download Google Secure Access?
The program can currently be downloaded at certain Google WiFi locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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7 trackbacks so far
7:38 AM PT
[...] Lots of other people are piling on, according to tech.memorandum.com this morning it’s the top story. People like Om Malik, Threadwatch, Search Engine Journal, etc. Hmm, mostly fear, uncertainity and doubt (FUD) in Google’s intentions with an employee’s 20% project? [...]
8:13 AM PT
Google taking bids for GoogleNet
Updated Om stays on top of Google’s communication network plans: Following up on my GoogleNet piece, Google is now seeking bids for a nationwide optical network. IP Media Monitor has details here. IP Democracy reports… The vendors who have seen Goog…
10:14 AM PT
Google’s free WiFi VPN
One of the little dark secrets about all the WiFi Hotspots exploding all over the place, including my favourite coffee place on Island, is …
12:05 PM PT
Better get that VPN configured before logging again on an open Wifi hotspot
On the first day of Bar Camp, Jacob “Jakeâ€? Appelbaum (aka ioerror – a famous hacker) did a brief talk on Wifi/IP network hacking. Essentially he demonstrated how easy it is for someone who knows about networking APIs and protocols to develop a sn…
12:57 PM PT
[...] It looks like the basic concept is a secure VPN - you sacrifice having Google see everything you do to ensure that other people on whatever wifi network you are on cannot (wifi sniffing is easy and widespread, and many passwords are transmitted without hashing). Om Malik, GoogleRumors, Inside Google and Tris Hussey write about this. [...]
5:55 PM PT
[...] Google is getting into the WiFi business now. It’s called Google Secure Access and it provides what is basically an encrypted VPN when using a WiFi hot spot. While certainly not a bad move one does have to question the motive. To quote Google: What sort of information does Google have access to? [...]
6:28 AM PT
Roundup Sept 23
Enthusiast uses Google Earth to discover remains of ancient villa In England, consumer giant Unilever cut its global spending on television ads by one fifth in the past 3 years and plans further cuts…. You want to prune in the Fall to encourage reb…
5 comments so far
3:18 AM PT
what the heck is going on@*! I thought this was a search engine company.
3:47 AM PT
Or it can be downloaded directly from the Installer link at the bottom of the FAQ page. I have a screenshot of this install at (link)
10:13 AM PT
Here’s my connection of the dots. Google WiFi + Google Talk = Google Phone Service. They roll out some sort of handset with both built-in, add in a bunch of local search type capabilities and you’ve got yourself a whole new multi-billion dollar revenue stream that ties right back into what they know: search.
1:45 PM PT
I compiled a whole bunch of GSA info here - (link)
6:30 AM PT
As a free alternative I use iPig with good success.
The software (http://www.iopus.com/ipig) includes the option to set up your *own* VPN server extremly easy. Thus all traffic goes to your computer and not via the Google machines!
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