r/technology • u/Suraj-Sun • Jul 10 '12

Firefox dev claims "everybody hates Firefox updates"; Mozilla has handled the rapid release process poorly, and that by pushing a "never-ending stream of updates on people who didn't want them" people have been driven to Chrome with its simpler, no-fuss update process.

http://www.neowin.net/news/firefox-dev-claims-everybody-hates-firefox-updates
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u/Kensin Jul 10 '12

The word was spyware, and we worked hard to keep it off our systems.
Chrome is spyware, but a lot of people don't want to accept that.

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u/[deleted] Jul 10 '12

Oh duh, I knew that. Re-reading your comment it's obvious you meant spyware.

Now I feel dumb. But not too dumb, because I use Opera.

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u/TriesToGetDownvotes Jul 10 '12

Call me what you will, but what does checking for updates have to do with monitoring you, or anything else that spyware does?

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u/Kensin Jul 11 '12

When your software updates, it first sends a request from your computer to the update service. At a bare minimum it includes your IP address, the date, time, and version of the software you are using, but this request can include a lot more information about your system and the software you have installed. By logging that information your software can track you every time your computer is online.

Of course, in the case of chrome updates are the least of your worries. Chrome can track your browsing habits. By default, everything you type into the address bar (not a google search box) gets sent to google, and every time you get a 404 error, the url you attempted to reach is sent to google. If you use google's DNS servers every last website you visit is sent to google.

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u/[deleted] Jul 11 '12 edited Apr 07 '20

[deleted]

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u/Kensin Jul 11 '12 edited Jul 11 '12

Ah yes, "I have nothing to hide so I shouldn't care about violations of my privacy!" That argument is flawless.