Google Pulls The Other Leg With Secure Access
Following the Web Accelerator debacle, Google wants another crack at your entire internet traffic. This time, its through the Google Secure Access client.
Located at wifi.google.com, GSA connects you to a Google-run Virtual Private Network. Your internet traffic becomes encrypted when you send it out, decrypted by Google, the requested data downloaded by Google, encrypted and sent to you, and decrypted on your machine. This has the effect of protecting your traffic data from others who may want to access it. GSA’s FAQ describes it as a Google engineer’s 20% project.
One of our engineers recognized that secure WiFi was virtually non-existent at most locations. As a result, he used his 20% project time to begin an initiative to offer users more secure WiFi access. Google Secure Access is the result of this endeavor.
If you choose to use Google Secure Access, your internet traffic will be encrypted and sent through Google’s servers to the Internet. The data that is received will then be encrypted and sent back through our servers to your computer. Your privacy is important to us, we strongly encourage you to read our Privacy Policy to be fully informed about how your privacy is protected.
From the privacy page:
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.
While this may be a legitimate attempt by a single engineer to secure data, the fact is that routing massive net traffic through Google’s servers is a huge financial undertaking. And in any situation, you must always follow the money. Since the program and service is free the only conclusion is that Google is trying, once again, to get its hands on all of your internet traffic for data collection purposes.
Google tried pulling the same thing with Web Accelerator, and the net freaked out. Ultimately, Web Accelerator was pulled. 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.
I have to believe that there are at least some higher ups at Google who have the goal of expanding Google by collecting massive amounts of data on the web browsing habits of the public. The goal: Install a small program on a decent number of computers (not many, but a varied group), close the beta when you have your test group, and enjoy the data. Repeat when the test group shrinks.
There is one other explanation, and I will state it as a possible until I hear back from Google PR. Also, in the FAQ:
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.
It is possible this is just a program designed to make Google WiFi locations secure (I had no idea there were Google wi-fi locations), and not truly meant for the general public. I guess we’ll know more as the news trickles out from other media outlets.
Meanwhile, there is a Google easter egg in the About box:
Anybody want to set about translating it?
UPDATE: CJ translates it in the comments:
Tunc tua res agitur, paries cùm proximus ardet
means
It is your concern, when your neighbour’s wall is on fire
Tunc tua res agitur, paries cùm proximus ardet
means
It is your concern, when your neighbour’s wall is on fire.
From http://www.mun.ca/alciato/wcomm.html
Comment by CJ | September 19, 2005
Thanks, CJ! Do you have a website I can link to as thanks?
Comment by Nathan Weinberg | September 19, 2005
Secure Google Wifi?
Interesting stuff: Following the Web Accelerator debacle, Google wants another crack at your entire internet traffic. This time, its through the Google Secure Access client. Located at wifi.google.com, GSA connects you to a Google-run Virtual Private N…
Trackback by Jeremy Zawodny's blog | September 19, 2005
[…] MAKE:Blog とか InsideGoogle とかで 告されているのですけど、http://wifi.google.com/download.html という URL が一時アクティブで、以下のようなことが書かれていたそうです。 […]
Pingback by Rauru Blog » Blog Archive » Google が WiFi VPN を提供? | September 19, 2005
[…] I have to agree with the premise of this article. […]
Pingback by Marc Abramowitz » Blog Archive » Google Secure Access | September 20, 2005
[…] 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. […]
Pingback by Om Malik’s Broadband Blog » Google to launch a Secure WiFi tool | September 20, 2005
I’ve used Google Wifi at certain restaurants on Castro St in Mountain View. This is to make that experience secure without fear of lurking eavesdroppers in such a public area as a main street
Comment by anonymous | September 20, 2005
[…] From inside google - the Google Secure Access client. This connects you to a Google-run Virtual Private Network. It’s Windows XP and Windows 2000 only at the moment - though techlife couldn’t get it to install. […]
Pingback by My Stuff » Blog Archive » google secure access network | September 20, 2005
[…] UPDATE: I see Nathan over at InsideGoogle picked this up too. Methinks we have a similar read on the service, but I’m willing to give them benefit of the doubt while he says “follow the money”. […]
Pingback by plaxoed! » Why don’t you just call it Google Proxy… don’t be evil mmmkay? [Mark Jen’s life @ Plaxo] | September 20, 2005
It seems as if this is just for google wifi spots rather than all wifi spots. Could this be the start of google rolling out their wifi locations?
Comment by Dan | September 20, 2005
Perhaps we should tranlsate a little bit more freely: “It is your concern, when your firewall wall is an proxy.”
Comment by Gerald | September 20, 2005
[…] This service is free and beta so remember that you get what you pay for and there could be some serious bugs! After the problems that Google had with the Web Accelerator tool (and these were some very basic problems that really should have been seen way before it rolled out even as a beta) I’d suggest care and caution in using this tool. Others are feeling the exact same way. […]
Pingback by Is there a PC Doctor in the house? » Blog Archive » Google wants to protect your WiFi traffic | September 20, 2005
Morning tech/web/citizen journalism bits
Dan Gillmor rips Google for its hubris in putting together an event for 400 special guests to be ‘off the…
Trackback by paradox1x | September 20, 2005
Google Secure Access Wifi Application?
You see what happens when you give your employees 20% of the time spent on the job, to fiddle with any idea they come up with? They create Google Secure Access. Google Secure Access is a downloadable client application that…
Trackback by Search Engine Roundtable | September 20, 2005
Man, you are freaked out because google didn’t invite you to the party. And you are here craping with your tinfoil hat and no technicial background to think through it. Please Nathan, stick to what you do the best. Reporting.
Comment by Anonymous Coward | September 20, 2005
I live in New York (and have little money). I can’t make Google parties.
And I’m not sore. I’ve got an open invitation from multiple Googlers to do lunch in the Google cafeteria as soon as I get to the Left Coast.
Oh, and thanks for the compliment!
Comment by Nathan Weinberg | September 20, 2005
Google 20% project nets secure WiFi in San Francisco
The Google 20% project concept has almost become legendary. It’s where Google employees get to spend 20% of their time working on their own projects. Maybe if the project is really significant it will become featured at labs.google.com or perhap…
Trackback by Things That ... Make You Go Hmm | September 20, 2005
Speculation, so much speculation…
Comment by jug | September 20, 2005
Nathan, could you send me an invitation for Google cafeteria? Is it a new beta service? lol
Comment by luke | September 20, 2005
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 …
Trackback by Blog Consulting & Professional Blogging a View from the Isle | September 20, 2005
It’s like Nielsen ratings for the Web.
Comment by Brock | September 20, 2005
Google Secure Access client
Jeez, Google is branching out in to all kinds of new businesses… the latest is a venture to provide the world with a secure WiFi connection, especially usefule in public places. Dubbed Google Secure Access, it provides a free VPN…
Trackback by Nedward.org | September 20, 2005
A friend of mine just noticed something about Google privacy. Maybe this is already well-known in the Google blogosphere, but apparently they’re still tracking search result click-throughs in some cases…
If your browser’s UserAgent claims to be IE, you will see in the HTML source that every result link has an onmousedown attribute that refers to a function named “clk”. The clk function sends infomation about the link you click to Google. By using “onmousedown”, there is no indication that the click tracking is happening by observing your browser status line nor by choosing “copy this link”.
Why do you suppose they don’t track FireFox clickthroughs? Maybe they think IE users are less likely to notice and/or make a fuss?
–Chouser
Comment by Chouser | September 20, 2005
Google Web Accelerator may have been pulled, but it’s not dead. I’m getting regular version updates now (just got a new version yesterday). And it’s performing much better now than when first installed. (I’ve allegedly saved 21.8 hours now over 83363 pages viewed.)
While there may be some benefit to Google from seeing user click streams, they’ve already got that with Google Desktop (have you seen the “timeline” feature?). I can’t believe Google would put the brand at risk of another “net freakout” if just for this.
GWA is alive and kicking, in spite of the “net freakout,” because it’s a core part of Google’s new network architecture. They’re buying fiber to build the GoogleNet and push “massive amounts of voice, video and data close to the end user” - Google needs GWA caching avoid having to push petabytes of data across continents.
I feel a Googlequake coming …
Comment by mahlon | September 20, 2005
It would be a useful tool if it were also targeted (allowed) for countries that monitor Internet traffic (a la China).
Comment by Jim Burks | September 20, 2005
[…] 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. […]
Pingback by TechCrunch » Google Wifi to Launch | September 20, 2005
Google and the Nationwide Secure Wi-Fi Network of Love
I wondered if Google is planning on offering free secure nationwide wi-fi access….
Trackback by Chris Abraham | September 20, 2005
I have a whole bunch of additional information compiled on my forums here - http://www.hagrin.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=108
Comment by Hagrin | September 20, 2005
Another clue that Google wants a bite of the ISP market… expect Google ISP to come sooner than you think.
Comment by Alex | September 20, 2005
“secure without fear of lurking eavesdroppers in such a public area as a main street”
secured to the rest of the world but Google…
Comment by Alex | September 20, 2005
Google’s WiFi Service Looms
Google have already begun a limited free WiFi service in San Francisco, which was rolled out earlier this year, but now it seems they have the United States in their sites (via Om Malik’s Broadband Blog). Part of this is a secure PPTP connection via …
Trackback by Bleepblog - The UK Tech Blog | September 20, 2005
As Alex said, this could be another piece in the puzzle of an eventual WiMAX Google ISP. Naturally people aren’t going to sign up for an ISP when anyone can listen in on their traffic.
Look for an enhanced Firewall feature to make sure that no one can hack into your computer while on a public network, if that’s a problem too (I don’t know).
Comment by Brock | September 20, 2005
I’m writing this from my very first Googled connection. And I’m in Cleveland. That’s in Ohio.
Comment by Steve | September 20, 2005
Has anyone tried connecting to the VPN while wired?
Comment by Steve | September 20, 2005
[…] A por el Wireless ! (Con dibujito) […]
Pingback by Propiedad Privada » Blog Archive » Actualidad | September 21, 2005
[…] Venga Google, a por el Wireless ! (Con dibujito) […]
Pingback by Propiedad Privada » Blog Archive » Zimbra | September 21, 2005
Google goes Wifi
This scares me. Google labs have announced the release of the Google Secure Access Client - basically…
Trackback by Tim's Blog | September 21, 2005
Google’s Fiber Plans
I capped off a long day at Fall VON by appearing on the bloggers panel (the play by play is provided here
by Alec Saunders) and a dinner with many of the folks who write blogs
about the industry. Aside from finally putting faces to names, there
was …
Trackback by Mark Evans | September 21, 2005
I wonder how this will affect adsense? Does this anonymize adsense clicks? Or does it potentially do a better job of tracking those clicks? Anyone have any thoughts?
Comment by RW | September 21, 2005
[…] The FAQ is here, but the root URL is redirected to the usual Google home page. “Return to Google Secure Access Installer” also returns you to the usual Google home page. Inside Google tells us more. […]
Pingback by The Real Paul Jones » Google WiFi | September 21, 2005
That little “easter egg” is also a rather ominous poem:
Whitney’s Choice of Emblemes 208
Tunc tua res agitur, paries cùm proximus ardet
To M. THOMAS WHETELEY.
Awake from sleepe secure, when perrill doth appeare:
No wisedome then to take our ease, and not the worst to feare.
Still ARCHIMEDES wroughte, when foes had wonne the towne,
And woulde not leave his worke in hande, till he was beaten downe.
No suretie is within, when roofe alofte doth flame:
It is a madnes then to staye, till wee have donne our game.
Yea, those that helpe deferre, when neighbours house doth burne:
Are like with griefe, to see their owne, with speede to cinders turne.
Then, cut of all delaies when daungers are begonne,
For if beginnings wee withstande, the conquest sooner wonne.
Comment by brett | September 21, 2005
Another URL from wifi.google.com:
https://wifi.google.com/welcome
Also notice that the following server exists:
https://vpn.google.com/
Comment by RichB | September 22, 2005
BTW - vpn.google.com reports it’s running Apache! Since when did any Google site run anything other than Google’s web server? (except Orkut of course)
Apache/2.0.40 Server at vpn.google.com Port 443
And what is it doing running such an old (and probably vulnerable) version of Apache?
Comment by RichB | September 22, 2005
I wonder when a site touting the name for number -game were Google will replace Bill Gates in the combination 666. *lol*
Comment by C J th Swede | September 22, 2005
As a (free!) alternative to Google VPN, try the following software called “iPig”: http://www.iopus.com/ipig
They also allow you to set up your own VPN server (very easy), this eliminates privacy concerns,
Frank
Comment by Frank Peter | September 22, 2005
HotSpot Growth…and Google’s Role
With all the talk about Google’s WiFi plans,
it was interesting to see InStat’s expectations for hotspot growth over
the next four years. The research firm forecasts hotspot revenue will
climb to $3.5 billion by 2009 from $1-billion in 2005….
Trackback by Mark Evans | September 23, 2005
[…] Telcos keep an eye on Google! 0 minutes ago by Daniel in news Google’s WiFi plans, …It will be interesting to see how Google’s WiFi plans fit into the growth of the hotspot market. If Google does, in fact, roll out its own high-capacity fiber network with hotspots at the edge, will its brand and popularity drive more people into the WiFi market. I’ve got a cautious approach to WiFi given how EVDO is being rolled out by wireless carriers and the rise of WiMax into the wireless mix. One thing to remember with the number of hotspots is how easy and inexpensive they are to set up given all you need to a high-speed connection and wireless router. Speaking of Google, the company’s no-so-secret telecom strategy became a little more apparent on reports it has leased 270,000 sq. feet of space in a telecom carrier hotel in New York City. Come on Sergei and Larry, tell us what you’re planning! […]
Pingback by Telcos keep an eye on Google! at Daniels Weblog | September 24, 2005
Can’t use it now…
Comment by link exchange | November 25, 2005
[…] Google Pulls The Other Leg With Secure Access […]
Pingback by Google Vs » Blog Archive » 100 Google Blog Search Urls About “Him” | November 27, 2005
Following the Web Accelerator debacle, Google wants another crack at your entire internet traffic.
Comment by taisaku | August 31, 2007
[…] Google Secure Access, it provides a free VPN connection to Google. Some observers are already questioning Google’s commitment to user privacy, which gives pause—but, I […]
Pingback by Google Secure Access client at //nedward.org | November 7, 2007