Just Stop Using Google Desktop!
Anything that puts too much power into the hands of a single person or entity should be considered corrupting. Information is a lot like power. In this information age, who ever controls a lot of information definitely has a significant amount of power. In the light of this latest Google Desktop exploit (reported by NetworkWorld), I suggest we just stay away from tools that surrender too much information.
This is the second security problem reported this week for the software. On Wednesday, researchers at Watchfire said they’d found a flaw that could allow attackers to read files or run unauthorized software on systems running Google Desktop.
As with Watchfire’s bug, attackers would first need to exploit a cross-site scripting flaw in the Google.com Web site for this latest attack to work, but the consequences could be serious, according to Robert Hansen, the independent security researcher who first reported the attack. “All of the data on a Google desktop can now be siphoned off to an attacker’s machine,” he said.
This new exploit is pretty malevolent as it allows access to all information Google Desktop has access to … which is nearly everything. To make matters even worst, it can run unauthorized software! I can see it now unscrupulous people being solicited to exploit this in the corporate environment. Imagine mining all those corporate desktops in Fortune 500 companies running Google Desktop. Hmmm…
This is just too much. Putting too much information even in the right hands is scary. It definitely gets worst in the wrong hands. People might say this is being anti-progress or anti-technology. I just say it is too much information. (Of course, the concept of too much information is subjective). As the saying goes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This recent leak just opened up an ocean of exploitable information. Now, that is a lot of information. That is a lot of power.
