Google = Hubris! The Buzz Fiasco
Raise your hand if you have a Gmail account you use only for business. So how do you feel about the fact that Google decided to automatically add a social networking component into your business account, connect you with those you frequently communicate AND made that information public by publishing it on the profiles of all your connections. Are you a doctor? Lawyer? This should be hugely problematic to you. The pure hubris of this doesn’t astound me as we are talking able Google here but where is the uproar? The OUTRAGE?? The press coverage??
I dare say any other company might have made this an opt-in feature thus allowing users who chose to have this functionality to enable is consciously. This is the right way to do it.
But wait, it gets worse: The “turn off buzz” switch provided doesn’t actually disable it. It just hides it within Gmail. All your connections still show up in your profile page and Buzz is still active. Accessing your account from a mobile device will show Buzz enabled.
CNET has posted an article on how to properly disable buzz, include screenshots. The steps include:
- First, you delete your google profile. You don’t hide it or change the name. You have to delete it completely. This doesn’t destroy your overall google account, but it does limit some of your functions. Here’s how to delete your profile.
- You have to go into buzz and manually delete your connections, including blocking everyone who is following you already.
- Now it’s safe to go back to Gmail and click “turn off buzz.”
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William J McBorrough is a Security Expert with many years of success Managing, Designing, and Implementing medium and large enterprise Physical and Information Technology Security Solutions. His experience spans the spectrum from small e-commerce start-ups to multi-campus state and federal agencies to global financial sector organizations. He is on the faculty of various universities including University of Maryland University College, EC-Council University, George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College where he conducts research and teach graduate and undergraduate courses relating to cybersecurity, cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and information security and assurance. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Computing Engineering with a concentration in digital networks and a Masters of Science in Information Security and Assurance. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified in Risk Information System Control (CRISC), and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).He is well versed in personnel, systems and network security risk management. His core competencies include Developing cost effective solutions to enable mission assurance in the following areas: Enterprise Risk Management, IT Governance, Security Organization Development, Information Security and Assurance
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