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Show HN: EnGrip – Document online learning for your professional growth

2 points by meetmranil 9y ago

TekMol 9y ago
"You need to install EnGrip extension - a browser button to capture your online learning." - No, thanks.
- meetmranil 9y ago
  Thanks for the feedback. Please note that we do not capture any of your browsing activity without your consent. What data reaches our servers is completely under your control.
  - TekMol 9y ago
    You say so. But why would I believe you? And how would I know you are competent enough to not mess up my privacy by mistake? And how would I be sure this would not change in the future? Even browser extensions that start out harmless often get bought for the purpose of spreading malware.
    - meetmranil 9y ago
      Good questions. I will attempt to answer them as well as I could. 1. But why would I believe you? Because I personally don't like any software doing this without my knowledge. But again my personal preferences are not something that everyone has to believe. The browser extension can be read by any techie with an exposure to javascript. So it is out in the public space that could be confirmed by a few people. 2. And how would I know you are competent enough to not mess up my privacy by mistake? : To be honest I don't have an answer for this. "To err is human". However data security is always a priority for us and will continue to be so. We will put in best of our efforts to safeguard the data of our users. 3. And how would I be sure this would not change in the future? : Any change, if it happens, will be intimated to the users first. Only if they accept the corresponding change will be applicable to that particular user. Definitely done through setups and default option would be their original choice, not the new implementation. Also if a user decides to leave our application, we are building a feature where they can take a backup of their data captured using EnGrip extension so that they don't lose any data. After all, data is valuable. Hope that helps. Thanks.
      - TekMol 9y ago
        Hope that helps No. Because it's all just words. You promising to be honest and competent does not increase my trust in you. Every incompetent dishonest person would do the same.
    - PradeepKumar721 9y ago
      I might need some advice here. So, are you saying no one should ever build another browser extension? Or browser extensions can be built but no one should ever use any of them? Is this specific to browser extensions only or is it applicable to every software being built currently?
      - TekMol 9y ago
        Depends on the type of software and the trust you have in the vendor. Every type of software gives a different amount of control to the software vendor. A browser extension is a master key to all of the users web activity. I would never hand out that amount of control to a software vendor I don't know.
        PradeepKumar721 9y ago
        Regarding the master key part, it probably makes sense. May be this is the reason why IE does not have extensions. But browser vendors like Google, Mozilla and Opera know this even before I came to know what privacy on web is. Chrome extensions served from it's web store are analyzed by Google. Firefox and Opera extensions are code reviewed before they go into their stores. All these web stores combined, there are millions of browser extensions and billions of people are using on day to day basis. So can't we trust browser vendors' efforts in this case? And if I start a startup and develop some software, how can any user trust me on day one without using the software I developed? I am just curious to know
        TekMol 9y ago
        Chrome extensions served from it's web store are analyzed by Google. Analyzed how? As far as I know, many have malware in them: http://lifehacker.com/many-browser-extensions-have-become-adware-or-malware-1505117457 http://lifehacker.com/many-browser-extensions-have-become-ad... https://kjaer.io/extension-malware/ https://kjaer.io/extension-malware/ Firefox and Opera extensions are code reviewed before they go into their stores. That approach might be better. I wouldn't trust them to find everything all the time though. An extension only has to somehow hide a "load external code and execute it" function to get around it. That could be just one line of code. And it might be obfuscated and spread throughout the codebase in clever ways. how can any user trust me Make a web app. Web apps are way less dangerous.
meetmranil 9y ago
Here is a link to the 3-minute video that talks about the idea behind the product and future direction at a high level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_C45944onA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_C45944onA Thanks.
helb 9y ago
It currently shows "Error 403 - This web app is stopped". Cached website (with broken styling): - https://web.archive.org/web/20170524092125/https://www.engrip.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170524092125/https://www.engri... - https://web.archive.org/web/20170625113108/https://www.engrip.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170625113108/https://www.engri... Actual extension: - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/engrip-extension/mmglbdoopeimbdhemfkhkinddmkkdlch?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/engrip-extension/m... - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/engrip-tracker/?src=search https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/engrip-tracke... I still don't quite get what it does exactly, and why would i want to use it.
- meetmranil 9y ago
  Hello, Application is working now. A minor issue with Azure hosting that got fixed now. The main purpose of EnGrip is to turn every day learning experiences into a shareable knowledge profile. You can refer to our 3-minute pitch for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_C45944onA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_C45944onA Thanks.

2 points by meetmranil 9y ago

TekMol 9y ago

"You need to install EnGrip extension - a browser button to capture your online learning." - No, thanks.

meetmranil 9y ago
Thanks for the feedback. Please note that we do not capture any of your browsing activity without your consent. What data reaches our servers is completely under your control.
- TekMol 9y ago
  You say so. But why would I believe you? And how would I know you are competent enough to not mess up my privacy by mistake? And how would I be sure this would not change in the future? Even browser extensions that start out harmless often get bought for the purpose of spreading malware.
  - meetmranil 9y ago
    Good questions. I will attempt to answer them as well as I could. 1. But why would I believe you? Because I personally don't like any software doing this without my knowledge. But again my personal preferences are not something that everyone has to believe. The browser extension can be read by any techie with an exposure to javascript. So it is out in the public space that could be confirmed by a few people. 2. And how would I know you are competent enough to not mess up my privacy by mistake? : To be honest I don't have an answer for this. "To err is human". However data security is always a priority for us and will continue to be so. We will put in best of our efforts to safeguard the data of our users. 3. And how would I be sure this would not change in the future? : Any change, if it happens, will be intimated to the users first. Only if they accept the corresponding change will be applicable to that particular user. Definitely done through setups and default option would be their original choice, not the new implementation. Also if a user decides to leave our application, we are building a feature where they can take a backup of their data captured using EnGrip extension so that they don't lose any data. After all, data is valuable. Hope that helps. Thanks.
    - TekMol 9y ago
      Hope that helps No. Because it's all just words. You promising to be honest and competent does not increase my trust in you. Every incompetent dishonest person would do the same.
  - PradeepKumar721 9y ago
    I might need some advice here. So, are you saying no one should ever build another browser extension? Or browser extensions can be built but no one should ever use any of them? Is this specific to browser extensions only or is it applicable to every software being built currently?
    - TekMol 9y ago
      Depends on the type of software and the trust you have in the vendor. Every type of software gives a different amount of control to the software vendor. A browser extension is a master key to all of the users web activity. I would never hand out that amount of control to a software vendor I don't know.
      - PradeepKumar721 9y ago
        Regarding the master key part, it probably makes sense. May be this is the reason why IE does not have extensions. But browser vendors like Google, Mozilla and Opera know this even before I came to know what privacy on web is. Chrome extensions served from it's web store are analyzed by Google. Firefox and Opera extensions are code reviewed before they go into their stores. All these web stores combined, there are millions of browser extensions and billions of people are using on day to day basis. So can't we trust browser vendors' efforts in this case? And if I start a startup and develop some software, how can any user trust me on day one without using the software I developed? I am just curious to know
        TekMol 9y ago
        Chrome extensions served from it's web store are analyzed by Google. Analyzed how? As far as I know, many have malware in them: http://lifehacker.com/many-browser-extensions-have-become-adware-or-malware-1505117457 http://lifehacker.com/many-browser-extensions-have-become-ad... https://kjaer.io/extension-malware/ https://kjaer.io/extension-malware/ Firefox and Opera extensions are code reviewed before they go into their stores. That approach might be better. I wouldn't trust them to find everything all the time though. An extension only has to somehow hide a "load external code and execute it" function to get around it. That could be just one line of code. And it might be obfuscated and spread throughout the codebase in clever ways. how can any user trust me Make a web app. Web apps are way less dangerous.

meetmranil 9y ago

Here is a link to the 3-minute video that talks about the idea behind the product and future direction at a high level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_C45944onA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_C45944onA Thanks.

helb 9y ago

It currently shows "Error 403 - This web app is stopped". Cached website (with broken styling): - https://web.archive.org/web/20170524092125/https://www.engrip.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170524092125/https://www.engri... - https://web.archive.org/web/20170625113108/https://www.engrip.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170625113108/https://www.engri... Actual extension: - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/engrip-extension/mmglbdoopeimbdhemfkhkinddmkkdlch?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/engrip-extension/m... - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/engrip-tracker/?src=search https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/engrip-tracke... I still don't quite get what it does exactly, and why would i want to use it.

meetmranil 9y ago
Hello, Application is working now. A minor issue with Azure hosting that got fixed now. The main purpose of EnGrip is to turn every day learning experiences into a shareable knowledge profile. You can refer to our 3-minute pitch for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_C45944onA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_C45944onA Thanks.