5 ms·

"Google Alarm" Firefox addon alerts you when you're sending data to Google

49 points by jamiew 16y ago

Browser extension visually & audibly warns you when a page contains tracking bugs like Google Analytics, AdSense, YouTube embeds, etc.

jim_h 16y ago
I use 'ad block', 'noscript' (not allow google analytics) and 'cs lite' (block cookies). Also 'better privacy' to clear my flash files.
ScotterC 16y ago
Wouldn't it make more sense if the alarm was for when you're not sending data to the Google?
- timcederman 16y ago
  It's like Homer's everything is okay alarm. http://www.snpp.com/episodes/5F21 http://www.snpp.com/episodes/5F21
- mechanical_fish 16y ago
  If we make the alarm sound like a vuvuzela it'll be like the World Cup all over again.
  - throw_away 16y ago
    sudo /usr/sbin/tcpdump -i en1 -l host google.com or host google-analytics.com 2>/dev/null | perl -ne 'if (time - $lasttime > 1) { `say zzzzzzzz`; print "spoke to google at ", scalar localtime, "\n"; } $lasttime = time;'
    - dedward 16y ago
      Excellent - but the "zzzzzz" part comes out like "zee zee zee zee zee zee zee".... at least on osx....
      - throw_away 16y ago
        ya. that's the best I could do. I couldn't find a vuvuzela audio file on the internet that wasn't surrounded by a bunch of flaming hoops, else, I would have had it open that URL.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
nhebb 16y ago
I'd be embarrassed too if someone caught me visiting Perez Hilton. I'm thinking Google should keep an eye on those people.
niekmaas 16y ago
Considering the amount of websites that use Google Analytics this will result in an almost constant sound. At least the websites I browse often. But it's an interesting project to make people aware of the amount of data they send to Google. I just dont think that people that do not know this will install a plugin like this.. Or use FireFox at all.
- rquirk 16y ago
  I'm just glad that analytics is on its own domain. Google could easily have placed it at google.com/analytics and it would be much trickier to block. As it is, an entry in hosts or blacklist it in NoScript is all you need.
  - jrockway 16y ago
    Adblock Plus does a better job of blocking than those mechanisms, however, and it could handle google.com/analytics just as easily as google-analytics.com.
Groxx 16y ago
From a comment: >Didn’t show any alerts when I hit google.co.uk Which probably means it's just looking for links to "google.com" in the page. In which case I'd doubt it'd catch connections in flash files, and it probably false-positives if you have blockers in place. (edit: checked the JS file, that's exactly what it does. Looks for URLs of: google, gmail.com, youtube.com, blogspot.com)
- Groxx 16y ago
  late-edit: Correction, they search all elements for these domains / files: google gmail.com youtube.com blogspot.com google-analytics.com/urchin.js google-analytics.com/ga.js googlesyndication.com show_ads.js doubleclick.net youtube.com/v/ And finally a ++ if you're using Chrome. Fairly sure that's all of them, I finally opened the file in a proper editor. And, importantly, it appears they're searching for that text, not attributes, so this post will probably set off the alarms.
  - pbiggar 16y ago
    If this is true (and I have no reason to doubt you), then the extension is so inaccurate as to be useless. In Firefox at least, there are hooks to do everything you need to do a real implementation.
    - Groxx 16y ago
      Just installed the Chrome version, and ran it on that comment's page. Results: Google Analytics Google AdSense Youtube Embed Google Chrome And the Firefox plugin's results are coming once I get it downloaded & install the plugin. I'll edit here, and probably blog about it due to its inaccuracy (stupidity should be exposed!!!). edit: Firefox's results mirror it exactly, minus the Chrome one of course. Plugin review result: utterly worthless.
skizm 16y ago
Bug? I can not click on links in the upper right hand corner of a website while it is enabled. I went to amazon and tried to click "My Account" in the upper right and it was as if there was something invisible not allowing me to click links up there. Several disable/enables of the plugin later and it seems like that is the problem. Anyone else experience this?
hipsterelitist 16y ago
Fun toy. I honestly never thought about how ubiquitous Google Analytics really was. Hope you win your emmy!
gojomo 16y ago
Great idea -- but overdone to the point where it's only a think piece, not a utility. An alternate presentation idea: a toolbar with both indicators for the current page, and a timeline of recent connections to Google's servers. It would make a small ring on each new connection -- but more like an IM notification than an airhorn, and able to be turned off. The timeline could be logarithmic, with the past to the right, so the last 5 minutes or so of hits to Google AdSense/Analytics/CDN/etc. is in high-resolution over about 1/3 the width of the screen, while the next hour takes the next 1/3, and the last day the last 1/3 -- altogether showing a total of the background hits to Google servers in the last 24 hours or so. Like so... [AX__A___X_____XC____AX____X_X__A__XA__X_A__AXC__X__XAAXCA] 121 hits
nhnifong 16y ago
Just a list of all the things I can think of the at will trigger that alarm. Google analytics, Embedded Youtube videos, Adsense, Any of Google's websites, Typing in the search box. The chrome extension is even funnier. That would probably never be silent. EDIT: Turns out typing in the search box doesn't set it off
code_duck 16y ago
Adding facebook, ms/live/bing and other networks would make more sense than only being obsessed with google.
yikulju 16y ago
if you're afraid of Google I made a Chrome extension for you. (it tells you whether or not you're logged into your Google account) https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kehceocjihegfhlnocjbblapepeilbmk https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kehceocjihegfhln...
- ElbertF 16y ago
  If you're afraid of Google why would you use Chrome?

49 points by jamiew 16y ago

Browser extension visually & audibly warns you when a page contains tracking bugs like Google Analytics, AdSense, YouTube embeds, etc.

jim_h 16y ago

I use 'ad block', 'noscript' (not allow google analytics) and 'cs lite' (block cookies). Also 'better privacy' to clear my flash files.

ScotterC 16y ago

Wouldn't it make more sense if the alarm was for when you're not sending data to the Google?

timcederman 16y ago
It's like Homer's everything is okay alarm. http://www.snpp.com/episodes/5F21 http://www.snpp.com/episodes/5F21
mechanical_fish 16y ago
If we make the alarm sound like a vuvuzela it'll be like the World Cup all over again.
- throw_away 16y ago
  sudo /usr/sbin/tcpdump -i en1 -l host google.com or host google-analytics.com 2>/dev/null | perl -ne 'if (time - $lasttime > 1) { `say zzzzzzzz`; print "spoke to google at ", scalar localtime, "\n"; } $lasttime = time;'
  - dedward 16y ago
    Excellent - but the "zzzzzz" part comes out like "zee zee zee zee zee zee zee".... at least on osx....
    - throw_away 16y ago
      ya. that's the best I could do. I couldn't find a vuvuzela audio file on the internet that wasn't surrounded by a bunch of flaming hoops, else, I would have had it open that URL.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

nhebb 16y ago

I'd be embarrassed too if someone caught me visiting Perez Hilton. I'm thinking Google should keep an eye on those people.

niekmaas 16y ago

Considering the amount of websites that use Google Analytics this will result in an almost constant sound. At least the websites I browse often. But it's an interesting project to make people aware of the amount of data they send to Google. I just dont think that people that do not know this will install a plugin like this.. Or use FireFox at all.

rquirk 16y ago
I'm just glad that analytics is on its own domain. Google could easily have placed it at google.com/analytics and it would be much trickier to block. As it is, an entry in hosts or blacklist it in NoScript is all you need.
- jrockway 16y ago
  Adblock Plus does a better job of blocking than those mechanisms, however, and it could handle google.com/analytics just as easily as google-analytics.com.

Groxx 16y ago

From a comment: >Didn’t show any alerts when I hit google.co.uk Which probably means it's just looking for links to "google.com" in the page. In which case I'd doubt it'd catch connections in flash files, and it probably false-positives if you have blockers in place. (edit: checked the JS file, that's exactly what it does. Looks for URLs of: google, gmail.com, youtube.com, blogspot.com)

Groxx 16y ago
late-edit: Correction, they search all elements for these domains / files: google gmail.com youtube.com blogspot.com google-analytics.com/urchin.js google-analytics.com/ga.js googlesyndication.com show_ads.js doubleclick.net youtube.com/v/ And finally a ++ if you're using Chrome. Fairly sure that's all of them, I finally opened the file in a proper editor. And, importantly, it appears they're searching for that text, not attributes, so this post will probably set off the alarms.
- pbiggar 16y ago
  If this is true (and I have no reason to doubt you), then the extension is so inaccurate as to be useless. In Firefox at least, there are hooks to do everything you need to do a real implementation.
  - Groxx 16y ago
    Just installed the Chrome version, and ran it on that comment's page. Results: Google Analytics Google AdSense Youtube Embed Google Chrome And the Firefox plugin's results are coming once I get it downloaded & install the plugin. I'll edit here, and probably blog about it due to its inaccuracy (stupidity should be exposed!!!). edit: Firefox's results mirror it exactly, minus the Chrome one of course. Plugin review result: utterly worthless.

skizm 16y ago

Bug? I can not click on links in the upper right hand corner of a website while it is enabled. I went to amazon and tried to click "My Account" in the upper right and it was as if there was something invisible not allowing me to click links up there. Several disable/enables of the plugin later and it seems like that is the problem. Anyone else experience this?

hipsterelitist 16y ago

Fun toy. I honestly never thought about how ubiquitous Google Analytics really was. Hope you win your emmy!

gojomo 16y ago

Great idea -- but overdone to the point where it's only a think piece, not a utility. An alternate presentation idea: a toolbar with both indicators for the current page, and a timeline of recent connections to Google's servers. It would make a small ring on each new connection -- but more like an IM notification than an airhorn, and able to be turned off. The timeline could be logarithmic, with the past to the right, so the last 5 minutes or so of hits to Google AdSense/Analytics/CDN/etc. is in high-resolution over about 1/3 the width of the screen, while the next hour takes the next 1/3, and the last day the last 1/3 -- altogether showing a total of the background hits to Google servers in the last 24 hours or so. Like so... [AX__A___X_____XC____AX____X_X__A__XA__X_A__AXC__X__XAAXCA] 121 hits

nhnifong 16y ago

Just a list of all the things I can think of the at will trigger that alarm. Google analytics, Embedded Youtube videos, Adsense, Any of Google's websites, Typing in the search box. The chrome extension is even funnier. That would probably never be silent. EDIT: Turns out typing in the search box doesn't set it off

code_duck 16y ago

Adding facebook, ms/live/bing and other networks would make more sense than only being obsessed with google.

yikulju 16y ago

if you're afraid of Google I made a Chrome extension for you. (it tells you whether or not you're logged into your Google account) https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kehceocjihegfhlnocjbblapepeilbmk https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kehceocjihegfhln...

ElbertF 16y ago
If you're afraid of Google why would you use Chrome?