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"Never attribute to anything else that which you can attribute to malice", right? In this case my first guess would be the database and deployment. That spell

by Arnt 8y ago

"Never attribute to anything else that which you can attribute to malice", right? In this case my first guess would be the database and deployment. That spell checker supports three hundred and umpty-seven languages, right? And I've heard it's based on the words from Google's web index, which I imagine some people might be happy mirroring on their phone but others not. Just guessing.

api 8y ago
Normally I agree with that principle, but in the case of surveillance capitalism I've learned it's often the opposite. Any excuse whatsoever to hoover customer data to feed into marketing analytics is taken, with few exceptions. It's become the primary business model of the Internet and of consumer-oriented computing. Consumer oriented Internet services that do not productize the user are the exception. Things like mobile apps and cloud-based assistance services are guilty unless proven innocent and I only use them if the value proposition is so high that the cost/risk is acceptable. I also try to limit their permissions as much as I can. I tried Grammarly for five minutes. It was cool, but I dropped it when I realized that its business model was obvious. It was uploading every single thing I typed into anything to the mothership. Not only is this invasive as hell but it's also a massive security vulnerability. I don't feel like having my company's bank accounts emptied because someone hacks Grammarly or a disgruntled employee dumps the database and sells anything that looks like an account number on the dark web.
- RodgerTheGreat 8y ago
  I was aghast the first time I encountered Grammarly; it's an immense security risk, and services like it prey upon the ignorance of end users. I've had conversations with a number of my coworkers who deal with sensitive (PII) data about the plugin. None had realized it was phoning home to do its work, and in every instance so far they've uninstalled it immediately afterward.

by Arnt 8y ago

api 8y ago

Normally I agree with that principle, but in the case of surveillance capitalism I've learned it's often the opposite. Any excuse whatsoever to hoover customer data to feed into marketing analytics is taken, with few exceptions. It's become the primary business model of the Internet and of consumer-oriented computing. Consumer oriented Internet services that do not productize the user are the exception. Things like mobile apps and cloud-based assistance services are guilty unless proven innocent and I only use them if the value proposition is so high that the cost/risk is acceptable. I also try to limit their permissions as much as I can. I tried Grammarly for five minutes. It was cool, but I dropped it when I realized that its business model was obvious. It was uploading every single thing I typed into anything to the mothership. Not only is this invasive as hell but it's also a massive security vulnerability. I don't feel like having my company's bank accounts emptied because someone hacks Grammarly or a disgruntled employee dumps the database and sells anything that looks like an account number on the dark web.

RodgerTheGreat 8y ago
I was aghast the first time I encountered Grammarly; it's an immense security risk, and services like it prey upon the ignorance of end users. I've had conversations with a number of my coworkers who deal with sensitive (PII) data about the plugin. None had realized it was phoning home to do its work, and in every instance so far they've uninstalled it immediately afterward.