Microsoft Tells Gmail Users They're Being 'Scroogled'

[BoredErica]

[citation][nom]Cheesevillage[/nom]Just think. Microsoft had all those hotmail/MSN users so long ago and did nothing good with them.They're just jealous!Honestly, a computer doesn't understand what your emails say. It can't not draw conclusions about your personal life. If just shows an ad when prompted.This is like bad politics.[/citation]
What? Outlook.com is a very good email service.

 

[Guest]

M$SpinOMatic, said:
M$, is doing the same thing with its METRO UI/ADWARE OS, kettle to pot: You're doing it too! It just more ad revenue from tallywacker enhancement on the redmond side of the equation!

WHY yes, Ballmer is a big tallywacker!

 

[bluekoala]

Well, this is why you should advertise with Google.

And I don't mind having ads targeted at me. I really have no use for wrinkle secrets or sexy singles at my Telco's Central Office.

 

[CaedenV]

[citation][nom]math1337[/nom]Unfortunately, outlook/hotmail is just bad. As it is now, gmail is so much better that it's worth the invasion of privacy.[/citation]
I may use Google as my primary acct at the moment, but I really love what MS has done with Outlook.com. It is beautiful to look at, and simple to use. Only reason I do not make the switch is because I burn out one email acct at a time. Once/if I get over run by adds and junkmail then I will make the jump with a clean start on another service. For the moment I just use my outlook acct for all of my MS stuff, while Google holds the keys to the rest of my life.[citation][nom]BigMack70[/nom]Anyone who thinks privacy is possible on the internet by doing something as simple as switching email clients is absolutely crazy.Privacy is an illusion unless you're willing to go to tinfoil hat paranoid lengths to secure it for yourself.[/citation]
Especially when IPv6 really gets moving. Once every device gets its own unique IP address, and those addresses/devices get pinned to specific people, then it is going to be a whole lot harder to tell who is doing what. In some ways it will be really nice, but in other ways this could make things pretty terrible for people.

 

[spin26]

spam filters on outlook? doesn't they look on every email you receive?

 

[pjmnz80]

Personally im not suprised or do I really allow myself to get too emotional about it.

Its like getting annoyed the cia spys on the states and probably the rest of the world. Its common knowledge and has atleast been spectulated for years.

It really comes down to what the hell can I do about it. And besides atleast google is only trying to tailor its commercial enterprise to someones interest. If you want total control of your email host your own email server and run your email address from there. But even that is not totally secure. Like said in the article, even email from outside clients to gmail users are read.

At the end of the day it has to be expected that corporations are going to go to this length these days. Much more can be expected in the future I believe. The morality of such things will always be in question and no doubt entirely subjective, and I am no way entirely comfortable about the whole thing myself. Just more or less resigned to the fact that at the moment I am powerless to stop them at this point.

At the end of the day, of google sends me an ad to buy such and such I can atleast ignore it and decide for myself whether or not I am actually going to buy it. If in the future they start forcing sales down our throats well thats another issue alltogether.

 

[killerclick]

Spam filters also read all mail.
Antivirus programs read all code that appears in your web browser (incl webmail) and sents suspicious stuff to be analyzed.
Internet Explorer also reads all code that appears on pages you request.

Just scare tactics. Google can already read all mail on their servers if they want to.

 

[Marcus52]

Good for Microsoft. It's about time someone with clout exposed Google for the privacy-rapers they are.

President Obama, where is your initiative here? I heard your gums flapping about internet privacy and security, is that just another empty promise?

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]kj3639[/nom]I'm being Scroogled?! Well, I'm just going to hop on over to Bing and... nevermind.[/citation]

i use bing for images because google cant be trusted there anymore.

[citation][nom]Cheesevillage[/nom]Just think. Microsoft had all those hotmail/MSN users so long ago and did nothing good with them.They're just jealous!Honestly, a computer doesn't understand what your emails say. It can't not draw conclusions about your personal life. If just shows an ad when prompted.This is like bad politics.[/citation]

if it wasnt for google, i would still have 20mb of space for email, and have to delete them, and god forbid if i want to use something like outlook i would have to pay for that.

[citation][nom]internetlad[/nom]I think age is going to play a big role in how people view this. Honestly i'm 24 and it's become the norm that not only is snooping like this acceptable, it's actually encouraged for people to give away information via microupdates on twitter, facebook, et al.it's like those old IBM ads said, something to the effect of "there's so much information floating around untapped, if we could analyze it we can learn much" they're just learning what to sell us, is all.[/citation]

its a machine that is trying to figure out what ad i may want to see... its not snooping...

[citation][nom]Soda-88[/nom]That's funny because my opinion is polar opposite to yours.Just taking a look at Gmail interface makes me sick in comparison to Outlook's (and no, I'm not interested in customizing Gmail's interface to my liking, before you suggest it).[/citation]

normal gmail, yes, html gmail, i will stick to that.

[citation][nom]ericburnby[/nom]Surprised at how many people think this is OK.Yet last year when it was discovered that Apple was tracking your location (not you personally, but the device) people on Tom's were livid that Apple would stoop so low and invade your privacy.Hypocrites much?[/citation]

two different things entirely. gmail is something free that i accept ads for, ads that get seen only by a computer.

apple was tracking phones, and gathering way to much infromation doing it too... on something you pay for... quite allot.

 

[falchard]

Microsoft does the exact opposite.
I don't mean, Google snoops through your email and Microsoft doesnt.
I mean Google snoops through your email and gives you spam ads related to whats in your email.
Microsoft snoops thorugh your email and put all the ads in the junk box.

 

[guardianangel42]

[citation][nom]internetlad[/nom]I think age is going to play a big role in how people view this. Honestly i'm 24 and it's become the norm that not only is snooping like this acceptable, it's actually encouraged for people to give away information via microupdates on twitter, facebook, et al.it's like those old IBM ads said, something to the effect of "there's so much information floating around untapped, if we could analyze it we can learn much" they're just learning what to sell us, is all.[/citation]

For now.

Personally, I don't like it when ads know my location; it means that my location is out there with slightly shady people.

There's a very fine line between slightly shady and shady and one need only step over it to accomplish something illegal.

Giving up personal information, including your interests, opens you up to modern day cyber criminals. All it takes is access to information you provided freely and a person could assume your identity, stalk you, or ruin your reputation.

Only the naive believe the only thing giving your info away accomplishes is targetted ads.

 

[The_Trutherizer]

The wording, the style... It practically screams Balmer. I am not in the business of taking the sh1t-fights between competing companies seriously. And I have my reservations about the privacy you have with either MS and Google. I mean why compete so ferociously for the same market space? Surely not for altruistic reasons M$. If it was the conclusions of an impartial 3r party investigation into both MS and G then maybe it would get a rise out of me.

 

[cats_Paw]

When a company starts atacking another one because they need to focus the spotlight away from themselves, you know to get as far as possible from it.
Its just like in politics, nobody wants a guy who can only atack his oposition, you want a guy who will make things better.

 

[diddo]

Do you prefer to be Scroogled by Google or Banged by Bing?
Maybe Microsoft should not have started a pun war based on names...

 

[lockhrt999]

OMG OMG.
It means Microsoft recognize spam from the mail without even looking into it. That's complete witchcraft. One more thing, How can they index the emails to provide search functionality without going through it? Totally wicked.
I think MS has dogs who sniff mails from a mile far and that's how MS does it all.
/s

 

[Guest]

So I run chrome, with Adblock and No-Script, I never use web-mail application and my g-mail address is set up in thunderbird, when do I ever see these ads!

Who gives a monkeys, anything private I don't want known publicly I share in Person, as should everyone else!

 

[JMcEntegart]

[citation][nom]emike09[/nom]"Outlook.com is different—we don’t go through your email to sell ads." - Perhaps not, but that definitely doesn't say that they don't go through your email. Doesn't instill any trust in MS.[/citation]

Yikes, all fixed. Thank you!

 

[Rosco2382]

its comical in a way, though I only use google for searches, I unfortunately still use AOL and Hotmail as my email provider.

 

[bigdragon]

I'd rather be Scroogled than Microshafted.

 

[Rafterman414]

If it is some email crawling robot searching for keywords that really does not bother me too much. I think it is pretty naive anyway to have any expectation of privacy when you use the internet.

 

[ven1ger]

Problem I have with MS making this claim against Google, is that they'll probably do the same thing they are accusing Google of doing sometime in the future. It comes down to money, Google does it because it brings in a lot of advertising dollars, MS is jealous of that fact. Guess what, once MS believes that they have convinced everyone that they are the good guys, bang or binged, they'll be trying to sell advertising thru your email. If anyone believes that MS is altruistic, is just a fool waiting to be fleeced.

 

[Kami3k]

[citation][nom]ericburnby[/nom]Surprised at how many people think this is OK.Yet last year when it was discovered that Apple was tracking your location (not you personally, but the device) people on Tom's were livid that Apple would stoop so low and invade your privacy.Hypocrites much?[/citation]

Oh you mean the info that was then stored on your computer in a unencrypted file?

Yea, same thing as this.

 

[ven1ger]

[citation][nom]alidan[/nom]...gmail is something free that i accept ads for, ads that get seen only by a computer. apple was tracking phones, and gathering way to much infromation doing it too... on something you pay for... quite allot.[/citation]

Exactly. If you don't want a free email account, then get a paid email account that offers no ads, but like everything else that is on the web, there are ads all over free things because that is how they need to make money to provide the free things. If you're an idiot with no functioning logic, I'd like to see what they offer for free with absolutely no strings attached, while they pay to make it available.

Another problem with Apple's tracking feature, is why did they need to track the phones? Carriers can already track where you are when you use it, but a hardware company tracking you? What were they planning on doing with that information and if it wasn't such a big thing, why didn't they mention it in the first place.

 

[dextermat]

Since we are constantly bombarded by ads, my mind has totally shut down to them.
And I don't have much personal info or anything in my google account so IDK.

About ads: most of the time, I tell myself, this add suck, if you need to play with someone feelings or psychology to sell your stuff, it's probably crap.