November 30, 2004

Google desktop: security fears

by brian_turner

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Speculation about the powers and risks of desktop search - especially from Google - are percolating around the internet. Bruce Schneier writes in Desktop Google Finds Holes that the Google Desktop software could be exploited to search a users cache for passwords and banking information.

This is something I’ve also warned about in passing on other forums. After all, spyware and trojan writers are getting much more aggressive at how widely they can target surfers. The idea that someone will write software to ride on the back of desktop applications, to further the aims of such individual and organisations who profit from spyware and trojans, is simply a matter of timing now.

At least the wider internet community also recognises these fears - and by offering it’s developer tools, Google may go some way to combating malware applications exploiting desktop search processes.

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