Google's New Invention - Web Accelerator!

[newweb]

Search engine giant Google is testing a new
tool that could save you a couple of bucks a
month. That is, if you believe the hype.

The Web Accelerator (available for users from
North America and Europe during this BETA
testing period) can speed up your surfing
experience by reducing the time it takes Web
pages to load on your browser.

Popular websites are retrieved by Google,
compressed, and then cached, or stored,
on its own servers, which are supposed to
dish out Web pages faster than the vast
wilderness of the Internet.

Compressing Web pages a third of their original
size speeds up the time it takes for it to show on
your browser.

So, does it work? Just barely.

A Google counter tells you how much time
you've saved using Web Accelerator. After
about an hour of random browsing, I had
saved about 5 seconds.

But you may get better results depending
on the websites you frequent.

But there are some things you should know
before you load up Web Accelerator for a test
drive.

Privacy advocates are worried that since
Web Accelerator forces you to go through
Google's servers to get to your Web page,
it basically knows (and probably records for
advertising reasons) your Web-surfing habits.

But even though your actions in cyberspace
are tracked, there's no way to find out who
you are unless Google goes through your
computer's IP address and getting your details
from the Internet service provider.

You can also choose to turn off Web Accelerator
for specific websites where you feel privacy is more
important than speed.

There is one potential security flaw though.

Google sometimes caches Web pages from
discussion groups or forums, which may be
protected by passwords.

For example, "A" logs into discussion forum
about music and Google caches the page while
he is logged on. Later on, "A's" name may appear
on the page as the user if "B" surfs to the site
as he is viewing Google's cached copy.

Google does not cache secured and encrypted
sites, such as those belonging to banks and
online retailers, so your username and passwords
are safe.

The Web Accelerator shows some potential
if it can deliver what it promises.

Go to http://webaccelerator.google.com if you
want to download the Google's Web Accelerator,
specifically designed for broadband users and
easy to use.

Learn more;
http://webaccelerator.google.com/support.html


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[Queen Bee]

A Google counter tells you how much time you've saved using Web Accelerator. After about an hour of random browsing, I had saved about 5 seconds.

So you tried this out yourself? I was hoping for a better result than that. Maybe this is setup like the computer, where frequently used programs load faster?

I understand the concern for privacy. People all over the world seem very concerned about this issue alone... No one likes to be watched, or the possibility of it anyway. I personally don't care, because I don't do anything I would worry about anyone inspecting. If this Accelerator made great improvements in my internet speed, I would be willing to allow the small loss of privacy. At least Google is open about their privacy policies. Anyone who doesn't want Google tracking them can choose to not use the program.

For example, "A" logs into discussion forum about music and Google caches the page while he is logged on. Later on, "A's" name may appear on the page as the user if "B" surfs to the site as he is viewing Google's cached copy.

I've seen this happen already with Google's current caching system. I've viewed pages on password/registration protected forums by using the cache method to view the page. But if this really is a problem, I think Google would be willing to remove it from their features.

I guess I will have to wait until the full version is released to give this program a try. Apparently they've run out of space for beta testers (Is that surprising? ) Thanks for the article!

[susieq]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/13/google_accelerator_suspended/

Came across the above link and now am wondering!!!!!

Google puts the brake on Web Accelerator
By John Leyden

Google has disabled downloads of its Web Accelerator software less than a week after introducing the service. The suspension follows reports that the software was caching sensitive content, such as user control panels to online forums.

The beta application, a free browser plug-in that for use with IE 5.5 and above or Firefox 1.0 on Win 2000 or XP, is designed to speed up online surfing. Google stopped downloads on 11 May just six days after its 5 May release saying that the capacity limit of the trial had been reached. "We have currently reached our maximum capacity of users and are actively working to increase the number of users we can support," it said in a statement on the Web Accelerator home page.

The technology used information including data about user search patterns to pre-fetch and cache frequently requested content, thereby speeding access to (basic) web content. Analyst Gartner said the application had limited appeal because it wouldn't help to download media files any faster. It wasn't long before privacy activists started raising questions of their own about the service.

Aside from giving Google unprecedented insight into user's surfing habits the application came under fire from punters for caching sensitive information, such as user control panels from forums. As a result surfers with the software installed reported they were getting logged onto forums such as SomethingAwful.com as other users. There's no suggestion that online banking records on other content from secure ecommerce sites was turning up in the cache. The disquietening behaviour seems to be limited to sites visited by many other beta users of the software.

Google has yet to respond to our repeated requests for comment. ®

[Queen Bee]

Sounds like Google made an accident with the program's security. It will be interesting to see what happens next. Thanks for keeping us updated, Sue!