This week:

3 – Looking for a Google app? Don’t trust Google!

2 – Need to contact your airline? Don’t trust Google!

1 – Want to know if you’re still alive? Don’t trust Google!

 

3 – Looking for a Google app? Don’t trust Google!

“What if I told you that looking for the official Google Authenticator app on Google search could lead you to a fake version that steals your data?”

Summary:

That’s the question posed by a Malwarebytes researcher, who told the always-informative Davey Winder that “if you were trying to download the popular Google Authenticator via a Google search in the past few days, you may have inadvertently installed malware on your computer.”

Apparently, cyber criminals exploited Google Ads to distribute a fake Google Authenticator app, tricking users into downloading malware. The malicious site closely mimicked the real Google Authenticator download page. Google has since removed the ads and suspended the advertiser’s account, but the incident highlights the dangers of trusting search results for software downloads.

So what?

Always download software directly from official app stores, not through ads or search results.

Even if the ads or search results are displayed on a Google page and relate to a Google product!

Source: Forbes

 

2 – Looking for the contact number for your airline? Don’t trust Google!

“A cancelled or delayed flight can create chaos, leading travellers to frantically try and get a hold of their airline to update their flight. But what happens if the airline representative you think you’re talking to is a scammer?”

Summary:

Scammers are setting up fake airline customer service numbers to deceive travellers, often appearing in search engine results or social media.

And in the latest twist, they are also using legitimate websites (which they have broken into) to host their fake pages so (a) they don’t need to pay for an ad on Google and (b) you are more likely to believe the page because it isn’t an ad.

These fake customer support teams ask stressed and stranded travellers for personal details or payments, leading to financial loss and identity theft.

So what?

Always use official websites or trusted sources to find customer service numbers, especially for airlines.

Source: Fodors (via Secure The Village)

 

1 – Want to find out if you’re still alive? Don’t trust Google!

“I didn’t know I was dead until I saw it on Google”

Summary:

Tom Faber recently wrote a Guardian article on how Google’s search engine is increasingly failing its users, offering irrelevant results and promoting ads over genuine content.

While Google has not (yet) told me I’m dead, I share Tom’s frustrations and I have seen a sharp increase in mediocre web pages with the same mediocre (and often incorrect) content appearing at the top of Google search results. This suggests the growing use of AI tools is only going to make things worse.

Faber suggests that this decline in quality is attributed to Google’s focus on profits rather than user satisfaction. While Google provides many services, over three-quarters of its revenue comes from ads, so it is logical that it will focus on doing what is right for the advertisers rather than for its users.

So what?

Apparently, AI tools such as ChatGPT may be our preferred search engines soon. But in the meantime, if you’re sick of all the junk that you see on Google, try an alternative.

I was never a fan of the most famous privacy-focused alternative, DuckDuckGo. When I tested it a few years ago, I though it was AwfulAwfulAwful*. However, in some recent tests, it seems to have improved.

My preference has always been StartPage.com, which shows Google search results, but skips the junk and does not store or share your personal data with Google. However, StartPage is starting to show an increasing number of ads. While these ads are based on your search query and not your personal data, it does make it more difficult to find the results you are looking for.

But either option is better than Google, which has become a world leader in taking your personal data in return for a crappy user experience.

Surveillance Capitalism at its best.

Source: The Guardian

*Yes, I know I could have used a word that rhymes with ‘Duck’..