• aaro
  • #! Die-hard
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  • Registered: 2009-11-15
  • Posts: 648

Topic: Google annoyance

At work i have to admin a small network of public shared computers (running Windows) at a university. I have always had google.com as the start page, mainly because is a superlight search page with no ads or other annoyances popping in the screen. Last week i have found that it showed a big logo of google chrome and an offer to install it. Till there there's no big issue, but then i realize that a few computers have chrome installed, and i know that because of a popup window that appears showing something like "a new version of Chrome have been downloaded" and asking to upgrade. But all the computers have restricted permissions, so it's supposed that you can't install programs. But surprise, you can install google chrome without admin rights, and not only that, it also brings with it this GoogleUpdate.exe background process that is executed at startup and it downloads new versions without asking. Anyway, i have heard the things people say "google is evil" and that kind of comments but i haven't been really affected until now, and yeah i certainly have to disagree with this kind of behaviour. So they want to have chrome installed in every computer of the world, making use of the prevalence of their search engine? Hey, may be chrome is great (i really haven't used it), but that's not fair game. Now i have to find a workaround to avoid chrome installations by the users, and certainly i'm looking for a google alternative as search engine.

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  • From: Austin, TX
  • Registered: 2009-11-17
  • Posts: 223

Re: Google annoyance

This ad is on the Google search page? I've never seen it. Interesting... Either way, that's pretty lame. I'm not sure how you'll work around this, as Windows allows users to install programs for only their profile (or something like that...). Maybe you could add the download site to the firewall blacklist hmm

This, on top of Google Instant (which I find compleeeeetely unecessary), makes me lose even more respect for Google.

I've never used Bing, but that would be my second choice. The pictures on the homepage are always fun tongue

  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

Re: Google annoyance

You can always try Scroogle for a search engine.

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  • pvsage
  • Internal Affairs
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  • From: Section Six
  • Registered: 2009-10-18
  • Posts: 6,013

Re: Google annoyance

jollysnowman wrote:

I've never used Bing, but that would be my second choice. The pictures on the homepage are always fun tongue

I'm mostly opposed to Bing (and everything else Microsoft) but didn't they feature MFATGG's cover of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" in one of their commercials?  That alone is reason enough for me to give Bing a chance.

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  • Registered: 2009-09-19
  • Posts: 17

Re: Google annoyance

That is kind of odd. In my Windows XP box, you have to be admin to run the full version of Chrome. Now saying that, I do know the portable version of Chrome runs fine on a limited user, because my son uses that instead. Maybe I should try to reinstall it for his sake.

  • From: Austin, TX
  • Registered: 2009-11-17
  • Posts: 223

Re: Google annoyance

pvsage wrote:
jollysnowman wrote:

I've never used Bing, but that would be my second choice. The pictures on the homepage are always fun tongue

I'm mostly opposed to Bing (and everything else Microsoft) but didn't they feature MFATGG's cover of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" in one of their commercials?  That alone is reason enough for me to give Bing a chance.

I've been trying it for the past couple of days (pretty much because of this thread), and it's pretty much more of the same. It's obviously much prettier than the Google homepage, though. And yeah, I understand the aversion towards anything Microsoft, but IMO, Google is right up there with them - we're pretty much picking between two evils, so I'm gonna go with the pretty pictures cool

  • benj1
  • Wiki Wizard
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  • From: Yorkshire, England
  • Registered: 2009-09-05
  • Posts: 1,084

Re: Google annoyance

in googles defense, is it realy their fault that windows allows restricted users to install stuff on the computers?

anyway i use www.duckduckgo.com now, quick and clean interface, no ads and a couple of other nifty features

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  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

Re: Google annoyance

benj1 wrote:

in googles defense, is it realy their fault that windows allows restricted users to install stuff on the computers?

In Linux, users can run programs from their home folder since they have full permissions there. In Windows this is not different. Google Chrome installs to the user's profile (instead of Program Files).

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  • From: Joensuu, Finland
  • Registered: 2010-09-30
  • Posts: 29

Re: Google annoyance

anonymous wrote:

In Linux, users can run programs from their home folder since they have full permissions there. In Windows this is not different. Google Chrome installs to the user's profile (instead of Program Files).

Still, I wouldn’t blame Google. Public computers should perhaps be administered so that even that would become impossible (i.e., no home dir?).

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  • Registered: 2010-06-26
  • Posts: 11

Re: Google annoyance

aaro wrote:

At work i have to admin a small network of public shared computers (running Windows) at a university. I have always had google.com as the start page, mainly because is a superlight search page with no ads or other annoyances popping in the screen. Last week i have found that it showed a big logo of google chrome and an offer to install it. Till there there's no big issue, but then i realize that a few computers have chrome installed, and i know that because of a popup window that appears showing something like "a new version of Chrome have been downloaded" and asking to upgrade. But all the computers have restricted permissions, so it's supposed that you can't install programs. But surprise, you can install google chrome without admin rights, and not only that, it also brings with it this GoogleUpdate.exe background process that is executed at startup and it downloads new versions without asking. Anyway, i have heard the things people say "google is evil" and that kind of comments but i haven't been really affected until now, and yeah i certainly have to disagree with this kind of behaviour. So they want to have chrome installed in every computer of the world, making use of the prevalence of their search engine? Hey, may be chrome is great (i really haven't used it), but that's not fair game. Now i have to find a workaround to avoid chrome installations by the users, and certainly i'm looking for a google alternative as search engine.

What's even more aggravating is the fact that there is a portable version of chrome (or rather chromium) which is used without installing.
In that case I guess the installer might just be a simple extractor which adds a few registry keys but can do without that too.
Kinda cheating but hey...even Firefox's install on xp doesn't need admin priviliges and can be relocated to a directory other than "c:\Program Files"

  • From: Under My Hat
  • Registered: 2010-09-24
  • Posts: 62

Re: Google annoyance

You should badger your bosses about switching OS's, seriously.... all my kids machines have an old version of Mint and they hammer the web and I've not had one problem with them. It really is a no brainer... and "needing Windows" because of one or two applications is really no excuse when you can fire up Wine or use a VM

  • benj1
  • Wiki Wizard
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  • From: Yorkshire, England
  • Registered: 2009-09-05
  • Posts: 1,084

Re: Google annoyance

anonymous wrote:
benj1 wrote:

in googles defense, is it realy their fault that windows allows restricted users to install stuff on the computers?

In Linux, users can run programs from their home folder since they have full permissions there. In Windows this is not different. Google Chrome installs to the user's profile (instead of Program Files).

Yes but properley set up you wouldn't be able to execute anything in even your home directory, i'm not a sys admin but i could probably do it in about 5 minutes (remove sudo and change permissions for chmod so it requires root ? its probably even simpler than that), assuming the OP knows what he's doing it would seem to indicate that windows is harder to secure than linux.

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  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

Re: Google annoyance

benj1 wrote:
anonymous wrote:
benj1 wrote:

in googles defense, is it realy their fault that windows allows restricted users to install stuff on the computers?

In Linux, users can run programs from their home folder since they have full permissions there. In Windows this is not different. Google Chrome installs to the user's profile (instead of Program Files).

Yes but properley set up you wouldn't be able to execute anything in even your home directory

You could lock down Windows properly as well. Theres programs like DeepFreeze that might help.

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