Google's blunder!!!
Google has emerged as a winner among search engines. I am a Google buff because it helps me find what I precisely want. Google Mail or GMail, as we better know it, is known the world over for it's immense storage and simplicity of user interface. And, of course, GMail flaunts one of the best built-in spam filters, which has been rated 99% effective!
If I'm such an ardent fan of Google, then why have I named this article "Google's blunder!!!" and why not "Google's the best!!!"? This is because, recently, I discovered a bizarre logic in Google Talk or GTalk which I label as breach of one's privacy. It may, as well, be labelled 'funny' depending on an individual's perspective.
GTalk provides a feature wherein I can replace my profile picture with that of one of the contact's in my address book. Try it yourself by following the steps outlined below:
- Log into GTalk and right-click on one of the contacts
- Select "Set as my picture" on the context menu
Hmmm!!! I, somehow, can't buy this idea. Has this been done on purpose or is it a mistake on the
programmer's part? Why would anyone need to replace his image with his friend's at all? It's fine if someone indends to play a prank, but it may pose serious legal implications if GTalk is used as part of corporate communications.Impersonation can thus be exploited to it's fullest to the disadvantage of a genuine user. For e.g., person X may impersonate person Y by setting Y's picture on his profile. Y may also create a false Google ID displaying X's name. Person Z may get carried away by the photo, the name on the ID and may think he is chatting with Y while, actually, he is chatting with X. And in order to make matters worse, Z may go on to reveal some secret information to X...thinking that he is actually talking to Y.
The rest will be brilliantly showcased by next day's newspapers, the world over!!!
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