Desktop search raising concerns.

Here is an article written by Matt hicks of eWeek that finally does some justice to all the security issues that we're going to find with anyone's desktop search. The search engine industry is moving fast to incorporate desktop search giving people the ability to easily find information stored on their computer. It will even index some things you may not want it to, like personal information. I've been blogging on this now for over a couple of weeks and don't see any assurances from the major search engines that they don't have vulnerabilities.

This paragraph from the article explains what I'm talking about:

As they extend their reach to desktop applications, Internet companies are opening themselves to more malicious attacks, given the tenacity of attackers and the increased complexity of their services, said Ken Dunham, director of malicious code at iDefense Inc., a Reston, Va., security intelligence company.

"The more options and software you provide, then it's more likely that new avenues for exploitation will be introduced," Dunham said. "If someone wants to get into your house real bad, they can. Your job is to make sure yours is less likely to be attacked and robbed.

Even though they say everything is secure, there are people trying to hack it to get information or just for fun. For years the Windows OS was been assumed to be a totally safe environment at the beginning. But s got smarter and are writing code 24/7 to take advantage of vulnerabilities. Now with the advent of desktop search, where all your computer information is indexed for easy search, s have a ready made index of what's on your computer. It will be easier than ever before to see all sorts of personal information if it's breached. That's the problem, it's now too easy to find personal information. There must be steps taken to secure privacy. There are many companies that do this already and it offers a golden opportunity to help people find information while making certain things private. I would suggest that people not install these tools until we all have better systems for maintaining privacy. The search engine companies don't care about privacy, they want to know your habits, so they can better distribute ads. That is the only they have right now for making money. If you do decide to use a desktop search, proceed cautiously and know right upfront all the details of what you are doing.

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