A few years ago, I wrote a column titled, “Google Chrome Makes People Stupid.” I was a little apprehensive about The Transcript even printing something with such a potentially offensive title, but, by golly, they stepped up, and print it they did.

Now I’ve learned Forbes magazine has weighed in on the subject, and pretty much reached the same conclusions as I did regarding the browser Google calls Chrome: Google Chrome is a privacy nightmare.

Things got interesting in March of 2021 when Forbes writer Zak Doffman wrote “Why You Shouldn’t Use Google Chrome After New Privacy Disclosure.” In his column, he described new egregious privacy violations perpetrated by Google Chrome, in addition to the Google privacy crimes guys like me have been ranting about for years. Forbes followed up in August with Doffman’s “Why You Should Delete Google Chrome After New Tracking Admission.”

Then, in September, Forbes writer Kate O’Flaherty urged people to “Quit Google Chrome,” and switch to a safer browser, with Mozilla Firefox being her number one choice. Next, in October, Forbes published Doffman’s column warning of “Google’s Latest Tracking Nightmare For Chrome,” and again, in November of 2021, they ran “Why You Should Delete Google Chrome On Your Phone.”

Wow. I think Forbes is turning into one of my favorite magazines. They sure seem to have some astute tech writers interested in giving folks the straight skinny, instead of simply serving up more pablum for the masses.

So, what’s the fuss all about? It’s important to understand who Google is, and what their browser product, called Google Chrome, actually does.

First, what Google is not; Google is not a merry band of brainiac hippies working to make the world a better place. Google is not run by enlightened social justice crusaders or human rights champions. Google is not to be trusted. Google is not your friend.

Google is an advertising company. Everything they do, every product they make, and every cute graphic they put on google.com is carefully and scientifically crafted towards that end.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. I’m all for any company being the best at what they do, and making as much money as possible in the process. At the same time time, it’s important for us, the customers, to be fully aware of what’s actually happening with Google, and browser products like Google Chrome.

But, wait; did I say we are Google’s “customers?” Let’s get one thing straight: we are not Google’s customers. We are Google’s product. We are the merchandise, and the more personal information Google can gather about us, the more money they make.

Know also that Google’s “services” are not free. That they are “free” is pure Google propaganda. The notion that Google’s “services” are free is probably the biggest Internet scam of the 21st Century. The price we pay is our personal information, and our personal privacy, as we feed the Google advertising machine.

Google Chrome users lah-de-dah their way across the Internet, oblivious that Google products and services like Google Chrome, Google Maps, YouTube, GMail, Google Photos, Google Docs, etc., are simply giant vacuum cleaners, hoovering up every last scrap of personal information we have, and selling that information for many billions of dollars per year.

That’s why using Google Chrome makes people stupid. That’s why Google Chrome is a privacy nightmare. That’s why the good writers at Forbes concur that people should stop using Google Chrome, and, in fact, get rid of it. Way to go, Forbes.

Dave Moore, CISSP, has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd., he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or www.internetsafetygroup.org

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