Google Desktop - How safe is it?

Dear All,

Today I got this highly recommending mail from a friend suggesting to start using Google Desktop.

He was saying:

I just wanted to know how safe is this? Also, why does the link default to a chinese / mandarin login page? Usually Google defaults to the English or local language (in my case, Finnish) pages..

Also, if this app is going to have access to the contents of the PDF document, so that it can show up in search results when I look for something, this means even any private PDF documents will be accessed by this app, right? Is it safe to let an app like Google Desktop, have access to the contents of a private document?

Does this app talkback to Google's server's in any way?

Thanks a lot in advance. Cheers..

 

desktop search is integrated in win7, thus google desktop search is not needed at all anymore (just search in the startmenu). and the sidebar with the gadgets? available, too in win7. right click the desktop and choose mini apps or how ever it's spelled in english (second item from the bottom).

this was an interesting product back in xp days. since vista, it's absolutely unneeded.

 

Thanks..

Well, that\s precisely what I told my friend as well.. I use just the built-in windows search and its been good, suited to my needs and requirements more than enough..

I just thought I'll clarify here, since he was insisting on it so much.

 

if he likes google that much, don't show him this read: TwitLonger — When you talk too much for Twitter

this is not a problem with google per se, but web only stuff. it's thus not related to google desktop at all. but if he loves a product so much that is the identical thing as the built in product, then maybe he's interested who he put his love to

 

Google Desktop has been around for quite some time, and was more popular during the Windows XP days. Since then, Vista and W7's search functions and gadgets have pretty much rendered it obsolete. It is a "safe" application, though, and the webpage defaults to English for me. GD is much more resource intensive than the built-in Windows equivalents, too, and works slower and relatively poorly in my experience.

 

Ok thanks.. I remember seeing this long back, but I never bothered to look deep / try it out, since I was more than happy with the Windows search.

Thanks anyways Cheers.

 

so is there a way to get search on the taskbar without going through the start menu?

 

I think the closest you can get is to pin the search bar onto the task bar by creating a search shortcut.. like these:

Search Shortcut - Create - Windows 7 Forums

Search the Computer From Taskbar in Windows 7

Hope that helps.. cheers.

 

what for? when ever you want to search, you get with your fingers to your keyboard, to type. and then it's just [winkey]search term[enter]. accessing something on the taskbar with the mouse is slower than that. always.

 

Couldn't read it. It was well over 140 characters....

 

tl;dr

 

just a bit more but worth the read..