Earth to Google, I am not a virus or spyware. I’ve been using your services for years, I have deleted all of my Google cookies and answered your captcha several times in the last few days, yet you still insist on not processing my search requests. Since most of my searches are done from the search field in Firefox it is very easy for me to switch to another search engine. Which I’ve now done.
I realize that I’m just one lone user in a sea of millions, so my switch to using Yahoo for search is unlikely to make a dent for you. For me though this is a big deal. I’ve relied on your services for years and hate the idea that I won’t be able to continue to use them for years to come. You better not screw up Gmail or Gcal, exporting all that data to another service would not be fun.
At some point in the future I’ll be checking back, hopefully by then you’ll have gotten over your “Joseph is a virus” obsession. Because I’m sure there are lots of spyware applications out there looking for city boundary maps of the city of Sandy, Utah.
8 replies on “Google Thinks I’m Spyware, Yahoo Gains A New Search User”
I saw this recently with someone using some SEO tools on Google, everyone at our gateway’s IP ended up doing this for a day or two.
You are not alone! Google has been picking on me as well. It is also nice that Captcha has started make the letters really hard to read.
This happens rather commonly at our school, I think it must be because spyware has infected the computer or a computer with a similar IP address and google’s ruled that IP as Spam, but that’s probably not it in reality…
Yep we’re getting it too! Does it go away eventually, cos it’s really annoying!
Dear Google, If it happens to me again, i promise I will wipe Google off my computer. You have too much power. We users have a right to your services. You give it and you take it away. I may just call for a boycott of Google. This business of you restricting my use of your almighty search
engine is foolish on your part. all I have to do is apply to the many search services and email services on the web and you can take your foolishness elsewhere. As a matter of fact, I thaink I’ll do what I’ve threatened right now. Goodbye Google(!!!!!!) Doug Rosbury hdrosbury@gmail.com
Now, no more problems from “Google”. ByeBye. You can’t buy all the companies.
Hm, I guess to be counted as a virus is a minor problem compared to this one that as a blogger (if you become valuated as a spammer for whatever mysterious reasons) at an instant,
ALL YOUR LINKS can get CUT OFF.
Guess by whom.
The G-power that can make you visible for search engines
can make you also completely UNSEEN, invisible.
When this happens to you, your traffic from search engines goes down to Zero.
This happened to me today. I do run multiple research type toolbars, but I discovered that is was caused by a specific query that was triggering it. Google did not offer me captcha either. Forgot what hte query was.
Simply use an anonymized Proxy or free anonymized service, and do your queries .
😉