The Dark Side of the Picasa/Google Deal, or Harmless Scanning?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22index+of%22+%2F+picasa.ini+&btnG=Google+Search' target='_blank'>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22index+of%22+%2F+picasa.ini+&btnG=Google+Search</a><br /><br /></div>I was contacted by someone yesterday who found something interesting - by using a strangely constructed Google search query: <i>"index of" / picasa.ini</i>. This query <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22index+of%22+%2F+picasa.ini+&btnG=Google+Search">brings up 322 results</a>, all of which have that INI file in the root directory. Where does this INI file come from? When you export pictures from Picasa, it puts them into a folder, and includes a hidden INI settings file. This is what's in a typical Picasa.ini file:<br /><br />[Picasa]<br />category=Exported Pictures<br />date=38191.444618<br /><br />The person who contacted me seemed to believe this was some sort of Google/Picasa conspiracy to allow Google to scan images from Picasa, but I believe the explanation is much simper: all of these images are in folders without index.htm files, and all have their directory browsing permissions set such that Google can index the contents. Further, rather than uploading just the images, these people have uploaded the entire folders, which includes the INI file.<br /><br />I don't doubt that someday there will be some sort of integration between Google, Picasa, and Hello, but I don't think that day is here yet. :wink:

[dean_shan]

Here is someone (http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=44008&highlight=#44008) who thinks Google is watching your family albums. As for me, I thought what Jason did.

[ctmagnus]

It's simple enough, really. Either do what Jason said and upload just the photos rather than the entire directory, or do what I mentioned elsewhere and login to your webspace and delete the Picasa.ini(s).

[Jason Dunn]

I forgot to add that I'm 100% sure that if you did this search a year ago, well before the Picasa/Google deal happened, you'd still get the same results. This has nothing to do with the acquisition of Picasa.

[wilkinsjme]

picasa.ini just happens to be a file type that is out there that google found. Heck just do a plain search for "picasa.ini" without the other criteria and things turn up. But then again it doesn't look as "spooky" as the other phrase.

It seems like the person was just adding the extra criteria to make it seem to a casual user of a search engine that it really was a consipracy and to start the paranoia. Most people would probably never use " in or search for a / in their searches.

Bring on the conspiracy. Search google with these terms....
desktop filetype:ini
or
"outlook" / filetype:pst

[dean_shan]

Hey look (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=%22index+of%22+%2F+desktop.ini&btnG=Search), Microsoft is uploading people's pictures!