Google Dashboard Fail, and Blocking Google Tracking Cookies in Firefox

Today, the spoiled elitists at Google announced the release of Google Dashboard.  It's a way for you to see, in reasonable detail, what Google knows about you based on the Google services you use. Their blog claims, "in an effort to provide you with greater transparency and control over their own data, we've built the Google Dashboard." Clever.

What's bothersome to me is that I need a Google Account to see what Google supposedly knows about me.  Well, what about those cute little .google.com cookies they shove into my browser when I use their search engine?  IMHO, Google Dashboard is missing one key feature: the ability to clearly show me what Google knows about me and my web-search history, anonymously, based on the already unique ID tracking numbers in those cookies.  Google, why do I need an account to see what you've learned about me based on my "anonymous" web-history?

There's probably only a few realistic explanations for why Google wouldn't let you see this information:

1. Their cookies aren't actually used for tracking of web-searches and user habits.  I suppose this is a possibility.
   
2. Or, more likely, analyzing your web-search traffic is where the real bacon is.  And, not surprisingly, Google doesn't want to show us the real underlying data their advertising engine uses to show us ads, which is their primary revenue stream.  I guess I don't blame them.  After all, they are just another public corporation with shareholder responsibilities.
   

I'm awfully tired of the world bending over and blindly accepting everything Google throws at us as the greatest thing since sliced bread.  If you really understand how Google makes their money, you should also try to understand what Google is not showing us, or not telling us, and why.


Blocking Google Cookies in Firefox

For the most part, I've given up on Google.  Their web-search is fine, but I don't particularly enjoy the fact that my web-search and browsing history is "anonymously" tracked behind my back.  If you'd like to permanently, or temporarily, block Google from inserting their nosy tracking cookies into your browser you can easily do so by setting a "cookie exception" in Firefox (assuming you use Firefox):

1. Click the Tools menu, and select "Options...".
2. Click the Privacy tab.
3. Click the "Exceptions..." button.
4. In the "Address of web site:" box, enter ".google.com" no quotes and click Block to add the google.com domain to your blocked list.
   

A few blog readers astutely pointed out that if you block cookies from .google.com, you won't be able to login to any Google services.  Yes, I know that.  And for the record, I don't use Gmail or any other Google Account that would require me to login on a regular basis.  When I need to login to my Google Code account, I temporary unblock .google.com, and login.