claus - 10:10 pm on Mar 12, 2010 (gmt 0)

Moreover, it's all thoroughly infected with Google tech and linked back to G HQ:

By default, Firefox uses Google Location Services to determine your location by sending: * your computer’s IP address, * information about the nearby wireless access points, and * a random client identifier, which is assigned by Google, that expires every 2 weeks.

(Emphasis mine)
Source: [mozilla.com ]

From the same page, a bit further down, it appears that the Google client ID is stored in a cookie. So you could clear it by clearing your cookies.

However, that can only be done after Google has already been sent your IP and your "lat-long" lotation. So if you don't want to save that information with Google this will not help at all, as Google is getting this information before anyone else.

Also, despite the language stating the opposite used in e.g. the Google Location Service in Mozilla Firefox Privacy Policy [google.com] this is NOT opt-n. It's on by default (see quote above), so it's opt-out. And it's not exactly intuitive how you should go about disabling it, either.

At the very bottom of the Mozilla page linked above, this disable guideline is printed:

If you wish to disable the feature completely, please follow this set of steps: * In the URL bar, type about:config * Type geo.enabled * Double click on the geo.enabled preference * Location-Aware Browsing is now disabled

The double click means that you change the default setting from "enabled" (= "true") to disabled ( = "false"). So, again, this spyware is on per default.

This is bad form, privacy-wise. Any delivery of identification information should always be opt-in. Not opt out.

Also, can you really trust this?

I wonder if that information already has been sent to Google before you can type "about:config" in your address bar?

I'm beginning to have serious doubts as I discover how Google infected that Firefox browser is starting to become.

At least, if you use Chrome or the Google Toolbar, you positiveley know that it's a direct full access into your machine and network for the Google Big Brother. However, lots of people are not aware that even when when you don't use a Google-labelled product, they may still be lurking on you.