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11/26/2001 Entry: "Google, others dig deep--maybe too deep"

Google, others dig deep--maybe too deep

Search engines spiders crawling the Web are increasingly
stumbling upon passwords, credit card numbers, classified documents and even computer vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers.

The problem is not new, security analysts say: Ever since search robots
began indexing the Web years ago, Web site administrators have found pages not meant for public consumption exposed in search results.


But a new tool built into the Google search engine to find a variety of file types in addition to traditional Web documents is highlighting and in some cases exacerbating the problem. With Google's new file-type search tool, a wide array of files formerly overlooked by basic search engine queries are now just a few clicks from the average surfer--or the novice hacker.


The files include Adobe PostScript; Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPro; MacWrite; Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Works and Write; and the Rich Text Format.