Google is still in the Open Source philosophy, now it released Google Update under the Code name “omaha” and available for Download at Google Code under the Apache 2.0 license.
Omaha check for updates to the software without interrupting or distracting the user ( running in the background), even if the application to be updated is not running. It can be viewed as an advantage and an intrusion at the same time.
Previously we posted about How to remove invisible googleupdate.exe or google updater? may continually attempt to access the Internet without requesting permission and without providing an option to disable it.It also reports some data usage to the google servers which includes version numbers, language, operating system etc.
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Google Update is the shared infrastructure used by Google’s software’s like Google Chrome, Google Earth ..e.t.c on Microsoft Windows, to keep our products up to date on users computers. Some people are concerned over the privacy issues that Google collects even more information.To show that these worries are misguided, Google decided to open source the updater, code-named Omaha or just to get a soft look(???) .
I think that the always-running updater is a violation of my control as a user, a potential security threat, and an unwanted burden on my pc (using Ram) and network resources.
Full article in Google Open Source Blog.