Google, the giant squid of the internet, has its many and far reaching tentacles firmly embedded into a browser previously thought to be pure, open source, free from the manipulations of a large corporation like Microsoft: Firefox. Owned by Mozilla… on paper.

CNet reports that $56 million of the $66 million that Mozilla made in 2006 came from Google. This apparently stems from Google placement as Firefox’s default search engine, but as many know, Firefox has made it simple to change engines in the search bar.

Ah, but Google is further integrated: “Users who enter keywords or misspelled URLs into the Firefox 2.0 location bar will essentially be running a Google “I’m Feeling Lucky” search.”
Why do they even give us a choice in the search bar if it’s so cut and dried?

Also:

In addition to the Google cash flowing to Mozilla, a number of Google engineers spend significant amounts of time working on Firefox. This includes Ben Goodger, the lead developer for the browser.

Two key features of the Google Toolbar for Firefox were rolled into the Firefox 2.0 browser and are turned on by default: Google Browse By Name and Google Safe Browsing for Firefox (now the Phishing Protection feature in Firefox 2.0). These two features, while useful, are more than just the application of a useful patch. They result in millions of Firefox browsers regularly polling Google servers for core information.

The Google Anti-Phishing relationship will be expanded in Firefox 3.0.

Google pays AdSense publishers (Web site owners) $1 for each new user who installs Firefox + Google Toolbar as a result of a referral link from one of their pages.

Read the entire article. Especially what ‘RSnake’ has to say.