D
Deleted member 111282
Guest
I'd recommend Searx as a replacement, or finding a fork of DDG
I'd recommend Searx as a replacement, or finding a fork of DDG
OP
Deleted member 101831
Guest
It seems we can't trust any browsers anymore might as well go back to using Google.
OP
Deleted member 111282
Guest
This is more of a search engine issue than a browser issue (and yes, some browsers are bad as well).
I just found a list of FOSS search engines for anyone who's interested in reading: https://awesomeopensource.com/projects/search-engine
captain-sensible
Well-Known Member
only a question of time i guess before they "sell out"
OP
Deleted member 101831
Guest
My mistake.
Browsers or search engines seems as though all of them are deceitful lying crooks who will sell anyone and everyone out.
Get a rope and string them up from a scrub oak tree and let the buzzards feast off of their carcasses.
OP
Deleted member 111282
Guest
Have you tried the LibreWolf browser with Searx?
I use startpage works well and claims to be private Start Page
OP
Deleted member 111282
Guest
I've used it as well, but it doesn't mention anything about being FOSS. If anything, its a SaSS.
Condobloke
Well-Known Member
Astonishingly simple really.
Like every other business in the world, it all revolves around.....Money.
One thing in Googles favour ......it does not pretend that it doesn't slurp up data
It does so with a vengeance. And freely admits to doing so.
At least you know where you stand with them.
I am more than a bit leery of the lead article in this topic. Techrights?....who the hell are they and why would I wish to believe the stuff they trot out.?
Has this 'information" been reported elsewhere?...perhaps by more 'reputable' sources?
Their headline makes for great "shock horror" attention grabbing material. But, what level of truth does it contain?....Is there a 'story behind the story' ?
So, search engine owners and advertisers make money from their exploits. nothing new there
Have you looked at making money from them ?
moneypantry.com
www.thewaystowealth.com
I would value the opinion of @JasKinasis , an avid duckduckgo'er
Perhaps if anything is to come of this topic, (other than denigrating duckduckgo into oblivion) an objective look (short and sweet) at the search engine alternatives available may well be in order.
We don't need the spiel that is presented by the search engine companies themselves....they are just telling us what we want to hear.
We need the voice/s of experience to lay a few home truths on us.
People such as @dcbrown73, @Lord Boltar, @KGIII, @Tolkem may give us some helpful insights.
Despite the fact that I moved to DDG some time ago, I have been musing with the possibility that using google, seriously locked down (which is a herculean task in itself) may be the more logical alternative.
@Tolkem makes good point when he says that ddg results are sometimes all over the backyard...out of order, hit and miss....
I hope this has broadened the scope of this topic
Like every other business in the world, it all revolves around.....Money.
One thing in Googles favour ......it does not pretend that it doesn't slurp up data
It does so with a vengeance. And freely admits to doing so.
At least you know where you stand with them.
I am more than a bit leery of the lead article in this topic. Techrights?....who the hell are they and why would I wish to believe the stuff they trot out.?
Has this 'information" been reported elsewhere?...perhaps by more 'reputable' sources?
Their headline makes for great "shock horror" attention grabbing material. But, what level of truth does it contain?....Is there a 'story behind the story' ?
So, search engine owners and advertisers make money from their exploits. nothing new there
Have you looked at making money from them ?
23 Legit Ways to Get Paid to Search the Web in 2024 - MoneyPantry
These sites will literally pay you to search & browse the web. Swagbucks isn't the only search engine. Plus, earn $20 an hour fixing Google...
moneypantry.com
13 Legit Ways to Get Paid for Searching the Web (Up to $35/Hr)
These 10 legit websites and apps will pay you to use the web normally. The catch? Well, one of them makes you use Bing...
www.thewaystowealth.com
I would value the opinion of @JasKinasis , an avid duckduckgo'er
Perhaps if anything is to come of this topic, (other than denigrating duckduckgo into oblivion) an objective look (short and sweet) at the search engine alternatives available may well be in order.
We don't need the spiel that is presented by the search engine companies themselves....they are just telling us what we want to hear.
We need the voice/s of experience to lay a few home truths on us.
People such as @dcbrown73, @Lord Boltar, @KGIII, @Tolkem may give us some helpful insights.
Despite the fact that I moved to DDG some time ago, I have been musing with the possibility that using google, seriously locked down (which is a herculean task in itself) may be the more logical alternative.
@Tolkem makes good point when he says that ddg results are sometimes all over the backyard...out of order, hit and miss....
I hope this has broadened the scope of this topic
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I'll opine, but it ain't gonna be pretty.
I use Bing but I'm considering returning to Google. I think I stick with Bing because of the damned points I've accumulated. Right now, Bing isn't giving me the results I want and I find myself switching to Google maybe 1:20 times - which is too many. I shouldn't have to switch.
Now...
I don't much care about privacy in my search results. In fact, quite the opposite. I prefer using personalized search, as it consistently gives me better results. I want my search engine to know my general location (I use a VPN, but it knows I'm in North America - and even in Maine, even if my IP says I'm in NYC or Toronto, CA). I want my search engine to know that I favor technical articles and academic results. I don't care if my search engine knows I searched for how to pop a zit on my ass, I want it to give me an answer immediately - and to give me the best answer it can.
In exchange for this, I cede some privacy. I knowingly make this exchange. I am okay with my side of the bargain, or I'd take steps to make myself more anonymous.
I'm so not concerned with my search history's privacy that I'm logged in while I search. I care that little.
I don't search for anything that's gonna embarrass me should it come to light. If I searched for porn, I still wouldn't care. If I search health issues, I still don't care. I care that I get responses that are tailored to my needs, more so than when I search anonymously. (And the results are better/different, I've checked numerous times.)
So, I'll probably be going back to Google until Google pisses me off and I go back to Bing until they piss me off again. I find the results tend to vary for a while, usually a couple of years, where I'll get better results from one than I did from the other. Right now, Bing is not doing as well as it should.
I don't care all that much about online privacy. I figure the whole damned thing is compromised, so I don't put anything inappropriate/embarrassing on it. At the same time, I've met dozens and dozens of people that I've known online.
I also take steps, like my credit is frozen. You can't apply for credit in my name without me contacting the credit bureaus and telling them to unfreeze it with my password. I don't do any banking online, except in a limited sense.
I did hire a reputation management company to deal with a bunch of stuff not long after selling my company and retiring, but that was more than a decade ago. I'm probably pretty easy to 'dox' these days, but I don't mind too much. If you're gonna swing by my physical address, call ahead and I put a couple of bottles of wine out to breathe.
I use Bing but I'm considering returning to Google. I think I stick with Bing because of the damned points I've accumulated. Right now, Bing isn't giving me the results I want and I find myself switching to Google maybe 1:20 times - which is too many. I shouldn't have to switch.
Now...
I don't much care about privacy in my search results. In fact, quite the opposite. I prefer using personalized search, as it consistently gives me better results. I want my search engine to know my general location (I use a VPN, but it knows I'm in North America - and even in Maine, even if my IP says I'm in NYC or Toronto, CA). I want my search engine to know that I favor technical articles and academic results. I don't care if my search engine knows I searched for how to pop a zit on my ass, I want it to give me an answer immediately - and to give me the best answer it can.
In exchange for this, I cede some privacy. I knowingly make this exchange. I am okay with my side of the bargain, or I'd take steps to make myself more anonymous.
I'm so not concerned with my search history's privacy that I'm logged in while I search. I care that little.
I don't search for anything that's gonna embarrass me should it come to light. If I searched for porn, I still wouldn't care. If I search health issues, I still don't care. I care that I get responses that are tailored to my needs, more so than when I search anonymously. (And the results are better/different, I've checked numerous times.)
So, I'll probably be going back to Google until Google pisses me off and I go back to Bing until they piss me off again. I find the results tend to vary for a while, usually a couple of years, where I'll get better results from one than I did from the other. Right now, Bing is not doing as well as it should.
I don't care all that much about online privacy. I figure the whole damned thing is compromised, so I don't put anything inappropriate/embarrassing on it. At the same time, I've met dozens and dozens of people that I've known online.
I also take steps, like my credit is frozen. You can't apply for credit in my name without me contacting the credit bureaus and telling them to unfreeze it with my password. I don't do any banking online, except in a limited sense.
I did hire a reputation management company to deal with a bunch of stuff not long after selling my company and retiring, but that was more than a decade ago. I'm probably pretty easy to 'dox' these days, but I don't mind too much. If you're gonna swing by my physical address, call ahead and I put a couple of bottles of wine out to breathe.
OP
Deleted member 111282
Guest
I'm not losing my head over this, but because you owned a company (meaning you have a handsome-looking bank account), and are easy to dox, aren't you concerned about being robbed either online or in-person?
I use ddg on Firefox and Vivaldi. On Chromium/Chrome I just use Google. I mean what's the point anymore? I have used Google/Chrome for the past 10 yrs on my Android phones and several tablets. They pretty much know everything about me at this point.
I uninstalled both Librewolf and Tor Browser. I couldn't even remember the last time I used either.
I do have other search engines in my list (None of them ever get used)
mojeek
searx.info
qwant
metager
search.brave.com
I uninstalled both Librewolf and Tor Browser. I couldn't even remember the last time I used either.
I do have other search engines in my list (None of them ever get used)
mojeek
searx.info
qwant
metager
search.brave.com
In light of this information, I guess I’ll be looking for a new search engine!
I took them at their word that everything was anonymous/private. It seems that’s no longer the case!
Maybe I’ll try using something from this article?:
11 Best Private Search Engines 2024 (Search Anonymously)
Using a private search engine is critical if you want to keep your private data secure. Here are the best private search engines.
restoreprivacy.com
That article is a little outdated, because it still recommends DDG (mentioning that it was hosted on AWS). So perhaps things were more private before they moved to M$ Azure.
It also mentions Startpage as a bad one for privacy ever since they were bought out.
MatsuShimizu
Well-Known Member
The search engines I'd tried:
The ones I currently use:
privacytools.io
- Startpage: It was good until I changed my ISP. It keeps blocking my IP and I don't know why.
- SwissCows: Based in Swiss, but with limited search queries. Again, it started to block my IP if I made too many search queries.
- Yandex and Yandex Translate: It was fine but after a few search queries, it started to ask me solving captcha.
- Qwant. I tried it for a few weeks, but I didn't like the search results.
The ones I currently use:
- Google, Youtube, Wikipedia. It gives me accurate results for long-tail keywords. I use it 20% of the time. But I clear cookies with the Cookie AutoDelete plugin for most browsers including Vivaldi.
- I avoid using Google or Youtube on Android. If I want to download apps, I use F-Droid, Aurora Store, or download the APK directly from the developer's website. I am not a fan of smartphones and I use my PC to browse the internet 99% of the time.
- DuckDuckGo: I use this as the default search engine for all browsers. The reason is that I want to avoid my browser from making a connection to Google on browser startup. Yes, it is based in the US, but after trying all the search engines above, I came back to DDG.
The Best Private Web Search Engines in 2024
Discover the best private search engines with no tracking or personalized ads. Protect your privacy online.
privacytools.io
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I use DDG on my phone and on my home PC. Not so much at work though. Though let me be clear when I say using "Privacy Browers" doesn't work so much. Websites can still track you and what Google isn't doing. DDG, Brave, or whomver else does. (they have to make money and you're not paying them)
There is a multitude of ways you can be tracked even without Cookie / Incognito mode. Here is a quick article about five ways they can do it. I've even tested it using a privacy VPN, DDG in Incognito mode, and watched search results be more geared towards previous searches I've made. I'm not just talking about DDG search engines either. I mean all kinds of different site searches.
As for my view of DDG. It's not all that good. I still use them, but they are definitely large a step down from using Google's search. Though most of the time I can find what I need, and if I'm searching an esoteric technical issue. I know Google search is the right tool for that job.
A company collecting data about you should be expected. There are many reasons why they may want to do that. That said, personally, I do not understand how it's even legal for a company to sell your personal information without direct approval. That to me sounds like some dirty politicians made that happen. Though, what can you do? No matter who you elect. Crap like this still ends up happening. We live in a selfish corrupt world, so the best thing you can do is not stress over it too much. Do what makes you happy and move on.
btw, I have less issue with Google collecting my info than I do say my cable provider. The reason being that at least Google does use it to improve their services for me. Comcast and other ISPs collect and sell their tracking data on you also, the only difference. They do not improve my experience by doing it. For that reason, I do own a privacy VPN account. Just to spite them, but because I'm worried about someone knowing what I'm doing.
There is a multitude of ways you can be tracked even without Cookie / Incognito mode. Here is a quick article about five ways they can do it. I've even tested it using a privacy VPN, DDG in Incognito mode, and watched search results be more geared towards previous searches I've made. I'm not just talking about DDG search engines either. I mean all kinds of different site searches.
As for my view of DDG. It's not all that good. I still use them, but they are definitely large a step down from using Google's search. Though most of the time I can find what I need, and if I'm searching an esoteric technical issue. I know Google search is the right tool for that job.
A company collecting data about you should be expected. There are many reasons why they may want to do that. That said, personally, I do not understand how it's even legal for a company to sell your personal information without direct approval. That to me sounds like some dirty politicians made that happen. Though, what can you do? No matter who you elect. Crap like this still ends up happening. We live in a selfish corrupt world, so the best thing you can do is not stress over it too much. Do what makes you happy and move on.
btw, I have less issue with Google collecting my info than I do say my cable provider. The reason being that at least Google does use it to improve their services for me. Comcast and other ISPs collect and sell their tracking data on you also, the only difference. They do not improve my experience by doing it. For that reason, I do own a privacy VPN account. Just to spite them, but because I'm worried about someone knowing what I'm doing.
OP
Deleted member 101831
Guest
I believe that we give / gave approval when we agreed to use the OS / browser / search engine etc.
OP
Deleted member 101831
Guest
Since I'm using Brave browser I decided to go with Brave's default search engine which is Blink.
Brave's default search engine seems to be somewhat limited but seems to turn out what I'm searching for.
FWIW.
medium.com
Brave's default search engine seems to be somewhat limited but seems to turn out what I'm searching for.
FWIW.
Why every browser switching to Blink could be bad news for the web
Microsoft has recently been the latest company to announce that their browser would put away its own engine to switch to Blink, the…
medium.com
Only online, really. I keep everything locked down tight and don't do any online banking. My credit is monitored but, more importantly, you can 'lock' your credit so that the reporting agencies say to not issue credit when asked. It's a bit of a pain if you do want a loan, but that's generally not a problem.
I'm not worried about a violent robbery, or the likes. As for my material goods, they're heavily insured.
Anyone with even the slightest willingness to do some social engineering would be able to find me. Just show up in the village and ask a few questions at one of the few stores. Someone'll happily give you directions to my house.
I don't worry about it.
OP
Deleted member 111282
Guest
Do you have a shotgun ready just in case?
