OT: www search engines

[Erik Osterholm]

On Wed, Feb 06, 2008 at 12:46:25AM +0100, Wojciech Puchar wrote:
> what search engines, other than Google, do you find useful for general 
> use?
> 
> google simply don't like to talk with me, when i like to use anything to 
> protect my privacy. i don't abuse this service, but i don't like google 
> tracing what i search, when and why.
> 
> it started maybe week ago, so i have to use something else.
> 
> 
> http://wojtek.3miasto.net.pl/google/goolag.html

Google has been tracking search results for years.  I'd be shocked if
other major search engines weren't doing it--at least Google is being
up front about it.

You can partially keep them from correlating your searches if you
reject the Google cookie.  If you do this, the only way that they can
"track" you is by IP address.

You can also use a Google proxy such as scroogle.org.  Again, there's
no real guarantee that they aren't tracking things, but it's a way to
get Google results without having to use Google, itself.

Generally, though, unless you sign in to their services, it's pretty
unlikely that they'll ever tie search results to a physical human
being.  Without an ISP's help, they won't know who owns your IP
address.  If your ISP is willing to give you up to anyone who asks,
I'd be worried about more than just Google.

What are the laws in your country like regarding this?

Erik