![\"\"](\"http:\/\/54.244.4.142\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Search-Capture.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI don\u2019t think you connect to the internet with the thought that someone will sell everything you search on. But, just like the trackers (which, by the way, Google has a lot of too), the search engines themselves are tracking what you search on; and what you click on to open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll notice that in my screenshot, I have a host name of duckduckgo.com. This is the largest search engine provider that emphasizes protecting searchers\u2019 privacy. DuckDuckGo is known for not tracking your activity or your browsing history. They are also ad free. They do not track IP addresses, so they don\u2019t keep track from session to session what you searched on previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What’s the downside?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Google uses a lot of your prior data to predict what you\u2019re really looking for, and then shows you that information.\u00a0 The search results look amazingly on point for what you need.\u00a0 But this near Artificial Intelligence comes at a price\u2026 and that price is what they do with the data.\u00a0 You should not be okay with giving them your data!\u00a0 A search engine focused on privacy requires the user to be more thoughtful about what they are searching for in order to get back the intended results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To use an alternative search provider, it takes changing configurations on your own devices.\u00a0 And Configuration takes a bit of knowhow and work.\u00a0 The Operating System and Browser makers have been paid to make Google the default search engine and so if you do nothing, that\u2019s what you have.\u00a0 To change this, you must be an active participant in your security and navigate your way through setting features to manually override the default, to select a different Search Engine provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I’m not doing anything wrong, why do I care?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A common myth is that if you\u2019re not doing anything illegal, why should you care that your browsing history is captured.\u00a0 The reason, like trackers, is that the data isn\u2019t just contained within Google or Yahoo!.\u00a0 Rather, the data is sold to whoever will buy it.\u00a0 This data is used to market to you.\u00a0 It\u2019s used by nefarious actors to use against you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What do I mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cambridge Analytica is a good example of YOUR data being used to arm Russian Intelligence with information to undermine democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a torrid story that\u2019s not ending soon.\u00a0 Let\u2019s localize to something more relatable.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve ever searched for something; and then found that your email box gets littered with senders having subjects related to what you searched for, you already know the answer.\u00a0 They are trying to phish you; to get you to open an email containing html and tracker tags so they know you opened it; or worse, provoke you to press on a link in the email that opens a website that may contain code that is designed to either trick you into providing them Personal Identifying Information or to infect your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malware and Ransomware are your computers biggest enemy and you, the user, are the most likely weakness to unwittingly open a door for invasion.\u00a0 Email is the oldest communication, not designed around security, and so the easiest method to breach your computers best defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am not really a computer user, and these issues look more computer based, so why do I care?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Smartphones are computers. And text messages are packaged with malicious hyperlinks. Here\u2019s a simple, common, example. You\u2019ve ordered a product from an online store. The pages you visited doing your research to buy that product had 30 to 90 trackers (on each page). That data is for sale. Hackers assume you purchased, so now send you a text message about your package. It could look like it\u2019s from USPS, UPS, or Fed-ex. The message makes up an excuse so you have to hit a link to fix things (e.g., must have a signature and you need to reschedule). You press on the hyperlink, and it takes you to a page that looks just like the carrier\u2019s site (they stole the logo and colors to make it look realistic). Now it asks you for Personal Identifying Information. It starts with name, address, maybe phone, and then starts asking for payment information too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not just the stuff they ask for that they\u2019ve captured. They\u2019ve captured everything they can about your computer, the browser you\u2019re using, the IP address (which equates to your physical address if you don\u2019t use VPN). This information is used to attack you, or to sell to other hackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What action should I take?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Stop using Google as your primary search engine provider.\u00a0 Change the defaults on your browsers to a search provider like duckduckgo.\u00a0 If a particular search doesn\u2019t yield the results you need, then use Google for just that search only by navigating to their site by typing in www.google.com<\/a> as the URL.\u00a0 When you\u2019re on Google, use extreme caution.\u00a0 Avoid all search result links that say \u201cad\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With duckduckgo, there will be no ads, so you need not worry about hackers paying for their links to be presented first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This video by Josh Summers of All Things Secured is a balanced explanation of Search Quality vs. Privacy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n