Learn about search
engines, meta crawlers and web directories.
Safety in your house, is fine, keeping yourself safe from assault is good, keeping your property safe from theft is good as
well. But to keep you safe on line, on
the “Internet” you must be careful about what you search for, as there are trackers
everywhere.
Whether they be the good guys,
bad guys , government, or others, Every scrap of information collected on you
and your family can potentially be used against you.
For those reasons, I believe that one should change the aspects of your life, including methods to throw off those that
would track you in your home via the computer.
Thus said, this article provides an overview of search engines and a
list of the best search engines. An internet search engine is a searchable
online database of internet resources, websites and information. A typical
web search engine has several primary components:
- Search engine
software
- Spider and index
software
- An index (the
database)
- A relevancy
algorithm (rules for evaluating and ranking content)
Search engines are also known as: web search engines,
internet search engines, search websites, search directories, etc.
How are Search Engines Used?
Each day, search
engines are used to process billions of queries from millions of people all
over the world. People use their computer, laptop, tablet, and mobile devices
to submit keyword queries to their preferred search tool. In addition,
artificial intelligence (AI) devices such as Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple
Siri submit queries based on user voice commands.
The results that are provided in response to keyword queries
depend on the device being used. In most cases, such as with computers and
mobile devices, the results are provided on a page in a list format, with the
most closely matched content being listed first.
Most lookup tools provide a
hyperlink to the website along with a brief description or blurb of text to
describe the result. Results can usually be viewed in different categories,
such as web pages, images, videos, news and other types of files.
In some cases, as with Google’s results, the answer is
provided on the results page itself, saving the user the extra step of clicking
through to the website. When questions are submitted to AI devices, the
response comes back in a spoken format.
Unlike web directories, which are maintained by human
editors, search engines operate algorithmically or are a mixture of algorithmic
and human input.
List of the Best Search Engines
Following is a list
of the best search engines and directories on the internet.
America Online (AOL) – Search less and
discover more with AOL Search®. The AOL product delivers comprehensive web
results enhanced by Google™ along with quick, easy access to relevant videos,
pictures, local maps, news, stock quotes and more.
Ask.com – Ask.com is
a leading search engine on the Web. Millions of people turn to Ask.com to get
what they are looking for online everyday. Founded as Ask Jeeves in 1996 and
renamed Ask.com in February 2005, Ask.com is recognized for innovation in
search technology and search interface design.
Bing – Bing is a
search engine from Microsoft that finds and organizes the answers you need so you
can make faster, more informed decisions. Bing has emerged as a
legitimate contender for search engine traffic. Instead of the usual
plain white page background, Bing displays an interesting photo on their
background.
Google – The number one
search engine, Google dominates the search market, with around 90% of
the worlds search engine traffic. Google’s search utility and ease of use
have made it one of the world’s best known search engines and brands almost
entirely through word of mouth from satisfied users. See Google
Search Commands to learn how to find
the information you need.
Dogpile – Dogpile
searches multiple search engines at once.
IX Quick – Ixquick is
a metasearch engine: when you search Ixquick, you are searching many popular
search engines at the same time. Combined, these engines cover more of the
Internet than any one search engine covers.
Lycos – Lycos,
established in 1995, is one of the oldest and most widely known Internet brands
in the world, evolving from one of the original search engines on the web, into
a comprehensive network of sites that foster online communities.
The Lycos
Network provides web search and navigation, homepage building and web hosting
services, web-based e-mail, online games and cutting-edge video platforms.
Lycos’s products and services include tools for blogging, web publishing and
hosting, video sharing, social networking, games, e-mail, and search.
Reference.Com – Reference.com
is a multi-source encyclopedia search service produced by Lexico Publishing
Group, LLC, a leading provider of language reference products and services on
the Internet.
Search Com – Search.com
is a metasearch engine that searches Google, Ask.com, LookSmart and other
leading search engines to bring you the best results.
WebCrawler – WebCrawler®
brings users the top search results from Google, Yahoo!, Windows Live, Ask and
other popular search engines. WebCrawler also provides multimedia results,
including images, audio, video, news, and local information. WebCrawler is a
registered trademark of InfoSpace, Inc
.
Yahoo – Yahoo! Inc. is a
global online network of integrated services with more than 500 million users
worldwide. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with a
presence in more than 20 markets and regions around the globe.
A List of Retired Search Engines
Following is a list
of search engines, web directories and metacrawlers that were once popular but
are now shut down. In some cases, the engine itself or the technology used
behind the scenes were acquired by another more popular company.
All The Web – AlltheWeb (now owned by Yahoo!) used to
combine one of the largest and freshest indices with the most powerful
search features that allow anyone to find anything faster than with any other
search engine. AlltheWeb’s index (provided by Yahoo!) includes billions of web
pages, as well as tens of millions of PDF and MS Word® files. Yahoo! frequently
scans the entire web to ensure that our content is fresh and to eliminate
broken links.
AltaVista – AltaVista is a web
search engine owned by Yahoo!. AltaVista used to be one of the most
popular search engines but its popularity declined with the rise of Google’s
search engine. Yahoo announced that it plans to discontinue the site.
GenieKnows – GenieKnows.com
narrowed the field of organic search results by developing niche-specific
portals tailored for distinct searching communities, and also empowers a broad
distribution network for advertisers by conveying meaningful,
revenue-generating search results.
Mamma – Mamma.com used to
provide relevant results from the best search engines on the Internet.
Metacrawler – Now owned by
DogPile. MetaCrawler uses innovative metasearch technology to search the
Internet’s top search engines, including Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN Search, Ask
Jeeves, About, MIVA, LookSmart and more.
With one single click, MetaCrawler
searches the best results from the combined pool of the world’s leading search
engines — instead of results from only one single search engine.
Northern
Light – Northern
Light no longer provides search services. They do provide licensed news
content to businesses on a private basis.
A Private
Investigator’s Best Friend
Search engines are
useful to private investigators because they provide a quick and easy way to
retrieve information on a wide variety of topics. Sometimes, missing persons
search case can be resolved using nothing more than a search engine and a
telephone.
Remember to use a variety of search engines as each company
indexes content in a slightly different way and has different rules for ranking
and sorting their results.
As always, stay safe
!
- bird
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