The best alternatives to Google

A search engine and a search engine are not the same thing. Consequently, in this list of the best alternatives to Google, there are fewer search engines than search engines. Indeed, many search engines are based on other search engines. For example, Yahoo relies on Bing to deliver its results. However, it offers a different service than the one provided by the Microsoft search engine.

Bing

Bing is Microsoft’s alternative to Google. Moreover, in terms of market share, it ranks second behind it. However, its share is still far from representing a serious threat to the Mountain View giant. Unlike Google’s appearance, which is characterized by its sobriety, Bing is displayed with a colorful background that keeps changing. In addition, it has a bar at the bottom with current contents that may be relevant to the user. On the other hand, at the top it has a bar that allows you to switch between the typical search or focus on images, videos, maps, and news among others.

Bing incorporates its functions to differentiate itself from the competition. For example, text translator or grammar checker. The results page, however, is almost identical to the one offered by Google.

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo, at the design level, is more similar to Google. Its page is characterized by its flat background in a single color and the search bar, with no major decorations. However, its greatest virtue is that its focus is on user privacy. Unlike Google, it does not store users’ search history on its servers. Nor does it offer personalization based on our interests and Internet activity. It is a hybrid search engine. That is, it uses its crawler and an API of the main search engines present on the Internet. For example, Bing and Yandex, among others.

DuckDuckGo has one ad per search, but it is not based on our history, but on that search itself. Privacy is protected to the maximum through a proxy. Moreover, it is a free software project. It is certainly a powerful alternative, but it protects users’ personal information and, therefore, their privacy to a greater extent. We know that this is one of the main reasons why users abandon the use of Google.

Yahoo Search

With Yahoo Search, we are back to an elementary interface. The logo, the search bar and that’s it. However, the search bar is accompanied by icons that allow access to sections of food, stock market, news, and others. Although the result is powered by Bing, the visual experience is Yahoo’s own.

Regarding privacy, it is not at the level of DuckDuckgo. However, it is still more private than Google. It also offers special results to know the weather forecast, or to know the business hours of businesses that are near us. In this, it is similar to Google. In conclusion, it is not as complete as the popular search engine, but it offers similar features as well as more respect for the user’s privacy.

Yandex

It is certainly not the most popular alternative to Google, but it certainly deserves a chance. It is known as the Google of Russia because it comes from there. Its main page offers the typical search bar, but it also has specific buttons to access videos, images, maps, and other advanced queries. A marked difference with Google is that the results pages are displayed with a bit more rich content.

When searching in any web page we will see that the name, the URL address, the description, and also an icon of the same one that helps us to navigate faster through the results. In social networks, for example, the profile image appears next to the search results. In addition, it also has its browser with the same name. Just as Google does with Chrome.

You.com

We want to close this list with a recent but also very original bet. Indeed, Google and others on this list use crawlers that are in charge of indexing websites and algorithms that anticipate what users need. However, you.com breaks this paradigm. Thus, they aim to make web searches less dependent on advertising and SEO guidelines and give users more control over their Internet searches.

You.com is a search engine that launched its first beta version in November 2021. Its use stands out for its interface and some exclusive functionalities. As for its appearance, it is far from the one traditionally shown by the most popular search engines, which display a list of all the links related to your search. However, this search engine displays the results in the form of cards organized by sources and grouped in a series of specific categories such as web results, images, videos, news and social networks. In this last section you will see results from platforms such as Wikipedia, Reddit, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Privacy is everything!

Another of the main features of you.com is that it does not display advertising in its search results. However, it is not ruled out that in the future they will show advertising that respects privacy. Precisely, another strong point is privacy. Since its developers claim to be safer than Google and DuckDuckGo. Consequently, by activating the private mode, it never stores your preferences, queries, and locations.

This search engine also does not use trackers such as Google Analytics and only uses cookies to personalize your search profile and not to track your Internet activity. Of course, in private mode, no cookies of any kind are used. To start using you.com, we simply have to access its website. In addition, you can add their extension for Google and derivatives to use as default search engine. Although it is still in beta mode, it is a great option to consider.

Ultimately, we have looked at the top search engine alternatives to Google. Of course there are many more options, but we consider these to be the best. See you soon!

The post The top search engine alternatives to Google appeared first on Linux Windows and android Tutorials.

What data do we expose when surfing the net?

We tend to use the Internet for many things. For example, to read news from our favorite site. So, what data could this site collect? For statistical purposes, the site records certain visitor data. For example, the location to know from where they visit that page. They may also know the type of device we are using. This information is useful to adapt the website to the type of screen you are using. That is, mobile, tablet or computer. In the same vein, they can determine what operating system we are using and even the web browser.

On the other hand, we may also expose personal data. This happens if we register in a forum or website. In fact, we usually write our name, email address and phone number. It can also happen when filling in a form or even when sharing content via social networks. In short, our data is often exposed. Much more than we would believe at first glance. Therefore, we have explained how to improve privacy when surfing the web.

Collects data from users using IPLogger

So, the logical question is: How much information can be collected from a user? We will try to answer that question. With this in mind, we will talk about IPLogger. This is a website that allows you to log all IP addresses that pass through a link. Basically, it logs the IPs of all users who open a link. Moreover, it is a free service that offers several tools.

This service monitors and logs all users entering a URL. Consequently, display all the statistics of the users who have entered. For this purpose, we use a logger linked to an image that will record all the IP addresses of users who load that image or a hit counter.

How to Generate a URL

The first thing we have to do is to generate a shortened URL from your website. In fact, we can put any link that interests us. You just have to paste it in the corresponding box. Next, just click on Shortener.

After accepting the license terms, you will be redirected to a new screen. From there we will see various information. Namely, the generated URL, the address to view statistics, etc. What we are most interested in is IPLogger ID, which allows us to consult the statistics.

This ID is the gateway to many data. Indeed, we will be able to see the IP of the users, how many visits the link has had, etc. In any case, all the information is available to be copied from the same web page. Therefore, you just have to select the one you are most interested in.

Send the link

Well, we have already completed the first step, which is to generate the link. However, we will not achieve anything if we do not make the users enter. Consequently, we have several tools to do it. It is possible to send it through messaging apps, such as WhatsApp or Telegram. We can also use social networks such as Twitter or Facebook.

Keep in mind that we must attract users to this link. For a specific issue, you can send it personally via WhatsApp or other means of communication. On the other hand, if you want to collect countless statistical data, then the ideal is to publish it through social networks. This tool is very advantageous for those responsible for creating advertising campaigns for web pages. Indeed, it allows them to have more control over the users’ location. In addition to who enters and from which device or system they do it. Certainly, there are free SEO tools that serve these purposes. However, it is not too much to have an extra mechanism.

How to view registered data

We are getting to the neuralgic point. Indeed, after the users have entered the link, then it is time to consult the statistics. With this in mind, it is necessary to access the IPLogger website. Once there, just click on Your IPLoggers. Now, in the corresponding box, please enter the ID we copied earlier. Consequently, the dashboard is displayed. Now just click on Logged IP’s. In this way, we will see the IP addresses of users, visits and other data. For example, the date and time a user accessed, the IP address, the operator to which it corresponds, the location, operating system and browser used.

All the information is detailed in the image above. However, we can go further and display the detailed geographical location of the IP address. To do so, just click on the map icon. It will immediately display a map with the country to which the IP address corresponds.

Conclusions

Ultimately, we have seen how to collect information from users who click on a link. In addition, IPLogger accomplishes this task very well. It shows us the IP address, location, browser or operating system. We can even keep statistics on the number of users who have accessed. It is elementary to use. Additionally, it offers functions that go beyond generating a simple link. We can also do the same with an image. From it, we can collect information of interest. If you have a website and want to collect statistical data about the users that visit it, then this tool is for you. Bye!

The post Collects data from users who click on a link. appeared first on Linux Windows and android Tutorials.