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OK, but tomorrow when I've forgotten that I've done this and I do a quick search, if the very first thing that comes up isn't what I want, I bet I switch right back.
Hacker news forgets that people need to get shit done, and all of this bullshit marketing is just a distraction.
"^L g<tab> search" and you're searching Google.
I've had DDG as my default search engine. It's been a bit rocky. I've left it in place out of privacy preferences, and used it occasionally, but had actually started getting used to the google search method above.
I'm consciously reverting to using DDG more (it's getting better). Why? Because my privacy and rights do matter to me. I've still got Google literally a keystroke away (or !g from any DDG search, or !sp for StartPage's private proxied Google search).
And DDG's TTY mode is pretty awesome: https://duckduckgo.com/tty/
Just use Google through a VPN you trust. Same threat model, better results.
then you type !g after the query (or before) and it sends you right on your way to (https) Google.
Making DDG my default search is the best thing I've done for improving my browser search capabilities. Coming from Opera, I'm already in the habit of using a great many custom search engines, which is nice if you're in Opera, but then Chrome feels very empty. Making DDG the default search gives me just about all of my custom search engines (and more), with pretty intuitive keywords, without having to configure and sync every browser on my system.
ever since ~2-3 years ago, Google is only very rarely my first stop in searching, I so much prefer to go directly where I want.
biggest part of the reason was their second-guessing my query and their results deviating more and more from a simple AND-query over my keywords. it felt like someone replaced my filet knife with a butter knife. (the other part was their instant search result updating and other "enhancements" were super distracting to me).
the only times when I go straight to Google (by which I mean prefix !g to my query), is for a few typical "local/Dutch" or "commercial/consumer" searches, you get a feel for what Google would answer better. Those types of queries are exactly what Google has been optimizing for the past few years, at the great cost of their general and precise web searching quality.
(PS, tip for the Dutch HNers: '!wnl' searches the Dutch Wikipedia. No you don't need it often but when you do, it's nice to have it quickly. I couldn't find it first because I always had it keyed to 'wn' myself, which sends DDG to a weather search site or something)
You get used to typing !g if you want google's results, and then it's automatically run through encrypted.google.com
That's what I did a few months ago when I tried DDG as default. The learning curve getting used to their design was a hurdle I didn't feel like jumping either.
DDG is nice initiative. The problem is that it does not solve any problem related to privacy because it is based on a matter of trust.
Distributed search, similar to bittorrent, DHT-based designs and the like are notoriously difficult.
I've participated in such efforts, like the Seeks Project [1], Yacy [2], and related initiatives like Unhosted [3], and it takes a certain amount of dedication (and suffering ;) ).
However, I believe it is not entirely impossible that we see a true alternative sometimes. From what experience, what is needed is a slightly better set of distributed algorithms, a business model with the ability to sustain such a technical effort, and a range of features that no search engine can yet offer (because centralized).
[1] http://www.seeks-project.info/ [2] http://www.yacy.net/ [3] https://www.unhosted.org/
Side note: working URL for unhosted is https://unhosted.org/
Which of those is the best for the average joe?
I love DDG and I used it for 6 months but the problem I had is that when I was looking for things related to coding or Linux--it fell short. I would type in an error from Objective-c, Node.js, Java, JavaScript or Scala and nothing helpful would return. This forced me to return to Google which I ended up doing so often that I switched my default search engine back :(.
have you checked out some of the !bang options available? I just took a look and here is a sampling of what you have available.
Sysadmin: !apache !awesome !bsd !chef !codeweavers !cookbook !cve !datasheet !distro !distrowatch !eventid !everymac !exex !exploitdb !filext !fsf !fsfe !funtoo !gdiag !gnomebugs !gnu !howtoforge (!htf) !ip !irp !iso !linode !linuxfr !linuxhcl !linuxmint !lxr !mysql !nginxwiki !openbsd !openbsdmisc !opensuse !oracle !osvdb !parabola !peppermintos !playterm !postgresql !psql !puppet !qth !salix !salixforums !sectube !senderbase !spice !splunk !sqlite !susebug !susepkg !technetlib !timestamp !tldp !trisquel !use !vmkb !vol !wog !zahe
Sysadmin (debian): !debbug (!dbugs) !debian !debianforums !debianfr !debml !debmla !debwiki !dfiles !dman !dpackages (!dpkg !dpts) !dtag !fanch
Sysadmin (FreeBSD): !bsdman !fports !freebsd !freshports !fxr
Sysadmin (Gentoo): !gbugs !gentoo !gentoowiki !gpackages !gwiki
Sysadmin (RedHat): !rbugs
Sysadmin (Solaris): !sunpatch
Sysadmin (Ubuntu): !askubuntu !docubu !docubufr !omgubuntu (!omgu) !ppa !puc !ubottu !ubuntuforums (!ubuntuf) !ubuntuusers !uman !upackages !upkg !uu !uude
We could create a search machine decision plugin for Firefox that forwards tricky queries to Google. Maybe a simple rule like
.*[\d|\.|\"|\,|\(].*|.{42,}
I can support this, but only if it offers real safety as opposed to Google.
So does it? Or is it safe only because NSA hasn't bothered to go to DDG yet, or do whatever they are doing to get Google's search data (cable splitters or whatever)?
They claim not to record any data, so there's no worry about gov't requests.
http://donttrack.us/
You should read their privacy policy: https://duckduckgo.com/privacy#s5
What kind of joke is this? You are telling us to use a US-based search engine in a propietary browser made by a US-based company that we already know has given direct access to the NSA? What the fuck.
We don't "know" anything such thing about direct access. We have no evidence other than interpretations of a vague slide that fly in the face other claims.
...and you trust Chrome? Not even Chromium, but... Chrome. Google makes Chrome, you know.
"make duckduckgo your default Firefox search engine"
http://help.duckduckgo.com/customer/portal/articles/216441-f...
Yes, I trust that Google has not shipped a binary modification to their open source software to track search terms, which would be (a) illegal, (b) easily detectable enough that someone would notice it eventually, and (c) pointless, since they're already getting the vast majority of users' search terms legitimately. Then again, I work for them, but I would have said the same thing a month ago...
You don't have to trust it. You can sniff 100% of the traffic coming out of your own computer. You can even configure a firewall to block all traffic to Google's netblocks.
Pretty lame of DuckDuckGo to use this controversy to gain some cheap exposure.
Besides, there are zero guarantees that they are immune to the kind of accusation currently aimed at Google and co.
If they're not supposed to gain a marketing advantage at the time the problem they're trying to solve is in the spotlight, when exactly is the right time?
It is just linking to the DuckDuckGo support page. You are talking as though they made a blog post saying "PRISM!! Use DuckDuckGo instead of Google" and posted it on HN.
It'd be hard to provide any data to the NSA based on DuckDuckGo's privacy policy: http://donttrack.us/
(Unless, of course, you think they're blatantly lying about what they do and do not track, in which case I'm wasting my energy.)
I would go even further: how could they prove that they're not an NSA front?
Why would you use Chrome if you have privacy concerns and want to use DuckDuckGo? Google isn't exactly known for respecting privacy.
Install Firefox instead.
Chrome (or Chromium, if you prefer to have someone else run your builds) is open source. It's subject to inspection. It's got some known privacy issues (e.g., safe-browsing mode sends a file URL and hash which is stored with your IP for two weeks, then your IP is stripped).
But if there's anything really untoward going on and people learn about it, it's going to look extremely bad for Google.
While I wouldn't say that's impossible, it's not a high-likelihood event in my book.
Of course, you're free to use alternative browsers.
Just ... keep in mind that if you're using a WebKit browser you're trusting Apple, and if it's WebCore, you're still trusting Google.
Mozilla's Gecko is still independent, however.
I switched to DDG about 2 years ago and haven't looked back.
My take is they have pretty good clue, are appreciative of security, and they use FreeBSD :)
And Bing.
DDG is a nice search engine for simple research, but I don't use it as much for its search purpose as for its !bang utility.
Being able to search on almost any website by adding a simple keyword is a real plus and I will go even further and say that sometimes it accelerates the search process (say you know you want to search on wikipedia for instance).
However, I have to admit that most of the times I end up searching on google :)
I've been using DDG as default search engine in Firefox, with Google on fallback under the keyword "g". You can make a bookmark with a URL like
https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%s
DDG definitely doesn't have the same quality results as Google, but it's close enough in most circumstances for me that the times I have to search twice aren't a huge factor.
The only thing stopping me from making this switch is that doing arithmetic in the url bar stops working... I use that quite a bit. Is this some deep integration with chrome or can it be made to work with ddg as well?
Stop using your credit cards while you're at it...
How to make Blekko default search engine in Firefox : http://chepurnoy.org/blog/2012/11/how-to-make-blekko-your-de...
i always make ddg my default... but then ill just use google for a sec and forget to change my search back to ddg and then without noticing ill be using google for the next week.
.... so my project for the weekend is to make a firefox extension that resets your search default every X hours/days.
I don't trust Chrome, DDG w/ Firefox is easy and at least they are open about their practices.
Better on Firefox Aurora give it a try
I trust Google than Facebook.
Anyone who tried to find news about the Boston Marathon Bombings on the day they happened via DDG should be aware the engine's inferiorities.
DDG is already my default search engine, and landing page (in FF, mind you).
However, honestly, I prefer Google's results. Has anyone else had this experience?
DDG when searching for reference: yeah; bang syntax is great.
Google for everything else.
How does this help? Isn't DDG still located in the US?
Chrome passwords have an export feature, right?
Better Privacy VS Tailored Search.
Using DuckDuckGo in Chrome is like asking for privacy while walking around naked in Times Square. Chrome has 100% unrestricted access to anything your user can access on your PC, no matter what search engine you choose.
It's only really meaningful if their operations and management are outside the u.s. Is this the case? Are there search companies with their engines in Switzerland or even the EU?