Browsers and search engines, some thoughts

I was asked about what browser is the best, and I have to say, I don’t really have an answer. I personally have 4 different browsers open at all times, and I’m signed into 3 of them with different Google accounts, because I have 3 calendars I maintain for 3 different “businesses”.  I went looking around for some info on browsers, and there are some compelling reasons why you might prefer one browser over another.

There is an article HERE that talks about several of the most common browsers, and gives strengths of each one. It also talks about lesser known browsers, some I’ve never heard of, and some of their aspects that might be of interest you.

But the person specifically was asking me about DuckDuckGo, which I’ve heard of, but do not use. So I am including an article on that HERE.   It’s a compelling article, and I will be adding it to one of my browsers and using it for a while.

DuckDuckGo is not a browser itself, but a search engine, available within a browser. If the article above is to be believed, then using it within Chrome will afford you the privacy protection we are all looking for.

To clarify, you can use Google within any browser by typing it in and then using the search screen to provide you answers. That means even if you use Firefox, by using Google as your homepage or search engine, Google will still be tracking you. In Chrome, a browser made by the company Google, you can use Google (the search engine) as your home page, or you can use DuckDuckGo as your home page, and use it for your searches. That is supposed to block the data mining that happens on Google.

What you should know is that the biggest, most common browser is Chrome, and it probably is doing the most data mining about you. If that bothers you, then you should NOT be using it. (facebook & twitter do the same, BTW)

Finally, if you are still using Internet Explorer (IE), then you really need to switch to something else. Even Microsoft doesn’t want you using it anymore, so much so that they made a Windows 7 compatible version of Edge. 

Note from Carol - While still on Chrome a lot I've been gradually switching over to Firefox.  Firefox is run by Mozilla, a nonprofit organization that advocates for a “healthy” internet. Its mission is to help build an internet in an open-source manner that’s accessible to everyone–and where privacy and security are built in.   This a a good article on why this might be a good choice if you are concerned about privacy.   Bye Chrome: Why I'm switching to Firefox and You Should too.