DuckDuckGo vs Google search

DMKAlex

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Let's say I am tired of ads showing up on my regular browse, like reading newspaper on line, would switching to DDG resolve the issue of being tracked.

Would DDG search result as good as Google?

Appreciate any comments and education.
 
Let's say I am tired of ads showing up on my regular browse, like reading newspaper on line, would switching to DDG resolve the issue of being tracked.

Would DDG search result as good as Google?

Appreciate any comments and education.
Can't answer your question, however, I use Startpage for this reason.


Allan
 
You might want to elaborate on what your concern is here.

Is your concern simply the presence of ads, or too many of them, in the course of your regular browsing? If so, then your search engine usage will have almost nothing to do with that. Simply installing an ad-blocking browser extension like Ublock Origin or something similar is likely your solution.

On the other hand, if you're concerned is that the search engine you use is employing tracking technologies which are then subsequently used as the basis for the content of ads you see elsewhere in your regular browsing, then that is a different issue. I will defer to others to offer advice on that.
 
Let's say I am tired of ads showing up on my regular browse, like reading newspaper on line, would switching to DDG resolve the issue of being tracked.

Would DDG search result as good as Google?

Appreciate any comments and education.
I (like other replies) -- can not answer regarding DDG vs Google since I have never used DDG. I use Google and find their Search Engine is amazingly good and best I have used. The only thing I see is reference to related products for which I have searched for (or purchased) which is NOT an issue for me. This must be the way to arrange finances to provide the free service.

I do not pay a fee for Google usage -- Are you having to pay or is it also free usage ?
 
If looking for internet privacy that horse is out of the barn and orbiting Jupiter.

There is nothing stopping the OP from using DDG to see if it serves her needs. While that may cut Google, at least initially, out of the hoard of trackers following you on the internet it does not prevent the many, many other silent stalkers that follow and record your every click as they infest the commercial sites you seek. Nor ultimately does it cut out google, it merely inconveniences them.

DDG has a browser on iOS that promises not to track, However browsers on iOS must all be based on Safari, so there's that. DDG says it is working on a Windows based version of its browser.

There are reports that ways of tracking a particular user's browser's signature no matter how anonymized the path was to the server as the browser serves up particulars of its software and hardware environment, unique to all but the most locked down corporate clients. So much for VPNs, TOR, Bravo and the like.

But if using Chrome to execute searches on DuckDuckGo in hopes of privacy you have missed something about how it all works.
 
I am not saying I've been harmed or hurted by Google capturing my search history and passing it along to vendors like B&H or Amazon.

It's a bit uncomfortable to be bombarded with video tripod ads after viewing/search for a video tripod's model. It is crying out loud that . . . "I know what you're doing". Doesn't matter what I did was good or bad. Just an uncomfortable feeling.
 
I use Firefox with Ublock Origin and see a lot more empty space on DPR than I do ads. :-)

(Or anywhere else for that matter--a few make it through but it's very tolerable.)
 
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Use Brave browser. It blocks all ads, including YouTube ads.
Do you run Brave browser on your PC? I tried it and still prefer Firefox with uBlock Origin and Startpage as my default search engine.

I use Brave browser on my phone, but I don't feel good about it. It seems like a scam.
My wife runs DuckDuckGo browser on her phone, and Google Chrome on her PC. She does most of her shopping on the phone, so perhaps she's less bothered by intrusive post-search ads than is DMKAlex.

Interestingly, DuckDuckGo now has maps and directions!
 
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Would DDG search result as good as Google?
I use DDG pretty much exclusively on my desktop and I've been pretty happy with it. Occasionally if I can't find just what I'm looking for I'll try Google or Bing, but in my experience it's not all that often that they'll find anything significantly different.
 
as noted, there is a limit to what you can actually achieve here- the other side knows all the tricks and are constantly looking for other ways to monetize. Some browsers and search engines may or will at least purport to do better. I think the EU regulators are a good authority here as they have been pushing back hard on Google and Facebook where they step over the line.

It's hard to get around the signature that your IP and system description present.

But you can do some of the following:

1- run browser in private window option. No cookies will be retained, no history. You give up autocomplete. Your system is still vulnerable if you click on or download bad stuff.

2- run browser in a separate instance entirely. Destroy each time. You'll keep no history, but the parent OS is protected. You do have to do a little more work to transfer downloads safely.

3- At the extreme, use a USB stick with Linux on it to do browsing sessions. Extremely low probability that you can be compromised by a bad site if you're running the browser in a non root account. And like with #2, the in memory single session dies when you shut down. Downloads remain the primary risk as you transfer them to the parent windows desktop.

4- If you use facebook, use a different browser entirely, or do one of #1/#2. A lot of sites rely on facebook as an auth method, or sometimes the only auth method to comment or participate. Isolate FB tracking from all the other sites you visit.

5- and above all, don't use important email addresses or identical passwords for any internet social behavior compared to those on financial accounts. Don't reuse the same password on financial accounts either. These get popped far too often.
 
It's hard to get around the signature that your IP and system description present.

But you can do some of the following:

1- run browser in private window option. No cookies will be retained, no history. You give up autocomplete. Your system is still vulnerable if you click on or download bad stuff.

2- run browser in a separate instance entirely. Destroy each time. You'll keep no history, but the parent OS is protected. You do have to do a little more work to transfer downloads safely.

3- At the extreme, use a USB stick with Linux on it to do browsing sessions. Extremely low probability that you can be compromised by a bad site if you're running the browser in a non root account. And like with #2, the in memory single session dies when you shut down. Downloads remain the primary risk as you transfer them to the parent windows desktop.

4- If you use facebook, use a different browser entirely, or do one of #1/#2. A lot of sites rely on facebook as an auth method, or sometimes the only auth method to comment or participate. Isolate FB tracking from all the other sites you visit.

5- and above all, don't use important email addresses or identical passwords for any internet social behavior compared to those on financial accounts. Don't reuse the same password on financial accounts either. These get popped far too often.
I'll add another item if I may.

6- Do not use your ISP's own DNS servers. Use a different DNS provider that offers encrypted DNS services of some form. Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 service is probably the most commonly used for this (LINK). Using such a service will not prevent tracking from browser-based techniques such as cookies, browser signatures, single pixel images, and so forth. What it will do is make it considerably more difficult for your own ISP to track where you go online and potentially sell that data about you.
 
These privacy-emphasizing search engines are based on the big players in search engines. DDG is based on Bing. I found it noticeably less effective than Google. Startpage is based on Google. Its results are almost as good as the ones from Google (except image search), so I use Startpage and when I really want more, I use Google.
 
Use Brave browser. It blocks all ads, including YouTube ads.
FYI, if lots of people blocked all ads, it would disrupt the economic model of much of the internet. We'd have less content in general and far less "free" content meaning more content would be behind paywalls and require subscription or micro-payments. These services have to get paid for somehow.

So, it is not a long term solution for lots of people to block ads. Internet services and content must be paid for somehow or they will disappear. If ads don't work, then many services and content sites will disappear and others will require direct payment.

Yes, if you aren't paying for a service on the internet, then you are being monetized via advertising. That's how the service gets paid for. That's the same for over-the-air broadcast TV.

That said, there are sites that use so many ads and make them so intrusive that the site becomes unusable (particular on the small screens of mobile). I vote against that by avoiding that site and, in some cases, configuring my readers to never go to that site again. I figure if more people just avoid sites that are intrusive and difficult to use, then survival of the fittest will weed out the worst actors and reward the better actors. One does not have to be obnoxious to successfully monetize your site.
 
Would DDG search result as good as Google?
I use DDG pretty much exclusively on my desktop and I've been pretty happy with it. Occasionally if I can't find just what I'm looking for I'll try Google or Bing, but in my experience it's not all that often that they'll find anything significantly different.
My main browser is Firefox and my experience with DDG is the same. I have been using DDG for a couple of years and typically find what I am looking for. I also installed DDG Privacy Essentials, which is supposed to prevent personal information from being exposed during everyday online activity.
 
These privacy-emphasizing search engines are based on the big players in search engines. DDG is based on Bing.
I did not know that, but recently discovered DDG maps are based on Apple maps.

In addition to DDG search results use data from Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha.

https://9to5mac.com/2021/02/09/duckduckgo

Bing sometimes provides the best results, especially when searching for images.
 
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Use Brave browser. It blocks all ads, including YouTube ads.
Do you run Brave browser on your PC? I tried it and still prefer Firefox with uBlock Origin and Startpage as my default search engine.

I use Brave browser on my phone, but I don't feel good about it. It seems like a scam.
My wife runs DuckDuckGo browser on her phone, and Google Chrome on her PC. She does most of her shopping on the phone, so perhaps she's less bothered by intrusive post-search ads than is DMKAlex.

Interestingly, DuckDuckGo now has maps and directions!
Would uBlock disable the autofil feature?
I hate to have to login every time I visit my frequent website.
 
I still prefer Firefox with uBlock Origin and Startpage as my default search engine.

Interestingly, DuckDuckGo now has [Apple] maps and directions!
Would uBlock disable the autofil feature?
I hate to have to login every time I visit my frequent website.
No, the login/password autofill comes from Firefox about:logins (☰ menu > Passwords) or its equivalent in other browsers.

Running uBlock Origin, or similar ad blocker, gives you slightly better security because some ads transmit malware. I'm not sure I've seen such an ad, but have heard of them.
 
I (like other replies) -- can not answer regarding DDG vs Google since I have never used DDG.

I use Google and find their Search Engine is amazingly good and best I have used. The only thing I see is reference to related products for which I have searched for (or purchased) which is NOT an issue for me. This must be the way to arrange finances to provide the free service.

I do not pay a fee for Google usage -- Are you having to pay or is it also free usage ?
+1

I also use Google's search engine, and reference to related products for which I have searched for also is NOT an issue. Google provides so many FREE services that I use that any references to products I have searched for is minuscule for me.
  • Google Maps is indispensable. Can't believe it's free.
  • All of my email accounts are gmail.
  • My browser opens with Google Calendar with all of my appointments and reminders.
  • I use Google Drive occasionally.
  • Youtube, even with all of its ads, is also indispensable for my wife and me.
"My" take is to support Google because it gives back so much to the public,
Sky
 
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DuckDuckGo uses the Bing search sorting algorithm and that does seem to let more fake news through than Google, so it partly depends where you are on that.
 

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