MacMost Q&A Forum • View All Forum QuestionsAsk a Question

How Do I Compare “Search Engines” Available In Big Sur?

Where can we get a independent comparison of the search engines now available in Big Sur…..other than Google.

I DO NOT want to use Google as a search engine.
—–
Ed Flisher

Comments: 3 Responses to “How Do I Compare “Search Engines” Available In Big Sur?”

    3 years ago

    Not sure what you are looking for here. You can use any search engine you want. But only 5 can be chosen as a default search engine, meaning that if you type a search term into the address field at the top of Safari, you'll get results from that search engine.

    If you don't want to use Google then just switch to one of the other ones. Bing is Microsoft's. I believe Yahoo is also Bing, but filtered and adjusted by Yahoo. DuckDuckGo is its own thing, but also uses Google and Bing as sources. Ecosia is the new one and is Bing with modifications and money earned from ads go to environmental causes.

    Of course you can use others by simply going to the home page of that search engine and searching there. Make it your home page if that helps. But searches in the address bar will use the setting in Safari, Preferences, Search.

    What are you looking for in a search engine? What is it about Google that you don't like?

    If it is search results quality that is the problem, then you can compare them pretty easily by just performing some searches in each and seeing which results seem more relevant to you. Whichever you choose doesn't have to be set in stone. You can easily change it. Or, go to the web site for the engine you want. If engine A gives you better results when doing technical research, use A for that. Then if B gives you better results for shopping for products or something, use B for that.

    Jill Taylor
    3 years ago

    Gary,

    My technological skills are at the Computer 101 Remedial Level. We have a close, long-time friend who recommended we purchase a Mac when our previous PC crashed and has served as an advisor for our computer questions. He told us that we should eliminate Google as a search engine and use Duck-Duck-Go because it is not safe and can be hacked by computer hackers for your personal information. How should I respond when I have not read a similar concern by MacMost in the articles I hav

    3 years ago

    Jill: That's not true. If you are just using Google as a search engine there is nothing to hack. And even if you log into Google using a Google account and it saves your history and other things (Gmaill, other Google services) then as long as you use a strong password (and two-factor authentication) then there's no reason to fear a "hack" there more than any other place. The main reason to use DuckDuckGo over Google is privacy as DDG is better in that respect. But most people don't worry about it If you are at "Computer 101 Remedial Level" then you are fine using Google for searches just like most of the rest of the world.

Comments Closed.