For those interested in internet privacy ... Startpage.com

[rhonda15]

Google is currently working on the biggest database on human beings ever collected in human history - every time you search using google you are adding to this database.

I have just found out about this new search engine Startpage Search Engine that claims to be the world's most private seach engine. Startpage does not record your IP address or make a record of your searches.

I'm sold! I have now made Startpage my default homepage/search engine and I urge you to do the same. Let's make it go viral! Break free from the tyranny of google!

I learned about it here in an interview with Katherine Albrecht author of "Spychips" - she is their official spokeperson which gives it a lot credibility in my eyes.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=triaP3eTKTI"]YouTube- Reality Report Special Interview- Katherine Albrecht[/ame]

(she talks about Startpage at 9:15)

[rhonda15]

LONDON (Reuters) - Search-engine company Startpage launched a service allowing users concerned about privacy to carry out Web searches and click on linked pages without being identified, tracked or recorded.

Unlike mainstream search engines that gather commercially valuable information about user behaviour, privately held Startpage (Startpage Search Engine) has focussed on privacy since 2005.

"My wake-up call came last year," says Katherine Albrecht, who runs U.S. media relations and marketing for Startpage and who says she noticed Google Inc had installed a programme monitoring users who typed in terms indicating they had influenza -- and was sharing the information with the U.S. Centre for Disease Control.

"I had been a privacy advocate for 10 years, but even so I was using Google just like everybody else," she said.

Startpage says it has been profitable for the last five years. It is funded by advertising including sponsored links that are matched to the content of Websites and searches, but not to user profiles.

Startpage, which was founded in New York and is owned by private Dutch company Surfboard Holding BV, does not publish user numbers but says it had served over 1.2 billion searches as of December 2009.

Startpage launches anonymous Web search service

[Mouroux]

It seems that whenever there is "potential" for abuse.... the abuse nearly always happens. Another issue with google is that they it too monolithic, spreading tentacles into every corner of the internet. They also were quite happy to facilitate internet censorship in The People's Republic of China. And they never really ask! IF you have gmail the default if for google to record every webpage etc. that you visit, as long as you are logged in. Most people stay logged in at home nearly all the time. To deactivate the recording (while logged in) is a somewhat convoluted process --you have to really want to switch it off.

Even if you trust corporations/corporate standards, laws etc. there is still the possibility of data being hacked, or passed along via some loop hole in the legal system.

Persons hacking of even legally obtaining data do not, repeat not, want the data to help you, they only want to help themselves to whatever that data is worth.

[rhonda15]

so i've been using startpage.com all day today - it's pretty good

anyone else try it out?

[Half Nelson]

so i've been using startpage.com all day today - it's pretty good

anyone else try it out?

I've added it to my browser - seems ok.
Anything that improves privacy can't be bad.

[nixmix]

Good find
Are there anyother Firefox users getting this:
Content Encoding Error
The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because it uses an invalid or unsupported form of compression.

Of course it works fine in IE but no way am I going back to that!

[ManfredJudge]

Which version of Firefox?

[EvotingMachine0197]

so i've been using startpage.com all day today - it's pretty good

anyone else try it out?

Just checking it out now. Thanks for the tipoff.

[rhonda15]

Good find
Are there anyother Firefox users getting this:
Content Encoding Error
The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because it uses an invalid or unsupported form of compression.

Of course it works fine in IE but no way am I going back to that!

I'm using Firefox 3.6 (latest version) and haven't had any problems

[Slinky]

You should be aware that if you have a google toolbar on your browser then all the sites that you visit are sent to googles databases in the same way.

This has worried me for a while and I have tried a couple of other search engines, yahoo, bing (I know they probably do a similar thing). I've also tried the Irish one, cuil.com, and a couple of other smaller ones, but in fairness to google they do give the most relevant results. With the other ones for the most part I've just been frustrated by the crap in their results.