Google is everywhere and there is a simple reason for it: They are the kings of convenience. Their software is so simple to use and so useful, that they are hard to resist. After all that is really the weakness of most software: It is poorly designed when it comes to usability and one must RTFM. But most people (including me) don’t like doing that. I recently read a nice article on newsweek online that resonated with me. It is astonishing how very little people care about their privacy and how fast they are willing to reveal private information when something is “free”. That being said, I was no better. I was a happy user of Google, Gmail, Google Calender and Google Reader, but no more. Most of Google ‘s applications just replicate common desktop software and even the Google Search can be used privately.

Loosing Google is the first of a series of posts that will cover tutorials on how to stop using Google services. The first step is start using Google without feeding Google.

Let’s face it: The Google algorithm is good, very good. And I never really tried and compared search engine performance, but there is another way. Google can be used without it noticing you are searching: Use the Google Scraper.

Scraping describes the process of extracting information from another website. Scraper websites pull information from other websites automatically and display it as their own content. The Google Scraper does a little bit more: It lets you search with Google, pulls all the search results and displays them to you. But it does not set a cookie, does not record any search term, deletes all history within 48 hours and assings you are random IP before querying Google.

I would recommend to everyone to start using Scroogle via SSL immediately. It gave me a little ease of mind and boy do I enjoy the adfree display. The service can be found at https://ssl.scroogle.org/ but better yet: use a search plugin (again pick a SSL version of the plugin). I have also embedded some permanent links in the footer section of this blog, so go ahead and start scroogling now.

And if you find the service to your liking, please donate some bucks to them. As we all know, nothing good in life is free. So don’t be evil ;).