Internet Search Security

Here is a list of common sense rules to help keep you safe while surfing on the internet.

Have a tip that’s not covered that you want to share? Post it in a comment below!

• Check URL’s before clicking on them
• Use preview (if available)
• Don’t click/visit suspicious looking websites!
• Disable ads in your browser using an ad blocker (e.g. AdBlock Plus for Firefox)
• Use a browser security and internet privacy add-ons such as Web of Trust, FlashBlock, etc.

(click on picture to enlarge)

Credibility

• Understand search engine ranking — it’s not the same as credibility or authoritativeness
• Choose appropriate terms for your query — different terms have different implications
• Verify credibility by looking for fact-checking sites – sites that you know to be credible
• Do one more search to confirm
• Use date range searches to validate when a quote first appeared
• Identify & validate sources cited
• Don’t make an answer part of your query (e.g. “height of tallest man was 7.5 feet”)
• Use quotes when quoting

Internet Search 101 (4 of 4)

This is the final installment in a series on Internet Search tips.
The first post is available here
The second post is available here
The third post is available here

These posts are based off a “Power Search with Google” course that was offered by Google in 2012. I have taken the highlights & condensed the tips down into a concise guide as well as adding in other tips that I have come across over time. Enjoy!

In this installment we will cover the following Google Search Operators:

1. Search Features, Conversions & Calculator
2. Using Different Media Types

Search Features, Conversions & Calculator

Search Features (aka shortcuts) include things such as:

• Time
• Weather
• Movies
• Capital of…
• Medical terms

For a full list of features: Google Feature List

Examples include:

Calculator & Conversions

Using Different Media Types

Use different Google portals to search for different media types to find alternative search results. Examples include:

Images

Shopping

Movies/Youtube

Scholar

Books

Internet Search 101 (3 of 4)

This is a continuation of a series on Internet Search tips.
The first post is available here
The second post is available here

These posts are based off a “Power Search with Google” course that was offered by Google in 2012. I have taken the highlights & condensed the tips down into a concise guide as well as adding in other tips that I have come across over time. Enjoy!

In this installment we will cover the following Google Search Operators:

1. Define
2. Site
3. Filetype
4. Minus
5. Or
6. Quoted Text
7. Intext
8. Around(n)
9. Allintitle
10. X..X (range operator)
11. Advanced Search Options

Define

Define – returns dictionary definition of a word

• [define:horse]

Site

Site – searches for words only within a specified website

• [site:jabian.com]

Filetype

Filetype – searches only for specified filetype(s)

• filetype:docx

Minus (-)

– (minus) – removes results that include subtracted term

• Jabian -home

Or

OR – returns results for either query term and does not give priority to having both results on the same page

• Jabian OR Accenture

Quoted Text

“quoted text” – returns results that contain exact text – useful for finding original texts.

Intext

Intext – returns results that include specified terms in the actual text of the webpage

• intext:agile

Around

AROUND(n) – returns results where terms are within a certain number of word spaces of each other.

• Jabian AROUND(2) chris

Allintitle

allintitle – returns results where all search terms are in the title of the webpage

X..X (range operator)

X..X – Range Operator – returns results which include any numbers between the given range.

• E.g. 5..10 returns any results that include the number 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10

Note that in the first example, the number 25 is NOT bolded (found) by Google, however in the second result set, it is.

Advanced Search Options

Advanced Search Options

• Contains most of the same functionality that operators provide

For a continuation of these topics, see the next article here

Internet Search 101 (2 of 4)

This is a continuation of the first post in this series available here

These posts are based off a “Power Search with Google” course that was offered by Google in 2012. I have taken the highlights & condensed the tips down into a concise guide as well as adding in other tips that I have come across over time. Enjoy!

In this installment we will cover the following topics:

1. Filtering Image Results
2. Search as You Type
3. Related Searches
4. Google Specific Search Tools

Filtering Image Results

Use the color filter when searching for images to return different types of results. The search for “tesla” below will bring back pictures of a car when filtered for red, pictures of lightening when filtered for purple and pictures of the inventor when black & white is selected.

Search as You Type

Google will prompt you as you type – use suggested searches to help you narrow down what you’re looking for.

Related Searches

Use Google’s list of related searches (usually available at the top or bottom of the page) to help find better search criteria.

Google Specific Search Tools

Google has multiple specialized tools to help you narrow down results – looking for professional documentation? Search for a higher reading level…

For a continuation of these topics, see the next article here

Internet Search 101 (1 of 4)

These posts are based off a “Power Search with Google” course that was offered by Google in 2012. I have taken the highlights & condensed the tips down into a concise guide as well as adding in other tips that I have come across over time. Enjoy!

In this first installment, we will cover the following topics:

1. The Art of Choosing Keywords
2. Word Order Matters
3. Punctuation, Special Characters & Spelling

The Art of Choosing Keywords

• Choose words that you’d like to see in your results
• Drop connecting words (and, of, for, the, by, etc.)

Question: “I heard that Atlanta used to have other names. What was one of it’s previous names?”

Search Query: [original name atlanta ga]

Word Order Matters

Word order can make a difference – try different orders to find different results

Punctuation, Special Characters & Spelling

Punctuation does not (usually) matter
Special characters do not (usually) matter

Exception Examples:

• C++
• C#
• #hashtag
• Google+
• $100

Spelling matters! (But search engines will try to correct/suggest spelling for you…)

For a continuation of these topics, see the next article here