this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2024
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Google's new AI search results promotes sites pushing malware, scams (www.bleepingcomputer.com)
submitted 8 months ago by Zerush@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
63 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

(In the case that someone in Lemmy still use Google)

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[–] stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub 95 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Here the funny part, google knew this shit would happen. How you ask? Well, see google has had this problem for a long time.

When google first came out, there was all sorts of techniques you could use to boost your PageRank. Google had to tweak and tweak and tweak to fix it so that nazi sites would not come up when you looked up Jewish holocaust memorial museums for example.

Seems they’ve learned nothing. And yet they’re still one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

Scary. Let’s add AI to the mix now.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 13 points 8 months ago

At least they haven't used ChaosGPT for this.

Lord and master, hear my call! I have need of Thee! from the spirits that I called Sir, deliver me!

Goethe - The Sorcerer's Apprentice

[–] minkymunkey_7_7@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Oh yes they learned. This is now a feature, not a bug. Google's slogan changed long ago.

[–] tfowinder@lemmy.ml 61 points 8 months ago (6 children)

What to use for search engine. Even ddg is not giving reliable results.

[–] PoorPocketsMcNewHold@lemmy.ml 47 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

If you believe Google is the most reliable, you can still use it in a private way via :

  • Startpage

Startpage is a private search engine known for serving Google and Bing search results. One of Startpage's unique features is the Anonymous View, which puts forth efforts to standardize user activity to make it more difficult to be uniquely identified. The feature can be useful for hiding some network and browser properties.

https://www.startpage.com/

SearXNG is an open-source, self-hostable, metasearch engine, aggregating the results of other search engines while not storing any information itself.

There's plenty of public instances too https://searx.space/

Get Google search results, but without any ads, JavaScript, AMP links, cookies, or IP address tracking. Easily deployable in one click as a Docker app, and customizable with a single config file.

Couple of public instances too. Basically SearxNG with ONLY google as a source. https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search#public-instances

[–] lemmylem@lemm.ee 22 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I'm pretty sure Startpage got sold out to an ad company. I think the best option is just to use SearxNG

[–] PoorPocketsMcNewHold@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago

They do, but it's still separated from that business. At worse, it's more an ethical issue of using something that an Ad company own, exactly like using Google with or without proxies services. https://web.archive.org/web/20210118031008/https://blog.privacytools.io/relisting-startpage/

[–] tfowinder@lemmy.ml 7 points 8 months ago

Thank you

Any alternative to Google Alerts?

Long time looking for such service which monitors web for keywords.

[–] squeakycat@lemmy.ml 25 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I've been happy with Kagi. It's for-pay but it's quality to me.

[–] li10@feddit.uk 14 points 8 months ago (14 children)

It’s just a bit too expensive imo.

[–] Rexios@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

For something I use constantly every day $10 is nothing

[–] Mac@mander.xyz 13 points 8 months ago (2 children)

but for something you never use $10 is quite a lot.

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[–] squeakycat@lemmy.ml 1 points 8 months ago

That's fair. Like the sibling comment says, it's worth it for me. But not everyone has the ability to pay.

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[–] Jramskov@feddit.dk 3 points 8 months ago

Same here, happy Kagi subscriber 👍

[–] lemann@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

DDG queries can't really be written the same way you'd write one in Google if you're after effective results. It'll take some time to get used to it, tbh I was using DDG alongside Google until I fully switched.

[–] Cuntessera@sh.itjust.works 12 points 8 months ago

I keep reading that Google’s search results are supposedly much better than DDG’s when my experience is the exact opposite. I don’t even live in an English speaking country and the results I get are a vast improvement over Google’s. It has been this way for me since at least last year, but in my experience DDG had caught up to Google in 2022 already. It could also be that Google has just deteriorated a lot in the last two years (which it definitely has, judging by all the bad publicity they’ve been getting for it), so I’d urge you to give DDG/Brave Search/Bing/Kagi/SearxNG another chance.

I’d also recommend setting an alternative of your choice as the default everywhere and to use it exclusively for like a week before making up your mind about that specific product!

[–] sanpo@sopuli.xyz 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Do you mean grammar-wise, or special operators?

[–] lemann@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Grammar, I've noticed I get much better results if I word things more directly instead of like a question

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[–] LostWon@lemmy.ca 5 points 8 months ago

They probably mean grammar, since most Google operators do work. If there's a specific difference in search syntax (other than bangs) though, I'd love to know what I've been missing.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I use mainly Andisearch, also has AI but relay on reliable sources (and one of the most privat search out there), Startpage and Whoogle use the old Google search engine, Mojeek also is fine, Groot search has a own search index, Etools a Suiss made Metasearch engine and some more. In the Vivaldi Forum you'll find the, maybe, most complete list of search engines you can try.

[–] PunkiBas@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Whoa! You weren't kidding about that list of search engines. What's with the Germans and search engines? They sure do have a lot.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

The author of th Thread is German, he icluded because of this also searches in German media sites or dictionaries. But if you want a German search engine, you can use MetaGer, not bad at all. Good privacy but freemium, in the free version there are ads, (context, anonymous) and limited on 2 search engines.

[–] PunkiBas@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

Hah! I in fact have been using metager for a couple of months now as my defult search engine, since I saw it recommended in Lemmy those 2 months ago. Works great. Tried kagi before but I just don't search that much and paying per search makes much more sense to me.

[–] stewie3128@lemmy.ml 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Kagi. It's better here.

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[–] darkphotonstudio@beehaw.org 43 points 8 months ago (5 children)

I remember when Google was the cool new kid on the block. How far they've fallen. But that's what unrestrained, unregulated capitalism gets you. It's all a race to the bottom.

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[–] FriendBesto@lemmy.ml 32 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Google: "Hey, do not be evil."

Google years later: "Can I has all the profits and personal data?”

Google after that: " I am the Lizard Queen!"

[–] EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de 18 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Scammers were already paying Bing and Google to have their sites above real ones.

And now they're paying to have google and bing have their AI to show scam websites above real ones.

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[–] ebits21@lemmy.ca 14 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I…. Don’t really get why they think this is better. Google search was good…. Other companies can copy AI technology anyway. AI is really just predicting words and wasn’t designed for search, but their old algorithm was.

Whyyyyyy

[–] Cube6392@beehaw.org 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Google hasn't understood the internet for a long time. They created an excellent search algorithm by treating the internet as a single information system that warranted analysis and indexing for convenient traversal.

These days that's not... Something they're interested in anymore. The goal is to collect user data for targeting advertising and resale. Their core product is still the search bar, sure, but that's just a hook to reel you in. They'll attach whatever buzzword to it it takes to keep it in the zeitgeist. "Ai" is hot right now so that's the buzzword.

I don't get the impression technical competency is something Google values anymore...

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[–] ScreaminOctopus@sh.itjust.works 5 points 8 months ago

My theory is that Google wants to move towards vector symbolic representations for pages in search rather than page caching. It would make index storage and retrival orders of magnitude cheaper for them if they can design a scheme that works well.

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Way to go killing the golden goose there Google

[–] forgotmylastusername@lemmy.ml 6 points 8 months ago

Google hasn't been dogfooding in a long time have they? I wonder what products Googlers use.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 months ago

So it's working as intended?

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Also it doesn't know shit about combos in super double dragon.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

In a move that suprise la no one....

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