Workers' Edge

Privacy advocates aren't pleased with Google Web History, which records the sites you visit, searches you make, images and videos you view, and even sites you haven't been to but may like. When you create a Google account, the option to use Web History is checked by default. Opting out doesn't mean Google doesn't collect the information, just that you don't have such easy access to it.

It feels like I've been using Gmail for five or six years, but I found my Web history begins in January 2007, according to Google. The entries since that time are far from a complete log of all my searches and surfing; apparently, events are recorded only while you're logged into your Google account.

To open your Web history, sign into your account, click My Account in the top-right corner of the main Google screen, and choose Web History under My products. The default view is All History. Your other view options include Web, Images, News, Videos, Maps, Blogs, and even the Sponsored Links you were served up, just in case you missed them the first time.

View a record of your online activities in Google Web History.

(Credit: Google)

I was ready to find all sorts of embarrassing information about myself in the logs, but they were really kinda boring, which probably indicates their accuracy. I did find several entries that didn't belong—obviously, someone borrowed my PC while I was logged into my Google account. To remove unwanted items in your history, click Remove items in the left pane, check the entry or entries you wish to excise, and click Remove.

To surf without being tracked, click the left pane's Pause button. (Frankly, I'm inclined to sign off the account altogether.) When you're ready to go back on the record, click Resume.

One of my favorite Web History features is Trends, which shows your top 10 queries, sites, and clicks over the past seven days, month, year, or all recorded. I had fun trying to figure out why I did almost three times more searching last April than I did the previous October, or why I've never searched at 2 a.m. A real shocker for me was that I search more often on Sundays than I do on Fridays. I would've never guessed that one.

Get a view of your search history by hour, day, or month in Google Web History's Trends.

(Credit: Google)

Maybe I should have qualms about anybody keeping such close tabs on me, but the fact is, most or all of this information is tracked whether or not I sign up for the service, unless I use an anonymizing service or product. About a year ago, I described how to customize the history settings in Firefox and Internet Explorer, and all browsers let you wipe your Web history clean, but these settings don't affect Google's servers.

Google's privacy policy offers a link to DoubleClick's opt-out cookie, but the best solution is to disable cookies altogether. Doing so cripples many of the Web's most useful features, in my book. So I'll just keep my surfing semipublic and hope Google doesn't suffer the security breach of all time.

The first thing I saw when I booted my PC yesterday evening was a notice that Google had prevented my default search setting from being changed. I certainly didn't want to switch from searching via Google by default. I hadn't even been considering a search change, regardless of Bing's pretty wallpaper.

The Google Toolbar prevented Windows Search from changing my default search setting without my permission.

(Credit: Google)

To find out what program was trying to change my search default, I opened Vista's Event Viewer by pressing the Windows key, typing event viewer, and pressing Enter. I clicked Application in the left pane and scrolled to the approximate time the warning popped up. It took all of about two seconds to realize that Windows Search Service attempted to change my search default.

Vista's Event Viewer identified the Windows Search Service as the likely source of the attempt to change my search default.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Well, I can't prove it based solely on the Event Viewer logs, but it's safe to say the search service is the prime suspect. I was relieved that Google prevented the change, but I couldn't recall asking the company to do so. I found the alert setting in the options of the Google Toolbar in Internet Explorer.

The Search tab in the Google Toolbar options lets you generate an alert whenever a program attempts to change your default search setting.

(Credit: Google)

Ironically, I couldn't find a comparable setting in the latest version (5.0.20090324) of the Google Toolbar for Firefox, which is my default browser.

The Google Toolbar for Firefox lacks a setting that generates an alert and prevents programs when they attempt to change your default search setting.

(Credit: Google)

Should you find your search default has been changed unexpectedly, resetting it is a breeze. In Firefox, type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Browse to and double-click browser.search.defaultenginename. Type the name of any search service listed on the search drop-down menu and press OK.

To add a search engine to the list, click Manage Search Engines and then Get more search engines. Download your engine of choice and restart Firefox to see it among the search options on the menu.

To make the same change in Internet Explorer 8, click the down arrow to the right of the search box and choose Manage Search Providers. Make your selection and choose Set as default. Or choose Find More Providers, pick a search service, and click Add to Internet Explorer to broaden your IE search options.

To change your search default in Google's Chrome browser, click the wrench icon in the top-right corner, choose Options, and make your selection in the "Default search" drop-down menu near the bottom of the Basics tab. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to add search providers to Chrome's list, though you may see more options by clicking Manage, choosing one of the services listed, and clicking Add.

The first program I open every day is Firefox, and most days the first Web site I visit is Google. That's why I'm glad so many Firefox add-on developers have created tools that give me a new perspective on my Google search results. Here are three of my favorites.

Sharpen your searches with GoogleEnhancer
The primary reason I click Google's Advanced Search option is to limit the results to a specific date range. With NettiCat's GoogleEnhancer add-on I can narrow my searches by date as well as by file type and a handful of languages via drop-down menus that are placed to the right of the search box.

The GoogleEnhancer add-on for Firefox puts drop-down menus next to the text box that let you narrow your results by time, language, and file type.

(Credit: NettiCat)

As nice as the search enhancements are, one of my favorite GoogleEnhancer features is the addition of icons to the left of the results for each link's site. The add-on also numbers the results, though these don't really add much to the results, in my opinion.

... Read more

Compared with Outlook and other commercial e-mail programs (are there any other commercial e-mail programs left?) Mozilla's free Thunderbird e-mail client has a lot going for it. Not the least of Thunderbird's time-saving features are its search capabilities.

If you don't see the search toolbar directly above the main Thunderbird window, click View > Toolbars > Search Bar. By default, you can view all your mail, all your unread mail, all mail with one of Thunderbird's five built-in labels attached (Important, Work, Personal, To Do, Later), mail from people in your address book, messages received recently, mail with attachments, and mail that the program has identified as "Not Junk."

Thunderbird's View options let you sort your mail into several prefab categories.

(Credit: Mozilla Foundation)

To create your own message view, click Customize in the View drop-down menu, and choose New in the Customize Message Views dialog box, or select one of the existing views and click Edit. In the Message View Setup window, choose either "Match all of the following" or "Match any of the following," and make your selections in the location and parameters drop-down menus. Enter the text you want to search for in the text box, and click the plus sign to add additional parameters. When you're done, click OK twice. The view you just created will appear in the View box, and messages matching your selected parameters will display automatically.

Create a custom view in Thunderbird to filter your messages with a single click.

(Credit: Mozilla Foundation)

Save time with Thunderbird's Quick Search
Custom views are great if you know ahead of time what you'll be looking for, but you can also create a "view" on the fly by converting a search into a virtual folder. Press Alt-I, Tab to move the cursor to the search box, press Alt-down arrow to display the search-parameters drop-down menu, use the arrow keys to navigate to your desired parameter, press Tab again to select it, and type your search term. When the results appear, choose Save Search as a Folder, rename the folder and make other changes (or accept the defaults), and click OK. The folder appears in the left pane in whichever location you chose for it in the New Saved Search Folder dialog box.

Tomorrow: The perils of trying to break the Microsoft habit.

The first application I open and the last one I close each workday is Gmail.

Even though I use the service's labels and filters to sort my mail, I often found myself scrolling through the 600-plus messages in my Gmail in-box to find the one I need.

Then I discovered Gmail's search operators, and my scrolling days were over.

For instance, when I need to find the message from Ellen with the agenda attached, I type from:ellen filename:doc. If I need to find the message I sent my brother Larry about the NCAA basketball tournament pool we entered, I type to:larry subject:ncaa. And to locate the e-mail from one of my editors (for whom I've created a label) about my blog posts for the last two months, I enter label:editor (february OR march).

You'll find some of these same search parameters when you click "Show search options" to the right of the Gmail search box, but operators are faster, plus they give you more flexibility. For example, you can use the date range drop-down menu in the Search options box, or just enter after:2008/04/04 before:2008/04/07 to search mail that arrived last weekend.

Gmail's Search options box provides options for narrowing your e-mail searches, but they're not as fast as using the service's search operators.

(Credit: Google)

Get your Gmail work done faster via keyboard shortcuts
I'm a keyboard shortcut fan from way back, so it's embarrassing to admit that I didn't realize I could use the time-saving wonders in Gmail until I had been using the service for more than a year. To activate the shortcuts, click Settings and select "Keyboard shortcuts on" under the General tab.

Now when you want to compose a new message, type C, or Shift-C to open a blank message in a new window. Type a slash (/) to put the cursor in the search field, # to move the selected message to the Trash folder, ! to report it as spam, K to select the previous message in your in-box, and J to move to the next one.

When you're in "Conversation" mode, type R to reply to the selected message (Shift-R opens a new window for the reply), A to reply to all, and F to forward the message. Remembering these options can be a challenge, so type ? to view a list of keyboard shortcut options (and Esc to close the list).

Tomorrow: Get more out of Mozilla Thunderbird's search options.

Keeping your e-mail organized isn't a full-time job; it just seems like it is.

I gave up trying to clear out my Outlook inbox years ago. I rely on the program's search features, which are improved in Outlook 2007, though finding specific messages is still a challenge. That's why I jumped at the chance to try out the beta version of Xobni (pronounced "ZOB-nee"), a new program that sifts your messages automatically and provides insight about your relationship to the sender. It's an invitation-only download for now, so you have to request that a download link be e-mailed to you.

Xobni is one of those programs that makes you wonder, "How do they do that?" When you select a message, information about your correspondence with the sender appears in the Xobni pane to the right of the message window in Outlook 2007 and 2003. At the top of the pane is a graph plotting the times of day you've received messages from the person, so you can see at a glance whether they're early risers or nighthawks (you can also associate an image with the person). A bar chart just below this graph shows the number of messages received from and sent to the person, along with a rank indicating how frequently you interact with them compared to your other e-mail correspondents.

Get automatic insight into your e-mail relationships with the free Xobni add-on for Outlook 2003 and 2007.

(Credit: Xobni)

Among the program's neat tricks is the ability to extract the person's telephone number from messages rather than relying on their entry in your contacts list. You're also shown other people you've communicated with who are related in some way to the person, and a list of the files that have been attached to their messages.

I've only scratched the surface of what Xobni is capable of, but what motivated me to try the program in the first place was its search function, which puts Outlook's built-in Find feature to shame. Not only do you get type-ahead that automatically completes your search term, Xobni is bullet-fast, and when you search for a name, you can view the person's profile with a single click, so all the e-mail you've sent them or received from them is at your disposal.

To compare searching in Outlook with and without Xobni, I entered "Rich" in both search fields. Outlook displayed a list of mail from and to several different people named "Rich", as well as messages about getting "rich" or "rich" desserts. I could've used Outlook's advanced search options to narrow my search, but instead I entered the term in Xobni's search field and let the add-on do the filtering for me automatically. In Xobni's search results I could choose to open the profile for "Rich K." or "Rich T." and have their messages, attached files, and other information displayed without any added steps.

Xobni is well worth the space it takes in the main Outlook window for the time and trouble it saves. I can't say it makes using Outlook fun, but it does make the program more interesting.

Tomorrow: advanced tips for using Gmail's labels to find the messages you're looking for.

After I compared three popular desktop-search programs a couple of weeks ago, the folks at Google contacted me about a couple of inaccuracies in that post. I had thought that because local files are listed above Web sites when you use Google to search in your browser, the ads that appear on the results page are related to the content of the local files. In fact, Google keeps an index of your local files on its servers only when you enable the Search Across Computers feature, which is off by default. And even then, the index disappears once the search results are delivered. Otherwise the index of your local files resides only on your machine.

The post also stated that Google Desktop Search slows down your PC as it creates and maintains its index of local files. That may be true on Windows XP systems, though the impact is greatest when you install the program and it creates its initial index, but on Vista the search tool uses the OS's own Indexing Service. I use Google Desktop Search on my four-year-old XP machine, and when I uninstalled the program as part of my testing, it appeared to me that the system ran faster, though I didn't perform any precise measurements.

The upshot is that after the initial index, Google Desktop Search affects system performance about the same as any other always-on application (most of which are represented by icons in your system tray). Nor does it pose more or less of a security risk than the other desktop programs you use. (I still prefer Copernic Desktop Search for its easy customization options and clear interface.)

Boost performance by tweaking Vista's indexing options
Just because the Vista version Google's desktop-search tool uses the same indexer as the OS doesn't mean you can't improve its performance by deciding for yourself what file locations it should include in its index. Click Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Indexing Options. Choose Modify > Show All Locations, and uncheck the folders and storage devices you want to exclude. When you're done, click OK to return to the Indexing Options dialog box.

Uncheck the locations you want to exclude from Vista's index of local files.

(Credit: Microsoft)

You can also exclude specific file types from the index by clicking Advanced > File Types, and unchecking the entries you want the index to skip.

Tell Vista's indexer to exclude file types by unchecking their entry in the Advanced Indexing Options dialog.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Entries under the Index Settings tab let you index encrypted files, move your index to another location, rebuild it, or restore its default settings. After you click OK, you may be warned that "Indexing speed is reduced due to user activity."

Change the location of your index file and make other index tweaks via Vista's Advanced Indexing Options dialog box.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Another way to disable indexing of a particular drive is to right-click it in Windows Explorer or other folder window, choose Properties, and uncheck "Index this drive for faster searching." The fastest way to disable Vista's built-in search entirely is to press the Windows key, type services, arrow down to Services, and press Enter. Double-click Windows Search, choose Disabled in the Startup type drop-down menu, click OK, and close the Services window.

Disable Vista's automatic search service by choosing Disabled under Startup type in its Properties dialog box.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Monday: use Google Docs to create and manage your NCAA basketball tournament pool.

You've got your pick of free desktop-search utilities, nearly any of which are faster and less processor-intensive than Windows' built-in file-search feature. I've used at least a half-dozen different file-search tools in the last few years, but three have stood the test of time: Google Desktop Search, Microsoft's Windows Desktop Search (or simply Windows Search in Vista, where it replaces the old Indexing Service), and the oldest and best of the bunch, Copernic Desktop Search. After bouncing between the three, I've settled on Copernic for its speed, ease of use, and relatively small footprint.

That's not to say there's anything wrong with Google Desktop Search or Windows Desktop Search, both of which help you ferret out those important e-mails, Office files, images, videos, and other items you've misplaced on your hard drive and other storage devices (though these locations may not be indexed by default). In my experience both seem to slow things down more than Copernic Desktop Search. Also, Copernic gives you more control over what types of files and other content gets searched, and how often.

Customize Google Desktop Search
By default, this program resets your browser home page to Google, and makes the service your default Web search engine. It also will install a sidebar with news, e-mail, weather, and other gadgets, unless you uncheck this option during its installation. You can change these settings later, if you wish.

Uncheck the default options when installing Google Desktop Search to keep the program from changing your browser settings.

Google Desktop Search indexes all fixed disks on your PC by default. You can add other devices by clicking the down arrow to the right of the search box that the program adds to the taskbar, choosing Options, and selecting Add drive or folder to search in the Search Locations area under the Desktop Search tab in the resulting browser window. This is also where you can enter folders and Web sites you want to exclude from your searches.

Add storage devices to be indexed by Google Desktop Search, or exclude folders or Web sites from its search index.

A big question with Google Desktop Search is security: If your hard drive is formatted as NTFS, you can choose to encrypt your index and data, but this slows down your file searches and indexing. Google makes its money by serving up ads related to your searches, and that includes those for your local files. Google's privacy statement says the company doesn't make your data accessible without your permission, but the Web search king's track record for privacy is spotty at best.

Tweaking Windows Desktop Search
When it was first released a couple of years ago, I was impressed by Microsoft's desktop-search product, in large part because it was so much faster and more accurate than the file-search options in Windows itself. While it offers more customization options than Google Desktop Search, Windows Desktop Search is slower and clunkier to use than Copernic Desktop Search, though a new version is reportedly in the offing. Windows Search 4 promises to improve searching across networks of PCs and Windows servers, and to support the OpenSearch standard for searching Web services.

You access Windows Desktop Search options by clicking Desktop Search Options on the Options drop-down menu in the top-right corner of the search results window. Click Indexing in the left pane to change the locations the program searches, Advanced to reset the file types it retrieves and place its index file in a different folder, and Deskbar to hide or show the program's search box in the taskbar.

Set Windows Desktop Search to index other locations on your PC via the Indexing Options dialog box.

As the new default local-search service in Vista, Windows Search leaves much to be desired. I've used its Advanced Search options to narrow my searches by file location, date, type, and other attributes, but I'm unimpressed with the results. That's what prompted me to reload Copernic Desktop Search, which I've used on PCs dating back to Windows 98.

The file-search oldster outshines the new challengers
I noticed a difference immediately: Copernic is a breeze to use and customize, and it seems to index faster, while taking a smaller bite out of your system resources. The search-results window is clearer and more intuitive, allowing you to view the results by file type, several of which are shown as tabs along the top of the window. Searching within the results is just as easy and intuitive, and you can search your chosen term on the Web with a single click.

Copernic Desktop Search's results window lets you filter your file searches by type with a single click.

To change your search settings, click Tools > Options, and then select one of the tabs in the left pane to see and reset your options in that category. For example, you use an Explorer-like folder tree to include or exclude locations to be indexed. Adding or removing file types, and changing the folder the index is store in are just as simple.

Change the frequency and idle time before Copernic Desktop Search begins indexing via the Indexing & Performance Settings dialog box.

Copernic Desktop Search shows that there's still plenty of room for specialists in the PC software industry. Maybe there are some programming tricks the big boys haven't figured out yet. I'm thankful for tools such Copernic, which shorten my workday without costing me a penny.

Monday: where Web services outshine their desktop-application counterparts, and where they still come up short.

Nobody wants to spend time scrolling through thousands of search results to find the page that contains the information they're looking for. In fact, few people bother looking beyond the first page of 10 results, choosing instead to recraft their search phrase and try again. But with the help of a few search operators, you can increase substantially the chances that you'll find what you're looking for on your first search try. (Note: not all of these work in every search engine.)

Restating the Obvious Operators
I'll wager you know all about using the plus sign (+) to search for two terms appearing together, the minus sign (-) to find pages that contain one term but not another, the asterisk (*) wildcard to search for a term along with any other word, and quotes ("blah de blah") to find an exact phrase. Here's another search character you might find handy: Place a tilde (~) directly in front of your search term to find pages with words similar to the term in question. So searching ~inexpensive laptop will return pages that have the term "cheap laptop," "affordable laptop," and "low-cost laptop" as well.

Many of my favorite Web sites have terrible site-search boxes. I usually have a much better chance of finding what I'm looking for on the site by going to Google or another search engine, and entering my search term along with site:www.thesitename.com (or .org, .edu, etc.) Here are some of my other favorite search limiters:

define:word to return a definition;
link:url to find pages that contain a link to a specific site or page;
inurl:searchterm (or allinurl:searchterm) to retrieve pages whose URL contains a specific word or phrase;
intitle:searchterm (or allintitle:searchterm the find pages with the word or phrase in their title; and,
info:url (or id:url) to get information about the page.

Javascript Bonus: Curious about when the page you're on was last updated? Just type javascript:alert(document.lastModified) in the address bar and press Enter to see the date and time in a pop-up window.

More Search Helpers
If you're looking for a weather report, simply enter weather place or zip code and press Enter to see the temperature, conditions, and forecast for that locale. To keep adult-oriented content out of the results, use safesearch: searchterm. And to see pages similar to another page, type related: url.

Tomorrow: Five quick-and-easy Microsoft Excel formatting tricks.