Google search sputtered

I like to have backups…spares…alternative plans. Today, I realized have allowed myself to become much too trusting…again.

This morning, I dragged myself over to one of my computers to search for…something…it really doesn’t matter what it is. I’m sure I’m no different than others who are too lazy to look in whatever they use for bookmarks, and find it easier and quicker to search for a website and webpage they want. Google has become my default “spell-checker”, as well…

ALL of the results from Google showed, “This site may harm your computer”. All links available from the searches would not allow me to move forward to the websites. I thought that it must be something I was doing: my browsers have been up for a very long time. But, it was happening on both of my computers. Well…I haven’t restarted them in a very long time…so I did. Same problem. Could it be my internet service provider? I have long suspected problems with their service…I only use them because I can’t afford a different one.

Then I noticed that on Twitter that I wasn’t the only technology related media personality that had the problem (I suspect the reason his post beat mine is because I was troubleshooting, and he wasn’t). I was in no rush to learn what had happened…I went back to being ill with influenza.

Later, I found Google’s explanation: an update had caused the problem. I think we can all empathize with them. I can’t imagine anyone not updating, upgrading, or installing something that did not work correctly…and/or made what was working cease to.

What really bothered me about me was I had been so conditioned, I forgot that Yahoo! has a search engine!

With that in mind:
Wikipedia has a list of search engines…
visit Search Engine Watch to try to stay on top of the latest search news…
and, allow me to suggest we use meta-search engines (“…a search tool that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list or displays them according to their source…”).