Due to the several search engines that have been established on the internet today, with some of them too exposed,
DuckDuckGo was also developed but with unique features and modes of operations. People often wonder what DuckDuckGo is. Well, the answer is simple.
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that prioritizes a searcher’s privacy when using it to search results on the internet.
Among many unique features of this search engine is its ability to keep your search results anonymous as it displays the same search results to every user.
This indicates that every user is shown the same ads relevant to their current research, unlike other search engines like Google.
Why is DuckDuckGo blocked at my school?
DuckDuckGo can be blocked in your school for many reasons, which will be listed below:
1. For the times you spend in school and on the school internet, your activities are one crucial thing for schools to monitor, so you don’t misuse the internet by doing stuff that is not approved by the school authority,
and since DuckDuckGo does not give out its users activities, your school finds it hard to track your internet activities which is why it was blocked.
2. Trust issues are another thing. Your school may have done some quick research on Google about DuckDuckGo and discovered it’s associated with “Tor dark web secretive, illegal BAD.” As such, they can’t entrust your searches in its care to give you a convincing resource.
3. Your school might prefer the use of Google or other website engines. Some schools have an alliance with Google in a way that all their internet activities are done on Google, ranging from school assignments, Gmail account, Google Drive, and others.
So if they find out a student has deviated from that account, they might block it, which means they don’t accept any allien search engines like DuckDuckGo.
4. It can also happen that, DuckDuckGo was blocked automatically from your school because it isn’t possible for the person who controls your school’s system to block all sites on the internet, no! But if there’s an algorithm that showed the flag, your school might not discover that it’s been blocked.
Is it fair that schools have blocked DuckDuckGo on a school WiFi?
School WiFi are exposed to series of unhealthy connection if it’s not handled by a professional because it’s public.
It is an attractive target for snoops and hackers due to the traffic that usually occurs as different people use it so, these hackers never run out of new targets.
With this, they can sneak in your personal details like a bank account, credit card, Gmail account, social media accounts, etc.
Therefore, the moment you switch to your school WiFi, your privacy is at risk but. Even though DuckDuckGo is a privacy-oriented search engine, if your school discovers it probes a threat to them, they can block it on their WiFi.
Also, it can be said to be a fair decision for some schools that blocked DuckDuckGo on their WiFi simply because they intend to protect and monitor the student and school’s internet connections.
Can schools track you on DuckDuckGo?
The simple answer is, no, they can’t.
DuckDuckGo is a privatized search engine. They make sure your activities on their website are secure and reliable. Your identity is not needed when you search on DuckDuckGo.
Nobody knows who you are because they’re not interested to know, and as such, there’s no way to tie your searches together.
The standard process is when you enter any website, your browser automatically sends information about your user agent and IP address. Still, DuckDuckGo does not make use of cookies at all. It’s one of their privacy policy.
How can I use DuckDuckGo on my school internet that blocked it?
Restriction or blocking of DuckDuckGo or any search engines in school often occurs for valid reasons. One of which is to prevent students from wandering around into the most rigid part of the internet.
But this doesn’t mean they will block all means of accessing the website. So your school has just blocked DuckDuckGo, and you really want to access it? What you need to do is find your way around web filters.
However, it would be best if you were reminded that, for every action, there’s an opposite reaction meaning, unblocking a blocked website comes with its repercussions. Now that you are aware,
here’s how to go about it.
1. HTTPS: HTTPS is one of the ways to access a blocked website effortlessly and, of course, with an additional advantage of plausible deniability.
A common way schools block websites is HTTP internet port 80, while port 443 is left open. Fortunately, 443 port is what HTTPS uses. All you need to do is add “s” to the HTTP anytime you want to access the blocked website, and the web will be compelled to open.
2. Apply unblocking website: In a situation where the HTTPS doesn’t work for your school, another sure way is to use the unblocking website. Some of these unblocking websites are, Defilter.us, Anonymouse.org, NinjaCloak.com, YouHide.com, etc.
Are you ready to use one of them? All you need to do is type in the blocked website address in the provided case and select “browse” The unblocking service will pave the way for connection in its proxy server. With this, it will be impossible for your school filter to detect the website you’re browsing.
What is wrong with DuckDuckGo?
DuckDuckGo is indeed a private search engine as its bend on distributing privacy across the internet. In the midst of this, an alarm has been raised concerning the said privacy.
While your search terms can be sent to your network in an encrypted message, they can show up in your browsing history in plain text, hence exposing your history to Intruders.
The claim that DuckDuckGo operates on privacy because it won’t monitor your searches or link them to your personal information can still be regarded as a lack of privacy.
This is arguably true because if another person has access to your computer after you might have used the DuckDuckGo search engine,
that person can still see your searches in plain text via your browsing history. So, if an intruder can view your last search history, then where is the acclaimed privacy?
Why is DuckDuckGo banned?
One thing to correct here is the fact that DuckDuckGo wasn’t banned but blocked, and it happened in China and can still be accessed through VPN without violating any rules.
China blocked DuckDuckGo because they refused to build their server in China, no official negotiation with the Chinese government, and lastly, there was no language agreement.
India also blocked DuckDuckGo due to a similar issue. Indian government blocked DuckDuckGo along with other 59 Chinese apps due to the security threats these apps and websites posed on their citizens.
Is DuckDuckGo owned by Google?
There have been a lot of speculations and questions going around as to who owns DuckDuckGo. Some people believed it was developed and owned by Google.
Surprisingly, this happened because anything that has to do with the internet has been associated with Google. Ask a day-old baby to search for something on the internet and hear him tell you “Google it”
that should tell you how infiltrated Google has become in our daily lives, and as such, to change that fact will only take a long time.
Now, back to the question, is DuckDuckGo owned by Google?
No, it’s not. Google is not in any way associated with the DuckDuckGo search engine. This website was developed and owned by Gabriel Weinberg of Duck Duck Inc.
So, you can rest assured that you’re not using a Google product whenever you intend to use the DuckDuckGo search engine.
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Michael Larry is an instructor and an educationist, who like to bring out the best in other through his inspirational writeup.