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View Full Version : How does Firefox's search work anyway?



Bou
May 16th, 2008, 08:31 PM
Hi guys,

I've noticed that when you type some words in Firefox's URL bar and hit enter, most times it returns a Google search, but some other times it takes you straight to a webpage, related to the words you typed.

Do you guys happen to know how it works exactly?

Half-Left
May 16th, 2008, 08:42 PM
It works by webpages you have inputting into the URL bar or sites you have been to.

smartboyathome
May 16th, 2008, 08:44 PM
I thought it worked similar to Google's "I'm feeling lucky" button. :-/

ghindo
May 16th, 2008, 08:45 PM
It's just *magic*

Bou
May 16th, 2008, 08:47 PM
I thought it worked similar to Google's "I'm feeling lucky" button. :-/

But "I'm feeling lucky" ALWAYS takes you to a webpage doesn't it?

billgoldberg
May 16th, 2008, 08:54 PM
I thought it worked similar to Google's "I'm feeling lucky" button. :-/

I thought the same.

Delever
May 16th, 2008, 08:55 PM
When you type your word, and the first choice is not what you want, you can select another item, and firefox will remember it next time.

Bou
May 16th, 2008, 09:04 PM
When you type your word, and the first choice is not what you want, you can select another item, and firefox will remember it next time.

Not really. I've written some one-word queries and it has taken me to websites I'm sure I'd never been to. So it's not that it remembers anything, sometimes it just seems to decide that the search is too obvious to even give you a Google search.

Delever
May 16th, 2008, 09:10 PM
Not really. I've written some one-word queries and it has taken me to websites I'm sure I'd never been to. So it's not that it remembers anything, sometimes it just seems to decide that the search is too obvious to even give you a Google search.

I am just guessing anyway :P

ibuclaw
May 16th, 2008, 09:12 PM
if it's a site (.com, .co.uk, .org, .biz, .co.nr), firefox takes you to that site. Else it sends out a search query to your DNS Address. If no DNS is found, it uses google.

I have OpenDNS (http://opendns.com/) as the DNS Address for my Router. So all Firefox searches go through http://guide.opendns.com/ instead of google.

Regards
Iain

eOgas
May 16th, 2008, 10:01 PM
if it's a site (.com, .co.uk, .org, .biz, .co.nr), firefox takes you to that site. Else it sends out a search query to your DNS Address. If no DNS is found, it uses google.

I have OpenDNS (http://opendns.com/) as the DNS Address for my Router. So all Firefox searches go through http://guide.opendns.com/ instead of google.

Regards
Iain

Yeah, I just started using OpenDNS and I noticed that it does that too, which sucks because OpenDNS search doesn't have an "I'm feeling lucky" function. I'm so used to just typing in a search term that I know will come up with the site I wan't as the first result. I'm thinking of switching back, I haven't really noticed any differences in speed.

ibuclaw
May 16th, 2008, 11:13 PM
It's more to do with the speed you get with the added security.

When it says that, it is directing itself towards Windows users more than any other OS.
ie: Rather than having a Firewall, Anti-Virus Scanner, Anti-Spyware Scanner (and god knows what else) that must thoroughly examine check every last byte of what you get before sluggishly appearing on your screen.

OpenDNS helps prevent you going on those sites in the first place! So none (ok, very little) of what you have running is needed.
:popcorn:

That's why I prefer it (That and I don't want to manually enter every single banned site into my router settings).