Reflections

The conclusion that we have come up with is that even though there may be ethical and legal issues involved in using search engines, we have reached a point where internet users will not be able to do without them. Just think of trying to find a product on the internet: how would you go about to find it without using a search engine? We dare say that the benefits of having search engines significantly outweigh the problems that exist and such is the importance of their standing that saying the internet world will be crippled without search engines may even be an understatement. The solution to solving the loopholes that exist in search engines is not to do away with the search engines, but to educate the users on protecting themselves against the vulnerabilities that they face. It is easier for people to learn to safeguard themselves and their computing resources rather than for the major search engine companies to come out with a new way their products process. Governments must also lend their hands in solving these problems by passing laws that tackle copyright issues, and step up in their actions in eradicating the persistent offenders.

Before doing this project, we did not know that there was so much to search engines than we ever thought. They are highly useful tools that we have been using ever since we started using the internet. Our group believes that the search engines have “shrunk” the world in the same manner that airplanes did when they were invented. We have picked up useful information in using search engines along the way in doing our project and also found out about the malicious “google hacking”. As quoted from spiderman’s uncle: “With great power comes great responsibility”. The same thing applies to anyone who uses the power of the search engine to sieve through the millions of items that can be found on the internet.

So next time you use any search engine, take a while to admire the wonderful program while it searches and returns your search in the blink of an eye!