[OPLINTECH] Default Browsers & Search Engines

[Chad Neeper]

I've been using Brave for so many years now on my own computer that I'm
often momentarily confused when I use Google Chrome browser. *Not* because
of the differences in browser appearance...they're actually very similar.
The shock comes from seeing so much advertising clutter on web pages that
Brave automatically hides! We've had staff that seem to frequently infect
their staff computers with malware and have switched them over to Brave,
which has seemed to notably reduce the issue. We've been considering making
the leap whole-hog on staff and patron computers alike. So far, we've only
done it selectively, and we've manually configured each one to hide the
browser's integrated digital coin-related components (which is easily done.)

Brave browser's default search engine is Brave's own, which I've found to
be extremely comparable to Google's, sans all the data collection. I
switched years ago and don't even think about the fact that it's not
actually Google. DuckDuckGo would be another extremely solid choice.

2 cents.
______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

*Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in public libraries*


On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 1:09 PM Sam Lewis via OPLINTECH <
oplintech at lists.oplin.org> wrote:

> With Google choosing to fall on its own sword and fully replace the
> search box
> <https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/google-search-as-you-know-it-is-over/>
> with an AI prompt field, has anyone considered (or moved forward with!)
> managing the default search engine and/or web browser away from Google and
> Chrome – for staff and patron computers? Perhaps to alternatives
> <https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-search-alternatives-no-ai/> such as
> DuckDuckGo and Brave?
>
>
>
> Google has been the name of the game for search for so long, it is kind of
> sad to see it turn out this way, as sad as one can be for a
> multi-trillion-dollar corporation.
>
>
>
> *Sam Lewis*
> Systems Administrator
>
> *www.worthingtonlibraries.org <http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/>*
>
> Worthington Libraries | 820 High Street | Worthington, Ohio 43085
> P: 614.807.2619 | F: 614.807.2629
>
>
>
>
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