In this month’s article I would like to talk about an exciting tool, Google Hacks. Google Hacks is a bunch of queries or operators that turn your ordinary Internet search results around like you’d never expect. You might wonder how Google search can be so exciting, but wait for it.
As the name implies, Google Hacks are queries using some special operators against the Google database to get some extraordinary results. The name might imply something dodgy and illegal, but that is unintended. From the site: A Hack is a modification of a program or device to give the user access to features otherwise were unavailable to them. It’s not about breaking into systems and stealing information. The developer’s intention is actually to limit and crack down on illegal and illegally distributed copyrighted material.
Imagine the Internet is Google and not all websites are storing things securely (password protected). So am I talking about something illegal here? Well, it depends on how you use it. Here is Google Hacks, the small program developed by Google for PC, Mac and Linux users to download and install for free: http://code.google.com/p/googlehacks/.
Again, what stuff can you look for on the Internet that a normal search won’t bring up? Let me give you a few examples, eBooks (electronic books including a CHM, PDF and other formats), music, video, documents, fonts and so on. As paper books might be replaced in the future because we are running out of trees, eBook solutions is in the spot light. That’s why I am getting a Kindle! Reading free eBooks that you can download from the Internet and or purchase is very helpful because I find shipping things to Cambodia can be a nightmare.
A crazy idea is to use Google Hack to download an eBook with the title “Google Hacking”. Don’t worry, it won’t break the Internet if you type Google into Google. Enjoy your Google Hacks and download as much, legally, as you can.
