Search Engines

Search engines here are less about one-size-fits-all web searching and more about finding the right doorway for the thing you actually need. Google Search covers the familiar broad web search experience, while Million Short Private Web Search offers an ad-free alternative that claims to move beyond typical SEO-heavy results. If you want more control, YaCy lets you run search on your own infrastructure, whether for a local/intranet index, an organization-specific portal, or participation in a distributed peer-to-peer web index.

The more specialized listings are where this category gets especially useful. CleanPNG helps designers and content creators search transparent PNG graphics, icons, clipart, and illustrations, with handy in-browser editing tools alongside the library. MyFridgeFood turns the ingredients already in your kitchen into recipe suggestions. Shodan searches Internet-connected devices and services for security research and network visibility, while Ahmia focuses on onion services available through Tor and includes policies for removing indexed abuse material. And for public-interest research, ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer makes IRS filing data on U.S. tax-exempt organizations searchable, including finances, executive pay, and Form 990 documents.