MetaGer
| MetaGer | |
|---|---|
|
|
| metager.de | |
| description | Search engine |
| Registration | No |
| languages | German, English, Spanish |
| owner | SUMA-EV - Association for Free Knowledge Access (eV) in cooperation with Leibniz University Hannover |
| Published | 1996 |
| status | on-line |
MetaGer is a German meta search engine on the Internet that has been developed at the University of Hanover as a service of the regional computing center for Lower Saxony since April 1996. Since October 1, 2012, MetaGer has been part of the registered association Suma e. V. operated and further developed in cooperation with the University of Hanover. The name MetaGER stands for “meta” = Greek “about” and “GERmania” or Germanic: GER = spear that spears out what is “searched for in the haystack”.
Search functions
The search words entered by the user are searched for in around 20 to 30 search engines at the same time . This also includes a number of its own crawlers and indexers operated by MetaGer itself. Therefore MetaGer is actually a hybrid search engine. Users can still include around 30 search engines of their choice in the search. The different search engines are sorted by categories on the start page . The results of the various search engines are summarized and presented in a prepared manner.
The Associator software is connected to MetaGer and delivers semantically related words for the entered term on a heuristic basis . If you enter a search term that comes close to the subject to be examined, an attempt is made to extract typical technical terms of this area from the Internet, which you can then use to search further if necessary.
In addition, MetaGer, in cooperation with the computer center of the University of Hanover ( Leibniz University IT Services ), offers the source text search ( MetaGer Code Search ), with which the source text of known open source software can be searched. In addition to the search option, the source text is also prepared cross-referenced so that the respective program can be viewed or “clicked through” without a development environment .
MetaGer attaches great importance to not delivering any personalized search results (“ filter bubble ”). For example, since 2009 the search results of a Google search have been based in part on their previous activities on the Internet, even for users who are not registered.
An English version of MetaGer has been online since August 29, 2013. On August 16, 2016, the source code was released on its own Gitlab instance.
privacy
The data transmission from MetaGer takes place exclusively automatically encrypted via the HTTPS protocol. When operating MetaGer, no personal data is stored, neither session cookies nor IP addresses and no browser fingerprints. The IP addresses are already anonymized while the search is still running, and MetaGer does not pass them on to the queried search engines. The anonymized addresses are not saved either, as it cannot be ruled out that future decryption methods could deanonymize this data. No user profiles are created and there is no user tracking . MetaGer's search results can also be accessed anonymously via an anonymizing proxy - as can the subsequent clicks. MetaGer also offers access via the anonymous TOR network , the MetaGer TOR hidden service . The MetaGer route planner and map service Maps.MetaGer is also subject to strict data protection: locations and movements of users are not saved. The MetaGer servers are located exclusively in Germany and are subject to German data protection law , which is strict by international standards .
Route planner
| Maps.MetaGer | |
|---|---|
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| maps.metager.de | |
| description | Route planner |
| Registration | No |
| languages | German |
| owner | SUMA-EV - Association for Free Knowledge Access (eV) in cooperation with Leibniz University Hannover |
| Published | 2016 |
| status | on-line |
MetaGer has also been offering its own route planner and map service since December 2016 ; since March 2017 also available as an app on Android smartphones. This is based on the maps from OpenStreetMap and uses the Nominatim software to search. The possibility of direct entry from the geographic information into the Internet search of the MetaGer search engine is implemented. Hiking and cycling are designed as preferred applications. So far (as of September 2017) the card base is limited to Germany. The underlying software is open source. When using Maps.MetaGer, no location data or movement profiles of the users are saved, according to the provider.
Metager2
| MetaGer2 | |
|---|---|
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| metager2.de | |
| description | Search engine |
| Registration | No |
| languages | German |
| Published | 2005 |
| status | offline |
Since mid-2005 there has been a side development of MetaGer under the name Metager2: Similar to Metager, the results of other search engines are used for search queries. However, the number of search engines queried is much lower. The unique selling point of this search is that every result is reloaded at the time of the search query and checked to see whether the search words actually appear on the results page. The predecessor of this search engine was called Orase. According to its own information, Metager2 has been under construction since August 2013 and recommends using the original MetaGer search instead.
Web links
- Eric Klitzke: MetaGer enables traceless searches on the net. ( Memento from September 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: NDR from September 25, 2014.
- "Why you only search with Google" Wolfgang Sander-Beuermann in an interview with Christian Gesellmann, in the online magazine Krautreporter from August 18, 2017 (here full text copy on blog.suma-ev.de, original teaser on krautreporter.de ).
- Generation change at MetaGer Wolfgang Sander-Beuermann on the history and future of MetaGer blog.suma-ev.de from February 7, 2019
- Madsack Media Group (HAZ etc.): Who can push Google from the search engine throne, February 28, 2019
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolfgang Sander-Beuermann : Newsletter: MetaGer and SUMA-EV . In: SUMA eV blog. January 11, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013
- ↑ Wolfgang Sander-Beuermann: Generation change at MetaGer. blog.suma-ev.de, February 7, 2019, accessed on February 7, 2019 .
- ↑ MetaGer - German search engine improved with relaunch. Everyone is talking about Google and the lack of alternatives from Germany. A veteran of the search engines still exists here: MetaGer. www.telespiegel.de, February 25, 2016, accessed on March 25, 2016 .
- ↑ Google also personalizes search queries from users who are not logged in. www.heise.de, December 6, 2009, accessed on March 25, 2016 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Sander-Beuermann: Press release: Search engine MetaGer with protected privacy now also in English In: SUMA-EV press releases. August 29, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013
- ↑ heise online: Meta search engine MetaGer relies on open source. In: heise online. Retrieved August 16, 2016 .
- ↑ MetaGer - data protection
- ↑ "Data protection-compliant use of IP addresses"
- ↑ yeebase media GmbH: Maps competition: Meta search engine Metager starts its own map service. In: yeebase media GmbH. Retrieved August 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Sander-Beuermann: Newsletter 13.03.2017: The current developments in and around MetaGer . In: SUMA-EV blog. March 13, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- ↑ Maps.MetaGer website , accessed September 20, 2017
- ^ Jens Ihlenfeld: Second generation meta search engine . In: Golem.de. May 10, 2005. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
- ↑ Metager2 site , accessed on January 8, 2014
- ↑ First occurrence of the maintenance message ( Memento from August 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive )