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Why Is Your Employer Giving the Gov’t Your Personal Info? CISPA Explained.

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Lina Maini

CISPA

What is CISPA?

CISPA, known officially as H.R. 624, is a cybersecurity Bill, ostensibly designed to help prevent and defend against cyberattacks on critical national infrastructure and against other internet attacks on private firms by obtaining and sharing “cyberthreat information” .  It passed the House last week (288-127 in favor) in days that found the nation stunned by the horrific terror attack at the Boston Marathon, the subsequent five-day manhunt for the remaining (and now captured) suspect and the gruesome workplace explosion in West, Texas that left many dead and injured.  CISPA is now winding its way through the Senate.

This Is Good For Us, Correct?

On paper CISPA reads well and appears to be a tightening of security against potential cyber attacks.  We’ve  now entered into a dark area of cyberspace; that which is focused on causing mayhem – where cyberthreats are routinely are received (and thankfully, overwhelmingly neutralized) by government agencies, the military and big corporations.  In 2010, the Pentagon declared cyberspace as a new domain in warfare and established the United States Cyber Command (USCyberCom) to defend American military networks, and if necessary, attack other countries’ systems.  USCyberCom however was (and remains) active only to protect our military.  Government infrastructure and corporations are primarily the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security and private companies – until CISPA, as expected, passes the Senate in the coming days.

So Why The Concern?

CISPA, in its current version,  allows firms and agencies from the private sector to acquire and search sensitive data relating to U.S. citizens. Under the guise of using such sharing — without court-ordered warrants — allegedly to combat cybercrime, data including heath records, banking and online activity could be shared without anonymization.  Extending the bill’s definition:  it permits private firms to hand over private user data while circumventing existing privacy laws, such as the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act. This means that CISPA can permit private firms to share your data, such as emails, text messages, and cloud-stored documents and files, with the US government again without the need for a warrant.

It also gives these firms legal protection to hand over such data. There is no judicial oversight.

Other factors to consider are that tech giants including Twitter, Facebook and Google would not be able to protect your privacy, as no legal reprisal could be mounted against such data sharing, and U.S. intelligence agencies would be able to hand over classified information to groups without security clearance.

Finally, and perhaps worst of all, because there is little transparency and individual accountability, those who have had their data handed to the US government may not even know about it or be given a chance to challenge it.

We need to ask ourselves and certainly our elected representatives, at what price security? As a security specialist, I certainly understand the need for firm policies that will reduce the effectiveness of cyber attacks, but like most people, I’m have not been given an unfiltered explanation of how the aggregation of personal information by private companies, handed over to the government, without a clearly defined need by such and that which can be obtained without a warrant by the government, is necessary or even constitutional.  Yes, there is an expectation of privacy of personal medical records, credit information and personal email.

Let’s stay sharply focused on how CISPA is used and probably, abused, by corporations and governmental agencies.

Our Operatives: Street mart; info savvy.

As always, stay safe.

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Filed under: cyber crime, cyber investigations, cyber law, cyber threat, cyberattack, cybersecurity, data, databases | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Client Intakes: More and Verified Info is Always Better. Our Tips.

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Lina Maini
Email client software screenshot

Email client software screenshot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m not trying to undercut myself or the investigations field but it makes sense for our clients (comprised 95% of lawyers) and for us to have accurate backgrounds of their clients, from the outset.  Bringing a matter to our attention because the original intake wasn’t thoroughly conducted or, more likely, the information therein was not verified, can result in settlement talk set-backs, client aggravation and in extreme cases, default judgments.

I’ve reviewed client intakes that have ranged from poorly constructed to containing very detailed and comprehensive information.  The latter is always preferable.  Below we share a few tips on client intakes that we’ve provided for our clients:

Client Name: Obtain all AKAs and other (maiden, name change, Jr./Sr., etc.) name information.

Client DOB: The continued globalization of the client base may result in cultural or usage misunderstandings. E.g. 4/8/1980 may translate to either April 8th, 1980 or August 4th, 1980 as many international communities use the mm/dd/yyyy display.  Ensure that your client is very clear on the correct date of birth.  Also, probably a one in 100 shot, but given the rise of multiple births now occurring, ask if s/he is part of a twin (or more) set.

Client D/L, I.D. and SSN card:   Take a copy of these documents as any one of these uniquely numbered identifiers can easily be misstated or misread. Remove the mysterious elements that can result in unnecessary expenses as the case proceeds.

Client Address:  Send a “Keeping In Contact” postcard quarterly.  1, It’ll engender good will with the client. 2. It will remind the client to update you regarding  personal contact information changes, if any* and 3. It’s just good policy to ensure that your client is quickly reachable by you so that when it does become necessary, that ease of contact is in place.

Client Phone Numbers:  Obtain at least two pone numbers from your client, (home, cell, Skype, work…) and verify these numbers within a week of sign-up.

Client email:  Everyone has one today or one can easily be obtained and for free.  (E.g.,  A Gmail address from Google via one’s local library.)

Client emergency contact:  Insist on at least two emergency contacts for your client.  Advise your client that this information will be verified within ten days of the retainer date.  (Use discretion in reaching out to the emergency contacts.  The entire neighborhood doesn’t need to know that your client has retained counsel, which obviously translates to potential future monies. You may want to pitch this task to your investigator.  We’ve been known to be creative — and,  always conducting ourselves within the parameters of the law.)

*Provide your client with several  ”Change of Personal Information” letters and pre-addressed and stamped envelopes.  Advise them to immediately remit their new information should it change from the initial contact data.  Obviously your firm will want to know if your client has moved, changed his/her phone number, gotten married/divorced…  Save yourself the hassle of finding out important information until it becomes critical.

Feel welcome to contact our office if you would like us to review your intake forms.   I’m not pitching our services, although I guess we all do when we consistently offer information as we do here on a weekly basis, but there is no charge for a quick review.  We prefer a law firm be set with the basics before they hire us to work on unforeseen complications or the regular,  necessary trial prep and follow-up.

Our Operatives: Street smart; info savvy.

As always, stay safe.

Filed under: client, Client Relations, clients, contact | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Control Your Online Profile. Closing the Digital Privacy Gap.

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Lina Maini

You thought it was free and fun and it was.  But while you were FBing, InstaGramming, YouTubing… your personal information was being mined and sold off to primary, secondary and even remotely tangential data collection companies and agencies.

According to several “intel” sites online, I’m a San Franciscan duplex-owning female who would have been 105 had I not died six months ago.  (In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice.)  According to Amazon, I live in the middle of the Catskill Mountains with my three children, all girls, (Me, Myself and I, apparently) and am employed in the marketing field.  (What’s to advertise in the middle of dense forestry??)

Those were the amusing and basically benign backgrounds I was surprised to find about myself.  (Although, no good deed go unpunished.  Having realized that the San F ran Me had passed away and that the State of California had financial information that might be helpful to the deceased’s family, I sent a family member a letter advising them to contact the state. Then the police called. Long story very short, I’m still somewhere in the Catskills, perhaps hiding out at this time. Kidding.  I’m in plain sight.)

There was other information however, that would not be side-splittingly hilarious, such as errant DOBs, SSNs, etc.,  to consumer credit reporting companies , governmental agencies or banking institutions.  I locked my true info down immediately and straightened out my personal data, yet again. I also perform self-check very often, given the potential occupational hazards in the investigative field.  All in all, I’m glad I’m back to living in an urban setting.

Here’s the bottom line: check your online identity and protect your privacy.  Below are the tools we recommend for self-checks, privacy protection and opt out sites.

Reputation.com - A site that helps a person control his or her online privacy. It has the technology to remove information from people-search websites and continue monitoring that information to help it remain private. Also, for those people who run a business, it will help suppress or push down any negative feedback about a company that shows high up in the search results on various search engines. It has packages for both personal and business privacy needs. All for a small monthly price you can take back control of your information.

PrivacyChoice.org - This site not only tells you what Google, Yahoo, and eXelate know, but it also lists more than 450 tracking companies that mine data. It can help a person opt out of being tracked by those companies. For web users, it offers tools to help understand and make choices about the personal online privacy. It gives a list of websites that help opt out of tracking, remove personal email addresses from various websites, and even help make Facebook more private.

Ghostery.com - Ghostery is a site that tracks over 1,000 trackers and gives a roll-call of the ad networks, behavioral data providers, web publishers, and other companies interested in the activity of a person on the web.  Each of the over 1,000 tracking companies has its own profile that will help a person learn more about the technology the company uses, their business, and their privacy policies. After reviewing the information, the person can pick and choose which tracking companies he wishes to block and which to leave.

Your Own Browser - Browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome now have the option to request that tracking companies don’t mine your data.

NetworkAdvertising.org and AboutAds.info - Both sites have a consumer opt-out section where a person can request to discontinue the tracking of his or her information by the various sites listed.

Don’t drive yourself crazy by trying to cover each obscure base as we are all accustomed to data divides at this point.

Our Operatives: Street smart, net savvy.

As always, stay safe.

 

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Filed under: Identity Protection, identity theft, information, invasion of privacy | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Subject Locates: Successful Ones v. Expensive Failures

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Lina Maini

One of the most common assignments we receive is for a subject locate.  Usually generated from attorneys, insurance companies, financial institutions (as, as you know, we do not work for individuals), we are often asked to locate:

- Adverse Witnesses

- Cooperative Witnesses

- Debtors

- Clients

- Heirs

- Etc.

The difference between a successful locate and an expensive failure is how much attention and care is given to a case.  Obvious, right?  But it has to be the right attention, which is a tight focus, and the proper care; to detail.

The starting point in a successful locate is to gather as much information from the originating requestor as possible:

Name: AKAs, Extensions (Jr., III, MD, Esq…), Maiden form, prior marriage form

Address: Last known contact date at this address, form of contact, (e.g. mail, phone… ), contact outcome, ( i.e. returned mail, no response, etc.).

Phone Number:  Last known phone number, cell, landline, Skype, other internet phone.

Personal identifiers: DOB, SSN, TIN, DL#, Medicare/caid recipient? School i.d.?

Contacts: Family, friends, employers, coworkers

Prior lawsuits: If known, to include form of involvement.

Civil records: Is/was the subject married, divorced? Has s/he declared bankruptcy or have judgments, liens… against him/her?

Criminal records:  Almost every state now allows for an inmate lookup.  (If a person is missing for a considerable period of time, there are only so many scenarios, short of a bizarre abduction, to account for this disappearance: a move, death or incarceration.)

A good investigator will then form a profile of the missing subject and conduct an address history search which will generally yield a pattern.  (We’ll get to that in the next para.)  The address history may not contain the subject’s current address. (All databases, from DMVs to privately held, fee-based information companies operate within the limitations of data input regularity.  The subject may not release his/her most current address to an agency.  P.O. box registration is no assurance of a current address either.  If it is a planned moved, one simply has to apply and receive the P.O. box prior to moving and generate forwarding from the old address.)

Having created the profile, the investigator now looks for the pattern.  Is the subject constantly relocating?  Staying within a certain geographical area?  Is s/he beholden to a mortgage?   Has s/he foreclosed?  An address history search will also almost always reveal family member information.

Once the profile and pattern have been formed and detected, the investigator must decide on a course of action. The approach will determine if the locate will be successful.   Each investigator has his/her own technique but there is a different methodology applied between “friendly” locates and those involving people who’ve intentionally chosen to stay or go off the grid.   A sharp investigator will know how to entice a friendly subject and not tip off an adverse one.   That knowledge comes with experience and skill and a great deal of curiosity.

As a final step, an investigator may have to physically check an address to verify the subject’s address.  By arriving to this point, all other methods of locating have been exhausted but valuable knowledge on the  subject gained. (The location should be thoroughly researched before heading out to the field.  Showing up on a private road on 2 acres of land in the middle of nowhere is usually not going to result in a productive session.  Suggestion: Google Earth.  There should also be an established strategy to observe the location, discreetly,  within a restricted time span of when the subject’s presence is most anticipated.  If covert observation is not possible, the game plan must be thought out prior to, and include at least Plans A, B and C. )   Below; lack of a plan:

Finally, if your investigator returns with an address, ask that it be “verified”.  If there is  no confirmation that the subject is at the reported location, and the requestor is not made aware of the nonverification, a costly situation for the requestor may result, financially and with regard to negotiation stance.   If  the locate results are not verifiable, (and that occurs, although that number should be in the single digits, percentage-wise, in a competent investigator’s record), the requester will at least have that knowledge with which to make decisions.

Our operatives: A step ahead.

As always, stay safe.

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Great WebFace or Embarrassingly Red-Faced? Controlling Your Public Image.

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Lina Maini

We’ve all experienced negative postings online.  Whether it’s that awful office party picture, a scathing review or even serious, defamatory comments.   Several ways to deal with these detrimental posts are:

1. Be upfront. Any potential employer/customer/prospective date with even a smidgen of common sense will Google you the minute they’re serious about hiring, doing business with or dating you. It’s far better to come forward with the disclosure  than wait for them to discover the negative information on their own. Let them know what’s out there, the truth and how you intend to handle it. (This may actually work as a positive for you in that it displays your awareness of online reputation and perception management.)

2. Apologize if necessary. It can be the case that you are wrong.  You made a hasty mistake; an inappropriate tweet about your boss or a co-worker, an arrogant post about what you expect from people you date, even a goofball picture that doesn’t truly represent your best characteristics. A basic tenet of crisis control is, if you have caused the situation, apologize quickly and that will usually immediately lower the temperature of the perceived slight.

3. Get it down. Many people are just now beginning to realize the permanence of the web and how it can create a major branding challenge: once negative information is out there, it’s  difficult to remove. If you’ve created the questionable content (a thoughtless tweet, a tasteless YouTube video) you can delete it and — eventually — it will be removed from the caches of Google and other search engines.  (You can hasten the process by asking Google to remove a page or site from its listings — but only once it’s been taken down). If you don’t control the content, all you can really do is ask the person who does to remove it. This could be polite (a friend who’s posted an inappropriate photo to Facebook will probably oblige you) or not-so-polite (you may need to enlist a lawyer if someone is defaming you and won’t desist).

4. Control your SEO. The best and surest way to overcome negative information that’s plastered on the web? Create your own content and drive the bad stuff down in search engine rankings. No one but your worst enemy will bother to visit Page 20 on a Google search; most readers will stick to the first page or two. Creating a robust social media and online presence guarantees that the top results will be the ones you want people to see. Studies have shown that video, in particular, is prized by Google and will rank highly, so you might want to consider a video blog. Traditional blogs, because their content is updated frequently, are also search-engine-friendly. Creating profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter also helps (they’re frequently at the top of Internet searches), and it also never hurts to get quoted in the media or write articles for various publications (which benefits anyone’s personal brand).

If you stick to the principle that everything you input will be seen by a prospective contact, you should be able to eventually develop enough self filters to not undo your reputation online.  (Conversely, being too close-mouthed will make others think you are insignificant or have things to hide.  Play it real and play it smart.)

Included below is a link to 50 niche search engines you should be aware of; Google isn’t the only search site people use to research your background and credentials.

Our Operatives: Street smart, web savvy.

As always, stay safe.

Related articles

Tangentially, nothing could save this insanity of a job interview:

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Subject Locates: What’s in a Name?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Lina Maini

The date of loss was 5/18/2008. The case has finally come to a serious settlement offer by the insurance company. Your client is nowhere to be found.

After exhausting the client’s primary contact numbers, his emergency contacts and Lexis, online White Pages and Spokeo, to no avail, this type of situation can become frustrating. Finally, using the same platform that propelled Google from the same old search engine to the mother of all information aggregators, comes Argali.  A very simple download, this search engine simultaneously culls all of the standard electronic telephone directories (i.e. Yahoo, White Pages, Spokeo, Pipl, Google and many more). Both a yellow and white pages, Argali also performs reverse directory searches (for both addresses and phone numbers).

Clear trends indicate that information aggregation will continue to evolve and at much faster rates. For the end user, this means more information will be available, at a faster rate, and with continual updating. For this reason, we conduct frequent search engine tests to determine the lead processor of available information and hence, our current recommendation for phone and address lookups is Argali.

Our  investigators: Street smart; tech savvy.

As always, stay safe.

Filed under: subject locate | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

New Google App – Your Name, Address, Email… From Just Your Pic.

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Lina Maini
Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...

Image via CrunchBase

You are sitting at a crowded cafe, chatting up a hottie sitting next to you.  Unbeknownst to either of you, the jealous stalking ex has taken a photo of the two of you.

Act I, Scene I

Several days later you arrive home to your spouse standing in the front doorway, fanning an 8×11 photo.  You wave, reach for a kiss and as you get close enough, you notice that you are in the photo – and another person (clue:  not a family member).

Scene II

Denial. Confusion. Silence.

Act II, Scene I

You return to the cafe and show the photo to employees there.  They recognize the second party in the pic although they deny you that person’s information on the grounds of intrusion of privacy.  You leave your cell number with the photo copy and ask that it be forwarded to the pic’s Party B.

Scene II

You receive a call from a stranger, confirming your photo partnership but seemingly and quite believably, this person has no idea how your personal information was obtained or in fact, who you are.

Act III, Scene I

Jealous ex is approached by Party B and admits to stalking, taking the photo and, via  Google’s new facial recognition technology, identifying Party A.  With said personal info, the stalker proceeds to intentionally, maliciously incite trouble for Party A.

By now, most of you are thinking, well of course the stalker is a fed or other law enforcement type.  Who else has access to facial recognition technology and the ability to combine that with address, phone and email databases?

According to a CNN news release on March 31, 2011, we all will have that capability very soon, given that Google has developed and will release to the public just such FR technology.  The world’s largest information aggregator has been gathering photos, emails, addresses… for years.  Now this information can be yours (or that of some psychotic ex client, former lover or scamming con artist) in an snap(shot).

The day after CNN released this information, Google simultaneously denied reproducing this data for a publicly avail FR app and that it is proceeding cautiously with this technology and allowing for people to “op-out” of its FR app.

CNN states the interview with Google wherein this FR app is mentioned was taped.

Regardless, I am sure we are all aware that we are living in a world where even the illusion of privacy has been completely shattered.

If Google (or any other entity for that matter) has this app and releases it to the general public, (and I am not a fan of “permissible purpose only”) there will be stalkings, kidnappings, rapes and murders occurring by virtue of this very tool.

Note to Google: Not a good idea.

Note CNN: Release the taped interview.  Lobbying against this grossest of privacy intrusions must begin NOW.

BNI Operatives: A step ahead.

As always, stay safe.

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Gov’t Can Attach a GPS Device to Your Car – No Warrant Necessary

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Lina Maini

From TIME: (August 25, 2010)

Government agents can sneak onto your property in the middle of the night, put a GPS device on the bottom of your car and keep track of everywhere you go. This doesn’t violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway — and no reasonable expectation that the government isn’t tracking your movements.

Setting aside the absurd decision that one has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his/her own driveway, isn’t the vehicle still private property? Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that, as an investigator, or even Ms. Jane Q. Public, if I went around attaching objects to others cars without their permission, that I might be arrested? 

That is the bizarre — and scary — rule that now applies in California and eight other Western states. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers this vast jurisdiction, recently decided the government can monitor you in this way virtually anytime it wants — with no need for a search warrant.

This case began in 2007, when Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents decided to monitor Juan Pineda-Moreno, an Oregon resident who they suspected was growing marijuana. They snuck onto his property in the middle of the night and found his Jeep in his driveway, a few feet from his trailer home. Then they attached a GPS tracking device to the vehicle’s underside.

… the government violated Pineda-Moreno’s privacy rights in two different ways. For starters, the invasion of his driveway was wrong. The courts have long held that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their homes and in the “curtilage,” a fancy legal term for the area around the home. The government’s intrusion on property just a few feet away was clearly in this zone of privacy.

The judges veered into offensiveness when they explained why Pineda-Moreno’s driveway was not private. It was open to strangers, they said, such as delivery people and neighborhood children, who could wander across it uninvited.

Isn’t  wandering across private property uninvited trespass??  (That’s what I told my sister-in-law…)  Anyhow, we could recommend GPS blockers but savvy readers and the concerned public know how to Google for the info. (Oh and then that search will be traceable on your pc.  There are ways around that too but we’d rather see an outraged than paranoid populace.)
 
Where are we going with this government sanctioned privacy-invasion?  In another case of over zealous governmental intrusion, first term Riverhead, Long Island town supervisor,  Sean Walter,  used Google Earth to uncover 250 illegal pools (those built without the proper permits) in that town.   Mr. Walter (also an attorney) then has the gall to state he is a staunch defender of the Fourth Amendment.  There’s just something distasteful about someone in a position of power abusing their authority to build a career.  Steam-rolling ring a bell?  Well, perhaps someone might waltz into Mr. Walter’s driveway, GPS his vehicle, (as the TIME article stated, no search warrant is necessary and apparently, anyone can traipse across a private citizen’s property uninvited and at will) and then post his movements on a daily blog.  Let’s see  how Mr. Walter spends his day, every moment of it.
 
There are countless true stories of people being photographed in perhaps compromising or embarrassing situations within what they believe to be the privacy of their own backyards.    Individuals themselves also need to stop buying into marketers schemes and giving up their private information, sometimes for a literal dollar.  (Starbucks recently teamed up with social media giant Foursquare, offering a $1 off coupon on their products, inducing people to voluntarily reveal their current locations.)
 
These gross intrusions on the privacy of the citizenry is creating a perfect storm for wanton, blatant disregard for the Fourth Amendment – by the government, corporations and even other private, but interested, individuals.
 
BNI Operatives: Street smart; web savvy.
 
As always, stay safe.

Filed under: Dangerous Legal Decisions, gps | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

100 Useful Niche Search Engines You’ve Never Heard Of

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Lina Maini

Well, it’s probable that you have heard of a few of the niche search engines mentioned by our friends from Social Blog 100+ Useful Search Engines.  Aside from using megasearch engine Google, though, have you really surfed the more drilled down search sites?  I’m sure you can find use from at least a few in the list.  Below, we’ve selected one or several from each category that we find particularly useful.

Extracurricular

Search blogs, games and even forum postings for information and fun.

Bloglines:  Find “billions of articles” and posts going back to 2003 from blogs, comics and more.

FindSounds:  This search site finds sound effects in all kinds of file formats, channels and resolutions.  Very useful for making presentations  impactful.

 

Quick Answer Guides

Have a specific question you need answered quickly? Go here.

Answers.com: Type in your question to this search box or answer other users’ questions about politics, automotive issues, TV shows and pop culture, health, technology and more.

AskMeNow: Use this site to do a quick Wikipedia search from your mobile phone.

eHow:  This is the gold standard know-it-all site with literally an answer for any question you can think of.

Lexxe: Type in your question to this search engine, which pulls answers from its database of URLs added by users.

 

City Guides and Travel

Get to know your  town a little better, or plan a vacation or study abroad trip with these search engines.

Google Local: Many don’t realize that this popular site is also a search engine. Find local businesses and addresses here.

MSN City Guides: Click on a city to get started or type in a general location or activity to let this search engine find fun things for you to do in your area.

CitySquares: the premiere hyper-local search site in New England, New York City and eastern New York State.

Kayak.com: This aggregate travel search engine finds the lowest air fares, cruise vacations, car rentals and hotel stays available through the Web that match your travel requests.

Trabber: Trabber.com searches 31 different websites to bring up cheap flights based on the schedule you submit.

 

Shopping Search Engines

Find customer reviews, product information and shopping sites with these search engines.

MySimon: This fun site lists shopping specials and gift ideas for holidays, and it lets you search within a specific category or conduct a general search.

Shopzilla: Shopzilla is super easy to use. Enter in the keywords or product description for the item you’re shopping for, or browse the categories on the right, to bring up results from online retailers like Amazon.com.

PriceGrabber: Conduct an advanced search by shopping different categories or type in exactly what you’re looking for on PriceGrabber.com.

Bing: This comprehensive site lets you first browse by category to narrow your search or type in keywords to bring up something more specific.

 

Business

Those interested in staying current on business news and trends can take advantage of these niche search engines.

Bloomberg: Bloomberg.com connects you to business news through its search engine, breaking news articles and market data updates.

IFACnet: Accountants can use this search engine for industry news and “access to global resources and information.”

Business.com: Entrepreneurs can browse categories like software, startup, transportation, office management, real estate and health care to “quickly find anything for [their] business”.

 

Academic and Reference

Find reliable and authoritative reference sites here.

Librarian’s Internet Index: This site brings together “websites you can trust,” on subjects like media, law, communications, consumer research, health and more.

Scirus: This scientific search engine claims to be “the most comprehensive scientific research tool on the web” and indexes over 450 million science-related resources.

Google Scholar: Search journal articles, abstracts, academic papers and bibliographies, and other scholarly publications here.

Intute: Social Sciences: This division of the online search tool Intute connects you to quality information about government policy, geography, law, economics, anthropology, business management, social welfare, psychology, politics, women’s studies and more.

CiteSteer: Great “scientific literature digital library.” For computer science and IT needs.

 

Social Media and People

User-generated content and user-driven sites like these often result in more relevant search results for you.

wink: wink is “where people find people.” Search by location, name, interests, school or any other category to help you reach old friends and family members.

 

Multisearch

These search engines offer more than just ordinary searches. Enjoy using features like shared searches, saved memory and specific search options.

Trexy: Trexy can help you “blaze search trails” by saving your search memory, share your searches with the Trexy community, and add a TrailBar button to your toolbar for fast searches.

 

TV, Video and Radio

Look up video clips for presentations or discover new radio sites and web streams through these search tools.

veoh: Find millions of online videos by searching this site.

blinx: blinx digs into the Web to find “over 26 million hours of video” and bring up relevant results.

Radio-Locator: Search for over 10,000 different radio stations and 2,500 web streams from radio stations all over the world.

Snipp.TV: Find video and audio content from this easy-to-use beta search engine.

 

Medical and Health Search

Research authoritative journals and publications.

PubMed: This search tool is sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

OmniMedicalSearch.com: This site has been named a Top 5 Medical Search Engine by About.com and is lauded by The Washington Post. Search the Web, images or forums to get connected to quality health and medical information.

American Hospital Directory: Find a nearby hospital fast by typing in your telephone area code, zip code, city or state.

MedicineNet: This organized search engine displays your results according to different categories, like News, Symptoms, Procedures and Tests, and Medications, so you can quickly find the most relevant results.

 

Law

Gain access to court rulings, history and political sciences resources, and other law material here.

eLaw: Find cases, attorneys, motions… on this super search site.

FindLaw: Find attorneys and answers to your law questions by searching here.

Meta-Index for U.S. Legal Research: Search judicial opinions, federal regulation, legislation and more on this site.

 

Metasearch and Megasearch Engines

The following search engines work extra hard to bring you information from other search engines at the same time, including Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and others.

Dogpile: Find information from “all the best search engines” here.

Excite: This metasearch engine also shows you the latest sports scores, stock ticker, featured games and videos, and more.

HotBot: This search engine can pull information and material from Yahoo!, IyGO.com, and MSN.

 

Photos, Images and Visual Search Engines

Make your search a more visual experience by checking out these tools.

Grokker: Grokker searches Wikipedia, Yahoo! and Amazon Books, and then displays your results in an outline view or a map view.

Picsearch: Use Picsearch when you need to add images to a project or presentation.

 

News Searches

Stay current on business, technology, cultural and political news.

News Lookup: Find news stories from all over the world, or just search a particular country or news topic.

AlltheWeb: Use the News search tool on this site to find relevant stories from newspapers, TV stations and other news sites. 90.Yahoo! News: Search sports, entertainment, business, technology, world and U.S. news here.

 

Jobs and Real Estate

Turn to these search engines to help you with your search for an apartment, domestically or internationally.  You may even find  time shares,  home swaps and interns for your business.

Hotpads.com: Find homes and apartment listings for sale or for rent around the country with this tool.

trulia: This smart search engine finds homes for sale by zip code or city and state. You can also find movers, moving tips and more on this comparative shopping site.

Internship Programs: Look or post for interns after you log on.

There’s a wealth of information out there in the etherworld.  The megasearch engines, like Google or Yahoo are fine but they operate strictly on algorithms and ad revenue so the response you will receive to a search query may not be the best answer for your situation.  Poke around a bit.

BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web savvy.

TIP OF THE WEEK FOR OUR SUBSCRIBED READERS:  PUT YOUR VERY OWN FIRM’S TOOLBAR ONTO YOUR CLIENTS’ BROWSERS. FREE. 

As always, stay safe.

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