Google gets about half of all search queries on the Internet. But these days, the giant company is much more than just a search engine; so much so that surfers sometimes discover “hidden” features in Google. Today, then, I would like to mention a few to you that you will surely find very useful. First, watch this five-minute video: http://www.flixxy.com/google-secrets.htm

The video is not top quality, but you will get the idea, I am sure. Here are seven features, in the order they are mentioned in the video clip. In examples 1 – 6, enter the indicated text into the Google search box without the quotes.

1. To get the time in another city, type this into the Google search box: “time in London” You will get the time in all the cities all over the world by that name, in cases where there are more than one.

2. Convert money from one currency to another. To convert 18 British pounds to cold, hard U.S. cash, type “18 gbp in usd”. Do not include a dollar sign. If you do not know the abbreviations to use, write it out: “Currency of Great Britain in American money”.

3. If you want your search results to produce only a certain type of document, add “filetype:extension” after your search term. For example, if you are searching for cars and you want the results in pdf format, type “cars:filetype:pdf”.

4. Search within a site. Type a subject followed by site and the URL. To search inside my blog for information on updates, type “updates site:MyPCSecurityBlog.com”

5. Get a four-day weather forecast for any city, by typing “weather city”. For example, “weather Paris”.

6. You can enter any math problem or expression into the search box, and Google will solve it for you. Enter “10+19” and you will see “10+19=29”. Convert units like this: enter “5 feet in meters” and you will see “5 feet = 1.52400 meters”.

7. To search on an expression or phrase and only get results that include your exact phrase or search term, just put quotation marks around it like this: “home computer security”.

To find even more “secrets”, go to the home page at http://www.google.com Click more at the top of the page. Click “even more >>” in the dropdown menu, and have fun!

Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here:
= > http://MyPCSecuritySite.com

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