This is an experiment in creating an open source, private, personalizable search tool. Because it stores nothing about your searches and all code is freely available on github, it's trivial to inspect it and verify that there is no data sent.

The first word you type into the search box is the search type and that controls which Web site you'll be searching on. Any successive words are the search term you'll be using. Hitting tab will complete the search type (or you can select with your mouse or just type it out) and then you just type the rest of your search and hit enter.

For example, typing 'books beginning perl', in the default configuration, will search amazon.com for books matching "beginning perl":

We do not store this information, but Amazon might. You have no guarantee of privacy once you visit a Web site.

Searches not matching a known search type will use duckduckgo.com

Private Browsing

Enable private browsing. Most browsers have a private browsing mode. In this mode, your history will not be saved and cookies outside of the private browsing session will not be used. However, be aware that browser fingerprinting and other technologies still have the potential to track you.

Tor

Another option is to use the Tor network. Tor is a way of encrypting all traffic between you and a server and it makes it very, very hard to find out who you are. If used correctly, it can defeat browser fingerprinting, too.

Use a Better Browser

Some browsers, such as Chrome, are reported to track user information to better target users with ads. Others, such as Internet Explorer, are popular attack vectors for Hackers. Consider using Firefox or other browser after you've researched it.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Learn about the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Think "ACLU for the 'net". In particular, look at their HTTPS Everywhere extension for whatever browser you're using.