Today, most information is found by using search engines. Users type in a word or phrase into a search box on a web page and click a button to start the search. The search engine returns a list of results to the user with links the user can click on.

 What is a search engine?

 A search engine is a software program that queries millions of pages on the Internet. It then creates an index of those web pages. Users can then search that index quickly and easily to find the information they may be looking for. The most popular search engines are currently:

• Google
• Yahoo
• MSN

What's the best way to search?

When searching for information on the Internet it is a good idea to have a general understanding of the below methods of searching.

If you are searching for multiple common words such as 'computer' and 'help', it is a good idea to place quotes around the full search. For example, "computer help"

Many search engines will strip out common words, called "stop words", when searches are performed. Therefore, only search for keywords. For example, instead of searching for "why does my computer not boot", search for "computer boot".

Many search engines allow for additional syntax to help limit your search strings. For example, Google enables users to search for links to a particular page by typing "link:". For example, to see who is linked to Google, a user may type "link:http://www.google.com".

Some search engines may not default to use booleans; therefore, you may need to use "and", "or", and/or "not" in your search.

Finally, if you continue to not find what you are looking for, try a different search engine.