I’ll start off by saying that I’m very stuck in my ways when it comes to Google. I have three main search preferences that I just have to set on any computer I’m using: use Google.com (although I’m in Spain, I hate the results that come up with a .es query); display 100 results per page; open results in a new tab.
As far as I’m concerned, these preferences are essential. So I was pretty annoyed a couple of months back when my Google preferences started to ‘disappear’ about once a week. This was happening in Firefox (pretty much the only browser I use for day-to-day work) and it was happening at work (Windows XP) and at home (OS X). For a while I wondered what could be causing the problem – I never tell Firefox to delete my cookies when ending a session – then I decided to look for a way of fixing this annoying bug so I’d never again have to go through the hassle of resetting my search preferences.
The best solution I found is the Firefox addon CustomizeGoogle which includes a feature aptly named ‘Sticky Google Preferences’. This feature allows you to ‘force’ Google to use your preferred language and locale, SafeSearch settings, number of results per page, opening results in a new window and query suggestions. Choose your optimal settings and you can then delete your Google cookies as often as you like without losing your configuration.
In addition, CustomizeGoogle lets you tinker with plenty of other Google tools and features, including optimising search results, hiding ads, forcing secure connections, custom site filters and much more. It’s a great add-on and well worth a look if you’re interested in honing your daily Google experience to perfection.
