Google/Alexa Toolbar for Firefox Users

Hi there,

We've just released a new toolbar for search engine marketers using Mozilla Firefox, and who are therefore unable to install the Google/Alexa Toolbar. SearchStatus lets you view info from the Google and Alexa toolbars, as well as backward links from MSN, Yahoo! and Google all in one toolbar. You can download it here:

http://www.quirk.co.za/searchstatus

Any comments/opinions about it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Nick W]

Would it be hard to make it work in Moz also? Most extentions do...

Sounds like a neat idea, it will install in Moz but no bar at the bottom

Nick

For the moment it's only for Firefox...however if there is enough interest/demand in the near future we'll look at making it work for Mozilla too...

Ok it's just been updated. SearchStatus can now be used by both Firefox and Mozilla users...

[Nick W]

Very nice indeed ;-)

Can you tell me about the PR bar? - Im pretty sure you cannot get that information without the official G toolbar? How is it calculated?

Nick

[Artyom]

I'd like to know how this PR bar works;-) But as long as I can see it gives accurate results so far.

The PR bar works using the Google PageRank checksum algorithm which has been in the public domain for some time now.

[I, Brian]

Do note that Google recently updated their checksum - but that this was also recently broken.

However, I tried the toolbar, but the Alexa function seemed very screwy. It spent most of yesterday deciding every site I visited was Google.co.uk - then it spent the rest of the day completely greyed out.

[Artyom]

No matter how hard you've been trying to keep up with all BIG events on web you simple can not:-) I mean as I could find out from webmasterworld.com forum the php source code was firsty realised back in june, 2004 and I didn't know about it:-)

Anyway, searchgirl, how long do you think Google will keep the current pagerank algorithm the same it's now? I've just tried to compare what IE googlebar and your pagerank metre show and it's identical! But I don't really believe it'll last long, it's not about PageRank bar (I think Google is prertty OK with it), it's about I'm sure Google do not like it's PageRank algorithm being cracked and realised to public...


PS. And the last thought - my gut feeling tells me Google advisedly let it went away.

[I, Brian]

It's not the actual PageRank algorithm that's been cracked - it's simply the checksum for retrieving already assigned PageRank values to specific URLs.

There are reports of the code for the prior checksum having been hacked in June - but maybe that was just a public release of the code, as I know certain developers had cracked the checksum long before that.

Anyway, Google implemented a new checksum and that has also been quickly hacked:
http://google-blog.dirson.com/post.new/0155/

[nickleus]

searchgirl, does your toolbar report back to alexa which sites you are visiting? one of the points of the toolbar is for them to gather statistics about which sites are being visited. another point is that it adds pages to the list of pages to be archived in the waybackmachine.

[theChronic]

Originally Posted by nickleus

searchgirl, does your toolbar report back to alexa which sites you are visiting? one of the points of the toolbar is for them to gather statistics about which sites are being visited. another point is that it adds pages to the list of pages to be archived in the waybackmachine.

I was wondering the same. Has anyone determined this?