Opinion: Rogers-Yahoo Hijacks Browser Search Result Pages, Killing Powerful Firefox Feature

Buy an ad on DigitalJournal.com

DigitalJournal.com has learned Rogers-Yahoo rolled out a new feature for Web users that's bound to get mixed reviews. The service hijacks browser search results, killing one of Firefox's greatest features. You can disable it, but only if you're a pc whiz.

Digital Journal -- If you're a Rogers-Yahoo customer in Canada, you might have noticed a change with the way your Internet browsers behave. DigitalJournal.com has learned Rogers implemented a new service today that forces its search results onto Web users.

Rogers' new Web service is meant to help Net users who mis-type website URLs in the address bar, so if you type "digitaljournak.com" instead of "digitaljournal.com" you are automatically redirected to a Rogers-Yahoo sponsored page that lists search results for the item you were likely searching for.

On the Rogers-sponsored search page, users are treated to a cluster of text advertisements above search results, as well as a 300x250 self-promotional ad for Rogers-owned magazines such as Hello or Flare, for example.

The service will no doubt be touted as help for anyone who is frustrated when they see a "page not found" error, however it also kills one of the greatest features of the Firefox and Safari browsers.

If you're a Firefox user, the browser allows you to type a simple word like "facebook" or "wikipedia" into the address bar without having to type "http://" or "www." or even the ".org" part and it will take you directly to that site. Firefox uses Google's search by default so when you enter a phrase like "digitaljournal" or "techcrunch" in the address bar, it searches in seconds behind the scenes and automatically redirects you to DigitalJournal.com or TechCrunch.com and loads the page (it works using Google's "I'm feeling lucky" feature). As an avid Web user, this feature saves me a great deal of time because I never need to remember the finicky ".com" or ".org" suffix.

Furthermore, Firefox also lets users make simple search queries through the address bar on the page, so you can type "wiki dark knight" in the address bar, and it automatically takes you right to Wikipedia's entry about the new film that is in theatres today. You don't have to go to Google or Yahoo search and enter the search string and then click on the results -- it does it all automatically for you in Firefox (Safari also has this feature, and Internet Explorer will usually take you to Google or MSN search results pages by default).

Screenshot by DigitalJournal.com Rogers-Yahoo made a change today to all their Internet subscribers so if you mis-type a website URL you are automatically redirected to a Rogers-sponsored search page. You have to opt-out if you don't want the service. image:41789:2::0

Rogers' new search service, however, has killed these features in Firefox and does not allow Rogers-Yahoo customers to perform this action in the browser. In DigitalJournal.com's testing of Firefox 2 and 3, Safari 3 and Internet Explorer 6 (on both Mac and PC platforms), Rogers pushes its own search on every browser. There is a way to turn off this feature, but I would not be surprised if your average soccer mom or grandpa bangs their head against the wall when they hear they have to change their DNS settings. "What is a DNS setting," you ask? Exactly my point.

Rogers told DigitalJournal.com they are offering this service based on customer feedback in an effort to enhance customers' Web surfing experience. The company also says it's not doing anything different by redirecting users to their own corporate-sponsored search results pages, and that companies such as Cox Communications, Time Warner, and Charter Communications are already doing this in the U.S.

"We introduced supported search results to eliminate error pages and provide helpful search results based on what a customer is looking for, and a customer can decide whether they want this feature or not and can opt-out at any time," said Nancy Cottenden, Director of Communications for Rogers Cable, in an interview with DigitalJournal.com.

Cottenden said Rogers-Yahoo will be paying close attention to feedback from Rogers-Yahoo customers and the company is doing its best to find an optimal solution for all Web users.

While I give Rogers credit for their willingness to listen to customers, I have to say the opt-out process is cumbersome and frustrating. There are two ways to deal with this feature, and of course the complicated way is the only effective one:

The opt-out method that is useless:

Click on the "Learn more about this page" on the bottom right of the search results page.

Screenshot by DigitalJournal.com Rogers-Yahoo made a change today to all their Internet subscribers so if you mis-type a website URL you are automatically redirected to a Rogers-sponsored search page. You have to opt-out if you don't want the service. image:41788:3::0

After you've disabled this feature, you are taken to a page where small italic font reads: "If you delete your cookies, or use a program that deletes cookies, you will have to repeat this process every time your cookies are deleted."

So that means Firefox users who habitually clear their cache and cookies after each browsing session will have to turn off the Rogers search results page every single time they use the Internet. And if you turn off this feature, you will get a "page cannot be displayed" error every time you try to revert back to normal Firefox browsing.

The complicated, frustrating method that 95% of people won't be able to do:

Rogers has set up an FAQ regarding these changes in an effort to help users learn how to change their settings (it can be found here). The problem is, in order to change your DNS settings, you must know the IP address of another DNS server. Also, if you're a Mac user, Rogers doesn't even offer a tutorial that we could find.

Asking your average Web user to find and change their DNS server IP, in my opinion, is akin to a doctor asking a patient to hold the scalpel and remove her appendix on her own. Perhaps a bit of a hyperbole, indeed, but you get the point.

And the final icing on the cake: Rogers notes in the FAQ:

Rogers will provide technical support when the option “Obtain DNS server address automatically” is selected. Other DNS server addresses will not be supported.

So if you change your DNS settings and something goes wrong, you're on your own.