Google Pagerank check, legal?

[Slasken]

Google does't answer emails so i hope i´ll have more luck getting an answer here.

I have a phpscript to check google pagerank is it legal for me to put this up on my website? It uses the same script to create a google checksum as have been posted on this forum earlier.

Since this is a "hack" i´m thinking maybe Google will cut off my genitals if i put this online?

[someonewhois]

SEOChat.com, pagerank.net, and thousands of others have a PR checker. I doubt you'll have any problems.

[Slasken]

Yes, but are they using this "hack" to create a checksum and query google?

Maybe Google haven't had the time to complain to these sites yet, anyone who knows for sure if this is legal?

[someonewhois]

How is it a hack? It's a formula. They aren't going to ban people for running an algorithm.

[Slasken]

But didn't Google decide to use a checksum just so people should not be able to create scripts like this?

[netaddict]

You should get a google API and design your script in such a way, so that it queries google using your API key. Then it will be fine. :)

[johnt]

You should get a google API and design your script in such a way, so that it queries google using your API key. Then it will be fine. :)
I don't think that you can get PR using the API. The only way I know to get it is by using the algo for checksums that's posted in various places around the net

John

[crew]

I don't think that you can get PR using the API.

This is correct.

[Shoemoney]

I wrote a perl script that checks pr of all my domains and mails me if there are any changes... ive been using it since last october and it checks evey hour for updates.

Never had any issues yet

[jimrthy]

Sure. It's against their TOS, but what are they gonna do?

[Shoemoney]

Im Telling!!!!

[ajnin]

shoe your gonna tell on yourself?

and i emailed google once upon a time and got a response to the same question. in brief, i was told that the only way to get pr is through the use of the toolbar. so in response i asked about the sites that are(and continue) to use the hack/algo which allows the bypass of the toolbar. they stated that those sites were being bad and doing somethign against their TOS.

soo... uhh... its your call to use the hack/algo or not. but as stated lots of the high traffic sites which offer pagerank tools, are most likly using the same hack/algo or somethign similiar.

[webdesigners123]

You can get google PR by parsing the returning XML file.
Check this url: http://www.httprevealer.com/usage_google_2002.htm

[execute]

web designer123 i have read that article, however it still is an automated query, so I dont want to use my PR script to the public unless I can use either Google API or something to make a legal query :)

But it seems like it would be pretty impossible for them to detect. So the only thing they can probably do is if a PR script becomes popular the websites using them could be blocked. I'm not too sure if they care

This website: http://www.googlerankings.com uses the Google API key, which will send an XML document in SOAP format, and then you will receive an XML document with SOAP as a response. However Google API does not say there is a way to check pagerank with Google API and SOAP, but perhaps there might be. Although google gives the XML document example as what to send to query google, there must be extra parameters like "client" and all that which can get the PR as a response.

However, i don't know how to send a SOAP XML document and Receive it.

[educ8it]

Fogetting about Google'$ terms of service, it may be an infringement of a patent they have filed to make use of their PR checking service. I'm sure somewhere there are Terms and Conditions that state they can take your first born if you bypass the Toolbar like this.

That said, I use a variant of the script.

For those that don't use PHP (ie the Windows crew), I've created a C# version of one of the popular script examples. It's not had a massive amount of testing but it seems to generate the hash etc fine (I have compared the outcomes with the PHP scripts).

Message me for a copy at your peril :D