How to troubleshoot search engines and homepages that keep changing

There are some persistent and annoying problems like the problem of browser homepage or search engine changing without your permission. You try searching through Google but end up redirected to Yahoo or your homepage suddenly becomes a sophisticated knockoff you've never heard of. There are many different reasons why your search engine and homepage keep changing – from annoying extensions to sneaky 'opt out' checkboxes in software or malware. harmful. All the fixes you need are here.

1. Change the search engine manually

If your search engine or homepage keeps changing to Yahoo (or really any other search engine), the most positive explanation is that at some point you accidentally choose to change your search engine (usually through third-party software that has a cunning checkbox in the installer asking if you want to decline to change your search engine, meaning that by default, they will change your search engine). They can be quite annoying.

If that happens, it may just be a case of you changing your search engine back to the original option you selected manually.

Note : Search engine variability issues have been reported to manifest primarily on PCs – not mobile devices. This guide includes solutions to problems that occur on your computer.

Google Chrome

In Chrome, click the three dots in the top right and go to Settings -> Search engine . Change search engine via the drop-down menu on the right.

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You can also change the home page by going to the On startup section , selecting Open a specific page or set of pages , and adding a page that leads to your preferred search engine.

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Microsoft Edge

If you're an Edge user, click the three dots in the top right, then navigate to Settings -> Privacy, search, and services . Scroll down and click Address bar and search .

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Change the Search engine used in the address bar drop-down menu .

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Click Start, home, and new tabs on the left and add your favorite search engine site.

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Mozilla Firefox

To restore your previous search engine, click the three-line icon in the upper right corner of Firefox, then go to Settings -> Search . Switch Default Search Engine to the engine you want to use.

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To edit your Firefox home page, click Home on the left, then in the Homepage and new windows drop-down menu , switch to the page you want.

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Safari

If you are using Safari on a Mac computer, go to Safari -> Settings -> Search . Change search engine via drop-down menu.

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If you want to change Safari's home page, click General at the top, then enter your website address in the Homepage field .

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2. Scan for viruses

If your homepage or search engine keeps changing, your browser may be affected by a browser hijacker virus. At some point, you may have clicked on a fake 'update' pop-up asking you to do things like update Flash Player or your browser. You may also have accidentally visited a shady website.

This virus has the ability to change your browser settings without your knowledge or consent. It works by hooking a redirect link into your browser, changing your search engine, even after you've changed it back. Virus creators profit from any searches you do using that search engine and have access to your browsing data.

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First, run a virus scan. If your operating system's built-in antivirus software doesn't detect it, try third-party antivirus software like Malwarebytes, Avast, or Bitdefender to see if it gets to the root of the problem. This is a method to help identify virus infections on your PC (as shown in the screenshot above). An antivirus program will allow you to quarantine or remove threats.

If the problem persists even after scanning, continue with some other solutions.

3. Uninstall related software

There is a lot of software that comes with bloatware, sometimes they sneak onto your PC when you don't uncheck the box while installing the software you want – sometimes even without permission.

This software hooks into your browser and forces a redirect to your home page, even if you've changed it back.

Find this software on your Windows PC by right-clicking on the Start menu and navigating to Settings -> Apps -> Installed Apps .

On your Mac, click the Finder icon in the Dock, then click Applications in the Finder sidebar.

Remove apps with any of the following (or similar) names:

1. Search Provided by Yahoo
2. Web Companion
3. PDFPoof
4. SearchAd
5. ProMediaConverter
6. PDFOnline
7. WebDiscover

In general, uninstall any applications that you don't remember installing on your PC. If you're not sure, check the software's official page to refresh your memory.

4. Remove the faulty browser extension

If you are using extensions or add-ons in your browser, you may have accidentally installed a malicious extension, which is now messing up your settings. To find out if that's the case, the simplest solution is to disable all extensions, then enable each one individually.

Chrome

Click on the three dots in the upper right and select Extensions -> Manage extensions .

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With all your extensions listed, click the toggle button below to disable the extension. Do it for each extension. Relaunch the browser and check if the search engine is the one you like. If everything works as intended, start re-enabling each extension until the problem reappears. This will lead you to the culprit.

Edge

Click on the three dots in the upper right and select Extensions . Click on the Manage extensions option in the pop-up window.

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Disable all extensions and restart your browser to check the results.

Firefox

Click the hamburger menu in the right corner and select Add-ons and themes . Disable all add-ons by clicking the respective toggle button and restarting your browser.

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Safari

On a Mac, go to Safari -> Settings and click Extensions at the top. Disable extensions by unchecking the checkboxes next to each extension.

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5. Reset the browser

If nothing has worked so far, the final solution is to reset your browser. Doing so will delete browser settings and shortcuts, disable extensions, and delete cookies and other temporary website data. Bookmarks, history, and saved passwords will not be affected.

Acting quickly when you detect a browser hijacker on your PC will prevent malware from spreading on your computer. For a safer experience while browsing the web, check out the best security and privacy extensions for Chrome.

Samuel Daniel

Update 01 December 2023