Okay, here’s the latest game my computer is playing with me
All of a sudden, apropos of nothing, my Google page shows the word “Yahoo” (very light gray) in the search bar. When I type in something and start a search, instead of using Google it defaults to Yahoo.
It’s the search-engine equivalent of the invasion of the body snatchers. I’ve looked at the Yahoo support forum, and other people seem to have the same problem, but I can’t make head or tail of the suggestions. Anyone have an easy fix for this [she asks naively and hopefully]?
UPDATE: I may have asked naively and hopefully, but the easy fix was offered by “Ann,” and it worked like a charm. It literally took just a second or two and voilé ! Problem gone.
If anyone has a similar problem of a search engine being hijacked, here’s where to go.
Which browser do you use?
I had to search a few different ways before I found anything but here are references to the problem in Chrome and Firefox.
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/chrome/discuss-chrome/R4gHWcJdgH0%5B1-25-false%5D
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/mozilla.support.firefox/3Ma9HmAJq-g
Looks like uninstalling some crapware might be the solution. Good luck.
In the news this morning it was revealed that Yahoo has signed an agreement with the NSA to hover inside the search bar of suspect bloggers and forward all searches to local law enforcement for follow ups. That very light gray “Yahoo” is just a passing glitch in the code. They’ll soon have it debugged and you’ll never know you are being tracked until the SWAT teams comes through the door.
Don’t worry, be happy and…… No! NO! They’re moving in now! Get out! GET OUT NOW!
Matthew M,
Firefox. It doesn’t happen in Explorer, but I prefer Firefox.
I may end up uninstalling and re-installing Firefox and see what happens. Hate this sort of thing. A real time-waster.
vanderleun,
Making my getaway in a moment.
Here’s a little step by step way to do it. You’re getting into and editing the config, though, so make sure that you’re editing what you mean to be editing.
http://www.wikihow.com/Change-Your-Browser%27s-Default-Search-Engine#Firefox
Cheers!
I can think of two possible things. Yahoo is insidious when it comes to trying to sneak in there, apparently hoping you’ll love them so much that you’ll forgive the underhandedness and stay with them.
Did you install anything lately? An adobe or Shockwave update perhaps? And not notice a little check box telling the updater to also install Yahoo search bar? If so, you’ve gotta find it and uninstall.
The other possibility is that your preferred search engine preference got changed. Same kind of thing, some sneaky update that defaulted the choice and hoped you’d miss it.
That’s why I refuse to do anything Yahoo. If they can’t do business the honest way, then I don’t do any business with them at all.
Most of the forum comments indicate you will have to uninstall something. Try browsing the task manager to see if any of the running or startup processes seem fishy. Reinstalling Firefox probably won’t work if another program is meddling with it from the outside.
I had the same problem last week, only mine defaulted to Bing for the search engine.
I went to the Firefox help section and I think what I did was install this recommended add-on: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/searchreset/
Hope that works for you.
My computer did this a while ago. I assumed it was because Firefox was responding the the German outrage about the NSA and its co-conspirators. My problem is even worse because my search engine is now the German yahoo, which means I get all sorts of results for German sites. With Google, when I typed English words, I got English results. To get Getman results, I typed German words. Made sense to me.
I’ll be home in one month. Then I’ll have one of my husband’s computer-savy TAs clean up this mess. I’m sick of all these geeks and nerds making my life more complicated because they have a cool idea.
The computers here seem to be completely hijacked by some alien virus or government conspiracy.
A while back I installed some freeware. It changed my home page, and also listed some bizarre search engine in my search engine listing [far right in Firefox.]. I ended up having to do three things: uninstall recently installed software, reinstall my home page preference, and in the far right of the browser tool bar, click to get Mange Search Engines, and remove the bizarre search engine.
I use Ixquick most of the time for a search engine, but revert to Google for a complicated search, as Google is a better at complicated searches. I just did a Google search, and didn’t see the Yahoo problem. I never use Yahoo as a search engine.
Gringo: the same thing happened to me, and I fixed it the same way. I had a bad feeling about that freeware and should have paid better attention to it.
Freeware basically installs spy/malware these days. Not really for malicious purposes but just because of the profit from internet data collection.
Ann:
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Worked like a charm, and took about 2 seconds. Actually, less.