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changing default search engine

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  • Last reply by Scribe

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somehow bing has become the default search engine. I have followed the directions on how to change it but nothing works. Currently under search Google is set as default but bing won't go. Am I missing something here? Bing is crap. I would like to get Google back. Any suggestions? Thanks Bob

somehow bing has become the default search engine. I have followed the directions on how to change it but nothing works. Currently under search Google is set as default but bing won't go. Am I missing something here? Bing is crap. I would like to get Google back. Any suggestions? Thanks Bob

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Hi, open the 3-bar menu > Add-ons > Extensions, then look for and remove/disable anything you don't recognise. Restart Firefox afterwards.


In Options (Search), make sure there isn't another site that looks like Google but isn't, that is selected. (There should be only one 'Google' to choose from) - Deselect/Remove if necessary.


You can also check your Firefox Desktop shortcut for corruption: Right click on it > Properties, and in Target, make sure there is no sign of anything other than Firefox. If there is, delete that part of it. Or if it's easier, you can just delete it and recreate a new shortcut. More: Wrong home page opens when I start Firefox - How to fix.


Look for any recently installed programs on your PC that you don't recognise. What is search hijacking?.


You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Note that not all removal programs will detect all malware, so you may need to run several of them.

Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

If your question is resolved by this or another answer, please help other users by marking the best reply as Solved. Thank you!