I run Windows 8.1 and Firefox as my browser. My homepage is Google, my default search engine is set to Google, I have removed Bing from available search engines. Yet whenever I search in the toolbar using Google, my results are now always Bing. This started happening yesterday
1) I've already done a system restore - didn't help
2) Went to uninstall programs to find anything that has the word "Bing" or "Research" or "Convert" or "Conduit" in it - nothing!
3) I right clicked the windows icon on the lower left, clicked "search", typed in "appwiz.cpl" and "run" - nothing with the word Bing in it. Took me to the 'uninstall' section of control panel and there was nothing with "Bing", "research", etc. to uninstall. Nothing!
4) went to the upper corner of desktop and used the search function to find "Bing". Came back with two responses: "search settings" and "choose whether to include search suggestions and results from Bing". If you click on "search settings" it takes you to the other page "choose whether.....". So I turned all Bing searches to off. Nothing.
5) I have a watchdog program called WinPatrol that analyzes my computer and shows all start up programs, delayed start programs, cookies, hidden files, etc. It showed nothing that indicated Bing was running in any file.
Really frustrated. I hate Bing and prefer Google. Now, even though I have the Google Tool Bar, and my homepage is set to Google, and in Firefox my default search engine is Google, I have to type in the Google Bar the word "Google", which the results come up in Bing and then I can go to Google through Bing's search engine.
It sucks and I'm sooooo sick of Microsoft hijacking their competition. I'm ready to go to Linux and tell Microsoft to go to hell!
I'm not real comfortable getting into that. There was a time when I would go deep into the system, but now I'm older and retired and it's been a long time since I programmed in DOS and lived on a black screen with green alphanumerics. If I can't get rid of it adjusting settings and uninstalling a few things, I'll probably give it a try. My fear is that I'll end up messing things up to the point that I can't use my computer at all and that would suck!
Got a message from Mozilla / Firefox that they will no longer use Google for a search engine. Maybe therein lies the problem. Time to go to Google Chrome or maybe Opera
2. Messing with the Registry won't help because not every Firefox setting goes into the registry. Also its dangerous.
In Firefox go to Tools -> Options -> Search and set the default engine to Google. Go ahead and disable Bing altogether if you've like.
The real problem is that Microsoft has paid off every online software vendor under the sun to reset the search options in you browser back to Bing. So whenever you install new software, even something benign as Oracle Java, it will set the default search engine back to Bing.
2. Messing with the Registry won't help because not every Firefox setting goes into the registry. Also its dangerous.
In Firefox go to Tools -> Options -> Search and set the default engine to Google. Go ahead and disable Bing altogether if you've like.
The real problem is that Microsoft has paid off every online software vendor under the sun to reset the search options in you browser back to Bing. So whenever you install new software, even something benign as Oracle Java, it will set the default search engine back to Bing.
I did all that in Firefox. Even made Google my homepage and got rid of Bing altogether.
What is odd, is that if I go to Google's website and use their Google search engine, every search result comes back in Bing - and that's using Google's search engine on the Google home page!
I've run multiple trojan horse programs, registry cleaner programs, malware removal programs, etc., - all of them rated "the best" by multiple sources. Doesn't help.
I've uninstalled my Google Tool bar and all things Google and reloaded them, rebooted my computer more times today than I can count. But all search results still come back from Bing. Fucking irritating. I hate Bing and it's so bad, the only way they can get people to use it is to sabotage PC's and hijack their competition. It's not as if Bill Gates needs more money the fucking moron!!!
Ha, ha....that will never happen. If Bing wants my business, then they have to make it appealing enough to want to use it.
Microsoft has an ugly girl on its hands and the know that everyone wants the pretty/sexy girl being offered for free by it's competitor. So Microsoft uses a picture of the pretty girl to entice a guy to go to a room where the pretty girl is under the covers waiting to pleasure you. And you pull the covers back and find a smiling woof of a date. MS's tricks are getting old. Like I say, "you want my business, give me a better product than I can elsewhere"
I ended up downloading AdwCleaner and Junkware-Removal-Tool and my Firefox and Google are back to normal.
I would highly recommend joining the forum at Geekstogo.com for help with stubborn malware or something hijacked on your computer. Great bunch of people there - very fast, very good, very free!
Geeks to go for all your virus and malware issues - ( New Window )
I did that for two months until I realized I was the only person in the building doing that. So now I redeem my points for XBox gift cards.
Having used Google a lot previously and Bing for nearly two years, I see very little difference between the two.