Will horrible things like Yahoo search and the like be removed from future versions so I don't have to use shitty Chrome just to get google as search engine?
I love Firefox which is by far the most superior of all the browsers on the market - however, why would you try and force your loving fans to use search engines like Yahoo, DuckDuckGo or Bing? Nobody wants that. Even if I remove all these horrible google 'alternatives' they keep coming back, and Yahoo search keep getting set as my default search engine. This is not okay. I realise that your choice to do so is founded in the fact that google as a competing service does not support you financially. Still, people want to use google for search, also on Firefox, and I would rather pay per month to use my browser than be forced into using Yahoo search engine ever again. I kindly ask you to reconsider your business model, since not being able to use google per default will drive away faithful long term users like myself ...
All Replies (5)
hi, firefox doesn't force its users to use any particular search engine - in particular not yahoo (as they are currently suing mozilla).
it may be a problem possibly caused by adware on your pc.
- please go to the firefox menu ≡ > addons > extensions & remove any suspicious entries (toolbars, things that you have not installed intentionally, don't know what purpose they serve, etc).
- also go to the windows control panel / programs and remove all toolbars or potentially unwanted software from there.
- finally, run a full scan of your system with different security tools like the free version of malwarebytes & adwcleaner, which are specialised in adware and browser hijackers.
Remove a toolbar that has taken over your Firefox search or home page
I have the issue on two seperate newly installed Windows 10 machines which I only use for work, so there is no chance of adware - can it be a Windows 10 issue? I don't think I have the problem on my Ubuntu version, come to think of it?
no, this isn't a windows issue - what interest would microsoft have in setting another search engine than their own? if you have just newly set-up windows, perhaps one of the installers of the programs you've newly downloaded came with some bundled adware? this is the common vector how those programs end up on a system. please run the scan tools i've mentioned in any case though...
https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/11/14/firefox-features-google-as-default-search-provider-in-the-u-s-canada-hong-kong-and-taiwan/ https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/12/05/mozilla-files-cross-complaint-against-yahoo-holdings-and-oath/
Since Firefox 57.0 Release the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan locales no longer has Yahoo as the default and went back to Google even though Mozilla was trying use Google less.
Hi Tara1000, two things:
(1) You do not need to remove built-in search plugins from the large One-Click box on the Options/Preferences page.
Users who have removed ALL of the items in the box have reported that configuration to be unstable, so I suggest you just uncheck the search providers whose icons you do not want to appear among "one click" search engines. The checkmark is in the left column of the list.
(2) What is the exact name of the unwanted default search engine on the Options/Preferences page, and what icon does it have?
Yahoo provides affiliate income to third parties that promote its search, so this create the incentive for others to create third party search plugins to earn money.
These third party search plugins may show an obviously different name from the built-in search plugin ("Yahoo").
They also will have different parameters when you search for firefox. These are the flags for Firefox's built-in Yahoo search plugin:
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=firefox&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001
If yours gives different parameters, it could be an add-on or another kind of infection.