Google is the default search engine on the Chrome browser. But in some rare cases, Chrome uses Yahoo (search.yahoo.com) as its native search engine. This happens when a web extension or an external application takes control of your Chrome browser. Changing the default search engine without the user’s knowledge is not safe and secure. Hence, you need to remove the Yahoo Search from the Chrome browser.
How to Remove Yahoo Search From Chrome
Removing Yahoo Search from the default search engine settings is pretty simple.
On Windows/Mac
1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to Settings.
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2. On the left, click Search engine.
3. Click the Manage search engine and site search option.
4. Click on the three dots icon next to Yahoo.
5. Select Delete to delete the Yahoo search engine from Chrome.
Alternate Method
1. Open Google Chrome and go to Settings.
2. Select the Search engine option on the left panel.
3. Click the drop-down option next to the Search engine used in the address bar.
4. Choose Google from the drop-down menu.
5. After choosing it, click Manage search engines below and look for Google in the list.
6. Click on the vertical meatballs icon near google.com and click Make default.
Yahoo will be removed from the default search engine when you set another browser as the default browser.
On Android
On mobile, Chrome doesn’t offer the feature to remove the Yahoo Search engine. Instead, you can change the search engine to Google.
1. Open the Chrome browser on your Android smartphone.
2. Tap the vertical ellipsis → Settings.
3. Click Search engine under the Basics section.
4. Now, change the default search engine from Yahoo to Google by tapping on it.
5. Get back to the Chrome settings and click Homepage under the Advanced section.
6. Set Chrome’s homepage.
On iOS/iPadOS
1. Tap on the horizontal ellipsis in the bottom right corner of the Chrome browser.
2. Tap on Settings and go to Search Engine.
3. Choose Google as your default search engine.
Change On Startup Settings on Chrome
Changing On Startup page allows you to set a search engine of your choice, even though you have Yahoo as your default search engine. This method does not remove Yahoo Search from Chrome. However, it helps you to surf on Google engine instantly.
1. Head to Chrome Settings on your Chrome browser.
2. Click the Hamburger icon on the top left → On startup.
3. Choose Open a specific page or set of pages and click Add a new page.
4. Now, type www.google.com
and click Add.
Deleting Suspicious Extensions
The extensions related to Yahoo might be a part of a browser hijacker. So, removing it may help you to get rid of Yahoo Search from Chrome.
1. Open Chrome → Settings.
2. Navigate to Extensions in the left sidebar or type chrome://extensions
in the address bar.
3. Remove the extensions that are related to Yahoo Search.
Remove Applications From the Control Panel
Sometimes, unknown applications may be installed on the device when using Yahoo Search. To remove it,
1. Launch the Control Panel on your PC.
2. Look for Uninstall a Program and click it.
3. Now, find malicious programs and applications related to Yahoo Search and click Uninstall.
On Mac
1. Click Finder → Applications.
2. Selec the unnecessary apps and move them to the trash.
3. Finally, go to Trash → Click the horizontal meatballs icon in the circle icon → Empty Trash.
Clean Up the Browser
After uninstalling the unknown applications, check for virus threats on your browser to eliminate Yahoo Search.
1. Under Chrome Settings, click Reset and clean up.
2. Next, click Clean up computer on the right.
3. Click Find, and your system starts checking for harmful software.
Checking System Using Windows Security
1. Go to Settings → Windows Security on your PC.
2. Navigate to Virus & threat protection.
3. Carry out a Quick scan for virus threats and get rid of Yahoo Search.
Resetting Chrome to Default Settings
Resetting your Chrome browser will resolve the problems caused by malware in most cases.
1. Visit Chrome → Settings.
2. Click Reset and clean up section → Restore settings to their original defaults.
3. On the confirmation prompt, hit Reset Settings.
4. Relaunch the Chrome browser.
The browser will return to its default state, removing Yahoo Search from your Chrome browser.
Removing Temporary Files
1. Launch the Run window on your PC.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut Win + R to open the Run command window.
2. Type the command %temp%
on the open field and click OK.
3. Select all the temporary files and folders, then delete them.
Deleting these temporary files does not imply any negative effects on your system. Hence, you can delete them completely.
On Mac
1. First, click Finder and launch Go to the folder (Keyboard shortcut – shift + cmd + G).
2. Enter ~/Library/Caches
→ Go.
3. Select the unwanted files and move them to the trash.
To avoid malware and other suspicious attacks, you can block the websites on Chrome.
FAQs
You can update the Google Chrome browser, use antivirus, and scan the files before downloading them on your device.
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