# Can't get rid of Yahoo from Firefox address bar search **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887 "2009-09-20T23:31:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/1 "2009-09-20T23:31:26Z")
I type in something like “BBC” into the address bar, instead of hopping to [www.bbc.co.uk](http://www.bbc.co.uk), I get the Yahoo search results. I had installed a bit of software that smuggled Yahoo in there somehow, but I thought I had removed it according to some Googled instructions. I put about:config into the address bar and changed the keyword search to Google’s “I feel lucky” address, but to no avail. Anything else I should be doing? ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/2 "2009-09-21T00:14:12Z")
sounds like the smuggled Yahoo software may have changed your default search engine. if you don’t have the search engine thing enabled on your toolbar, you can add it by right-clicking anywhere on the toolbar, choosing Customize and then dragging it somewhere. once it’s there, change it from Yahoo to Google (or whatever) by clicking the dropdown arrow next to the Yahoo icon. if you change all that and it still defaults to Yahoo search results when you enter, for example, “bbc” in the address bar, try this approach: > **[firefoxfact](https://www.firefoxfacts.com)** > > RAYA108 merupakan situs judi slot online terbesar di Indonesia dengan berbagai jenis permainan seperti slot online, live casino, tembak ikan dan lainnya. Kami menawarkan pengalaman bermain game yang aman dan menyenangkan bagi para pemain. Kami juga... ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/3 "2009-09-22T12:08:48Z")
That link is dead. But this reminds me that Firefox on my office machine has a whole Yahoo line that I never installed right under the address line and I cannot figure out how to get rid of it. It does not endear me to Yahoo. Does anyone know how to remove this? ---
**Author:** ![Claptree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Claptree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claptree)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/4 "2009-09-22T12:26:08Z")
I got some Yahoo crap bar with AVG Free, but once I grew tired of it and unchecked the option in AVG I haven’t seen a trace of it. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/5 "2009-09-22T16:08:13Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > But this reminds me that Firefox on my office machine has a whole Yahoo line that I never installed right under the address line and I cannot figure out how to get rid of it. It does not endear me to Yahoo. Does anyone know how to remove this? View-\>Toolbars-\>Yahoo Toolbar Just uncheck it. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/6 "2009-09-22T22:48:59Z")
In the end I had to uninstall and reinstall Firefox. Strangely enough, Yahoo didn’t seem to be listed in the about:config page and I had uninstalled anything Yahoo related I could find through the Control Panel. ---
**Author:** ![cargocheck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e495f1/32.png) [@cargocheck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cargocheck2)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/7 "2010-10-27T07:12:05Z")
Windows 7: –\>Start –\>Type Regedit In Regedit: –\>HKLM --\>Software --\>DeviceVM --\>Browser Configuration Utility --\>FF Delete Yahoo folder –\>IE Delete Yahoo folder HK\_Users: –\>HKEY\_USERS\S-1-5-21-1156402359-4183174444-3213922023-1001 –\>Software --\>DeviceVM --\>Browser Configuration Utility --\>FF Right click on Default --\> Modify --\> Change to Google –\>IE Right click on Default --\> Modify --\> Change to Google and you should be free of annoying Yahoo in the address bar. Later you can put it back in as search possibility in your browser. It won’t be coming up in the address bar. c. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/8 "2010-10-27T07:33:48Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > View-\>Toolbars-\>Yahoo Toolbar Just uncheck it. I had the same problem with this crap Yahoo search toolbar. I did what you suggested and when I restarted my computer got a dialogue box come up and say something like “It seems you’ve unselected the Yahoo search toolbar. We’ve re-activated it in case you deactivated it by mistake.” :mad::mad::mad::mad: ---
**Author:** ![enigmatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@enigmatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigmatic)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-rid-of-yahoo-from-firefox-address-bar-search/510887/9 "2010-10-27T08:32:51Z")
This is obviously too late, and probably the first thing that you would have thought of, but the native firefox search bar has a symbol and arrow next to it that enables you to switch the search engine or site, you didn’t have that set to yahoo did you? 😃