Default Search Engine

Sometime during the process of downloading and installing the VLC media player my default search engine changed from Google to Yahoo. I much prefer the 'look' of Google and would like this to be my default search engine. Despite going in to Safari Preferences and setting the default to Google it still persists in using Yahoo. Can anybody help? I'm using OSX 10.9.4.

Wardy I just tried this myself. Safari, which I don't use by the way, was set to use Yahoo as the default search engine in Safari preferences. So the Address/search bar displayed Yahoo Search. I went to Safari > Preferences > General and chose Google from the pull down menu called; Default search engine. It immediately changed to Search Google. I have quit and restarted a few times and it remains Search Google so If you are following the above procedure it should work.

Thanks for that Rod. I have already tried that and despite the fact that it shows the default to be Google in Preferences it still persists to be Yahoo.

Hi Wardy,
As explained by Rod,you should have Google defined as your default search engine in Safari's Preferences.
Also,you have to define "google.com" as your Homepage in order to attain what you want.Go about it also in
Safari>Preferences>General>Safari opens with: A new window>New windows open with: Homepage>Homepage: Google.
That'll do it.

I don't have that problem with Safari, but it has just turned up in Firefox (my default browser) in the last week! I'm running Firefox 31.0. I can find nothing in Firefox preferences to reset the search engine. The separate search field has disappeared from the address line. And my Morning Coffee extension has disappeared (although it is still installed).

In Firefox I had to remove all the extensions which were related or installed during the 1st installation. Watch what is "checked" for you for the default installs. In Safari, I've always been able to do the change with preferences and it "sticks"

I succeeded, but I had to totally uninstall Firefox, including trashing all preferences. In fact, I had to reinstall it three times, uncovering along the way the extensions that were causing problems. I discovered first that the Colorful Tabs extension is the one that hijacked my search engine—to Yahoo. In the process, I was able to get the Morning Coffee extension to show up again, then everything went away (1Password, Pocket, Morning Coffee) when I installed AutoPager.

Obviously, installing extensions is a delicate operation. The problem is we do not know the havoc one will wreak until the damage is done. I do have an extension installed in my Mac Preferences called AppTrap. At least that lets me easily dump all the files associated with an application. But doing it four times is a pain in the a#@.

I don't know whether to post a happy face because I've finally (I think) got what I need, or a disgusted face because it took me so long to do it!

khbizmail, I think you should give yourself a big thumbs up personally. What you have done is exactly what we try to do when attempting to solve problems on this forum, duplicating the circumstances. A bit like regression testing it is a slow laborious task but you did it. The information you have provided will be useful to me and hopefully others.
Thanks for feeding back.

Genieo may be the problem with hijacked search engines

When I installed Yosemite, I received a message that Genieo was incompatible—and I had no idea what that was because it wasn't an app I had installed! Looking it up, here's the skinny: How to detect and remove Genieo for Mac | MacIssues.

Genieo hihjacks your search engine. I did find files for it in my Library/LaunchAgents.

Hope this helps someone.

Most of us know about Genieo and what a pain it is. For more info: The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide

You may not have installed Geneio, but Softonic or CNET sure did. Be very particualr where you get downloads from as it is becoming common for adware to be wrapped in the download.

Most of you may know about Genieo, but no one mentioned that when I posted my problem with Firefox a couple of months ago. I was just lucky enough to find a solution myself! I was just trying to help someone else out here.

Well, well, a big thanks to cradom. I just visited the SafeMac site and downloaded AdwareMedic. Just to try really. Low and behold a scan turned up a single Genieo file and an Amazon shopper extension. I thought I had completely removed Genieo over 12 months ago after being accidentally "infected". I used the prescribed manual method but that file escaped me obviously.
This is a very useful little tool.