Why Does My Search Engine Keep Changing to Bing? (Solved)

Many users report this issue where their search engine keeps changing to Bing. Bing is a legit search engine, so this should not be happening if you set Google as your default search engine.

If your search engine keeps changing to Bing, your PC is infected with a browser hijacker potentially unwanted program (PUPs) that alters your browser settings. Or a malicious extension was installed in your Chrome (or Chromium) browser and needs to be removed.

However, there is no need to worry if your PC is infected with PUPs or malicious extensions. You can fix this without much trouble with the following actions:

• Use Malwarebytes to scan your PC for Browser Hijackers’ PUPs.
• Clean Google Chrome from Malicious Extensions.
• Clean up your PC with Chrome.
• Restore Chrome to its original settings.

We will see next how to do each of these actions step-by-step.

How to Fix Google Chrome Search Engine Redirecting to Bing

I recommend following the steps below in the order suggested, as I‘ve grouped them by their likelihood of fixing the issue.

Step 1: Scan your PC for Browser Hijackers’ PUPs

As browser hijacker PUPs are probably why your search engine is redirecting to Bing, the first step to fix this issue will be to scan your PC for malware. To scan your PC for PUPs, follow the steps below:

1. Download Malwarebytes and install it on your PC.
2. Open Malwarebytes and click the Scan button to check your PC for malware. Wait for the scan to finish:
   
3. Remove any detection, if there is any:
   

Malwarebytes will remove any malware on your PC, so if this is the reason your search engine is redirecting to Bing, the problem will be solved.

Do a quick Google search to test if it is still redirecting to Bing.

(To make your Google Searches better and more accurate, I’ve written articles on how to block Quora, how to block Youtube Channels, and how to block Pinterest from search results.)

If the problem persists, try to clean your Chrome from malicious extensions, as explained below.

Step 2: Clean your Chrome from Malicious Extensions

You may also have downloaded a malicious browser extension from Chrome Web Store or another program on your PC you installed it. So, you must delete any malicious extensions in your Chrome.

The following steps are shown on the Chrome browser, but they apply to any Chromium-based browser so that they will work for Edge, Brave, Opera, etc.

1. With Google Chrome opened, click on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
2. Click on More Tools, then Extensions:
   
3. Check your browser extensions carefully, and remove any extension that you do not recognize or that you never by clicking on Remove:
   
   You can choose to Report Abuse if you suspect this is a malicious extension.

Important: Disable extensions you don’t often use by clicking on the blue button. Browser extensions are one of the main reasons why browsers use so much RAM.

Now, proceed with the next step to clean up your computer in Chrome.

Step 3: Cleaning up your computer with Chrome

Now we will use the Chrome Clean up tool to scan your PC for suspicious programs that might interfere with Google Chrome. Here is how to use it:

1. With Google Chrome opened, click on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
2. In the menu, click on Settings:
   
3. Type clean up on the search bar at the top of the settings windows:
   
4. Now click on Clean up computer to open the clean up function.
5. In Clean up computer, click on the Find button so that Chrome looks for harmful software in your PC:
   

Now, wait for several minutes while Chrome scans your computer. When the cleaning is over, proceed with the next step to restore your Chrome settings to the default.

Step 4: Restoring Chrome settings to the original default

In this last step, we will restore Chrome to its original settings to undo any malicious changes to your browser.

Doing this will not wipe your bookmarks, passwords, and personal data. It will only reset your settings to their original status. Follow the instructions below:

1. Open Chrome’s Settings as explained in the previous step:
   
2. Type clean up on the search bar at the top of the settings windows:
   
3. Click on Restore settings to their original default to open the restore feature:
   
4. Now click on Reset Settings to reset your Chrome settings, disable browser extensions, and delete cookies or other temporary data:
   
5. Wait while Chrome resets its settings.

You might need to log in to your Google account when the process is done.

By now, your search engine will not redirect to Bing anymore. To prevent this from happening again, read the last section of this article to learn how to prevent browser hijacking.

If nothing of the above worked, try the alternative fix below.

How to Fix Browser Redirecting with BlockSite Extension

The following workaround was suggested by the user Jane. in a thread on the Chrome support forums, she suggests using a browser extension called BlockSite to force all your searches to be redirected to Google.

I don’t recommend this method unless nothing else works, as this workaround deals with the problem without actually solving it. If there is malware or a malicious browser extension on your PC, this fix won’t remove it.

1. Download the BlockSite browser extension on the Chrome Web Store and add it to your Chrome:
   
2. During the installation process, agree with BlockSite terms and click on Continue to go to the next screen. When you arrive at the “Choose a plan” screen, click on Skip:
   
3. Now in the BlockSite interface, insert https://www.bing.com/ (or another search engine you wish to avoid as yahoo.com or searchbaron.com) and click on the + button to block it:
   
4. Then click on the Redirect button in the upper right corner, and insert https://www.google.com/, so BlockSite redirects your blocked pages to Google:
   

This workaround will prevent your search engine from redirecting to Bing until you can get rid of whatever is causing it.

How to Prevent Browser Hijacking?

To prevent Browser Hijacking, unmark all the bundle offers when installing software, and run period scans with a powerful anti-malware tool such as Malwarebytes to protect against PUPs. Check often for installed browser extensions, and remove those you don’t need.

(If you are unsure whether you can run Malwarebytes with Windows Defender, I’ve written an article on that.)

Conclusion

Browser hijacking PUPs and malicious extensions are the main reasons a search engine keeps changing to Bing.

To fix this problem, you need to follow two simple steps. First, run an anti-malware scan with Malwarebytes on your computer; second, remove unused extensions and restore your default settings in Chrome.

This video explains the process in Chrome step-by-step: