Guide · Browser taken over
Search engine or home page changed by itself on your Mac or Windows PC? How to get your browser back
Your searches go to Yahoo or a site you’ve never heard of, the home page changed, or ads appear on every page. That’s unwanted software that has taken your browser over, usually an add-on or a free app installed along with something else. It’s annoying rather than dangerous, and these steps remove it, on a Mac and on a Windows PC.
In short
On a Mac: set your search engine and home page back in the browser’s settings. If they change again, remove add-ons you didn’t add, then any app you don’t remember installing, then a profile you don’t recognize in System Settings (System Preferences on macOS 12).
On a Windows PC: set the browser back, remove add-ons you didn’t add, and uninstall apps you don’t recognize in Start › Settings › Apps › Installed apps. Then reset the browser’s settings and let Windows Security check your PC.
1. Set the search engine and home page back
Start here: it takes a minute, and if the change came from one website, that’s the end of it. If they change back by themselves, carry on with step 2.
- Safari: click Safari at the top left of the screen, then Settings (Preferences on older versions). Click Search and choose your Search engine (Apple’s guide). Then click General, and set the Homepage and what new windows and tabs open with (Apple’s guide).
- Google Chrome: click the three dots at the top right, then Settings. Click Search engine and choose the one you want. Then click On startup and choose Open the New Tab page.
- Microsoft Edge: click the three dots at the top right, then Settings. Click Privacy, search, and services, then Address bar and search, and choose your search engine (Microsoft’s guide). Then click Start, home, and new tabs and choose what Edge opens with.
- Firefox: click the three lines at the top right, then Settings. Click Search and choose the Default Search Engine. Then click Home and choose Firefox Home.
Close the browser completely and open it again: on a Mac, click its name at the top left of the screen, then Quit.
2. Remove add-ons you didn’t add
Add-ons, also called extensions, add features to a browser, and unwanted ones change its search engine or put ads in pages. Look for any you don’t remember adding, especially ones about search, PDFs, downloads, coupons or weather.
- Safari: click Safari, then Settings, then Extensions. Select the add-on and click Uninstall; Safari then shows the app it came in, so you can remove that too (step 3). To keep the app, untick the add-on instead (Apple’s guide).
- Google Chrome: click the three dots, then Extensions › Manage Extensions, and click Remove under each one you don’t want.
- Microsoft Edge: click the three dots, then Extensions › Manage extensions, and click Remove under each one (Microsoft’s guide).
- Firefox: click the three lines, then Add-ons and themes › Extensions. Click the three dots next to each one you don’t want, then Remove.
If an add-on comes back after you remove it, or its Remove button is missing, something on your computer puts it back: steps 3 and 4 find it.
3. Remove apps you don’t remember installing
Unwanted add-ons usually come with a free app: a PDF converter, a video downloader, a “cleaner” or a game, installed when you clicked through another download. Removing the app removes what it put in your browser.
On a Mac, open the Finder, click Applications, then choose View › as List and click the Date Added column, newest first. Drag anything you don’t recognize, or don’t use, to the Trash, or use its own uninstaller if it has one. Our guide to removing an app has the steps.
On a Windows PC, choose Start › Settings › Apps › Installed apps (Apps & features on Windows 10), and sort the list by install date. Click the three dots next to anything you don’t recognize that arrived around the time the trouble started, then Uninstall. Leave apps from your PC’s maker, like its audio or touchpad drivers, if you’re not sure what they do.
4. A profile, or “managed by your organization”
Some unwanted software goes further and locks the browser’s settings, so you can’t change them back. Chrome and Edge then say they’re “managed by your organization” even on your own computer, and the settings may look greyed out. On a work or school computer that’s normal, and its IT help desk set it.
On a Mac, the lock is usually a profile. To find and remove one:
- macOS 15 Sequoia and later: choose Apple menu › System Settings › General › Device Management. macOS 13 and 14: System Settings › Privacy & Security, then Profiles at the bottom. macOS 12 Monterey: Apple menu › System Preferences › Profiles. If there’s no such item, there’s no profile.
- Click a profile you don’t recognize, then the Remove button (−), and type your Mac’s password (Apple’s guide).
- Quit the browser and open it again.
Don’t remove a profile from your work or school, or one you installed yourself, for a VPN say.
On a Windows PC, the lock is set inside Windows by the unwanted app. Uninstalling the app (step 3) and resetting the browser (step 5) often lift it. If the message stays on a computer that’s yours, a computer shop can remove what’s left.
5. Reset the browser’s settings
A reset puts the search engine, home page and start pages back as they came, and turns off every add-on. Your bookmarks, history and saved passwords are kept, but you may need to sign in to websites again.
- Google Chrome: three dots › Settings › Reset settings › Restore settings to their original defaults, then Reset settings.
- Microsoft Edge: three dots › Settings › Reset settings › Restore settings to their default values, then Reset.
- Firefox: three lines › Help › More troubleshooting information, then Refresh Firefox.
- Safari has no reset button: steps 1 and 2 do the same.
Afterwards, turn back on only the add-ons you know and want.
6. Let your computer’s own protection check
On a Windows PC, Windows Security is built in and free. Click Start, type Windows Security and open it, click Virus & threat protection, then Quick scan. For a deeper check, click Scan options, choose Microsoft Defender Offline scan, then Scan now: your PC restarts to scan, which takes about 15 minutes, so save your work first (Microsoft’s guide).
On a Mac, macOS checks for known harmful software by itself and removes it, and its updates keep that list current, so keep macOS up to date: Apple menu › System Settings › General › Software Update, or System Preferences › Software Update on macOS 12 (Apple Platform Security).
Pop-ups that say you have a virus
Warnings that your computer is infected, often with a phone number, come from a website you allowed to send notifications, not from an add-on. They’re a scam, and our guide to fake virus warnings shows how to stop them in each browser.
When to ask for help
If the browser keeps changing after all six steps, or says it’s managed on a computer that’s only yours, a computer shop that removes unwanted software can finish the job. For Safari, Apple’s support can help too. If you typed a password into a page that appeared while your browser was taken over, change that password from a page you open yourself.
Advice you can skip
- A “virus removal” or “Mac cleaner” app from an advert or a pop-up. Some are the very software that took your browser over. The built-in protection in step 6 is enough.
- Calling a number from a warning in your browser. Apple and Microsoft don’t put phone numbers in their warnings.
- Erasing your computer because of a changed search engine. The steps above remove it without touching your files.
Common questions
Why does my search engine keep changing to Yahoo?
An add-on or an app you installed along with something else sets it, and puts it back whenever you change it. Remove add-ons you didn’t add, then apps you don’t remember installing, and set your search engine back. On a Mac, also check for a profile you don’t recognize.
Why does my browser say it’s managed by my organization?
On a work or school computer, its IT people set it. On your own computer, unwanted software set it to lock your search engine or add-ons. Uninstall apps you don’t recognize and reset the browser; on a Mac, remove a profile you don’t recognize in System Settings, or System Preferences on macOS 12.
Is a browser hijacker a virus?
Not usually. It’s unwanted software that changes your browser to show you ads and see your searches, and it usually came with a free download. It rarely touches your files, but remove it: it can lead you to scam pages.
Will resetting my browser delete my bookmarks or passwords?
No. Resetting Chrome or Edge, or refreshing Firefox, keeps your bookmarks, history and saved passwords. It turns off your add-ons and puts the search engine and start pages back as they came, and you may need to sign in to websites again.