Recently, we have seen numerous reports of readers complaining that whey they use Safari on their Mac. Book and perform a search; the search operation gets redirected to Bing instead of Google Search. If you are experiencing this, chances are that you may have picked up some browser-based malware during your browsing.
It is, however, a form of malware known as a potentially unwanted program, or PUP. Specifically, it’s a browser hijacker, which means it intercepts your browser settings, whether you use Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, and changes the homepage and default search engine.
#1 Clear Safari browser history and cache. The first thing to do is to clear your Safari browser history and other website data. In order to do so, Click on Safari > Clear History… and then choose ‘All Data’.
Why can’t I find Bing on my computer?
In case this isn’t a malware issue, simply go to your browser’s preferences, proceed to the search settings, and pick the right search provider on the list. For instance, in Safari you need to open the Preferences screen, then click the Search tab, and opt for Google in the ‘Search engine’ area. This way, Bing will be automatically deselected.
You should be asking “Why does Bing keep coming back on my Mac?”
Your Mac has been most likely infected with a strain that changes the custom web surfing settings without your awareness and approval. The distorted configuration of your browser makes the Internet traffic travel through a merry-go-round of intermediary URLs, with Bing . Com being the landing page.
Why do people search with Bing?
There are a wide variety of rationales people use for why they search with Bing. Here are some of the reasons Vergecast listeners gave. Google is unmatched in terms of search engine popularity but is currently being monitored closely for its anticompetitively dominant position in search advertising after years of relying on third-party cookies.
Bing is, essentially, a smokescreen that adds a false sense of legitimacy to the attack. The malware operators benefit from the interim hits to auxiliary services that aren’t easy to notice with the naked eye. The root cause of this search engine takeover is malicious code that spreads in a surreptitious way.