How do I completely remove Bing from Safari

patrickportwilliam wrote:

Go to Safari > Preferences, and go to the Extensions tab. You should see Omnibar 1.2. Set the Search Engine to "default". If you don't do this, regardless of what you select, it will use Bing.

That will take care of one issue, but how did Omnibar get there in the first place. Almost certainly because you accidentally installed adware that includes Omnibar and additional annoying files. After re-setting the Search Engine, most users will want to also Uninstall Omnibar and then run AdwareMedic to identify any other adware that is present.

What was Apple thinking???

Apple didn't install it, you did. To find out why this happened and how to avoid it in the future see John Galt's How to install adware.

Okay, so how did it bypass Apple's security? I double-checked and I don't have it set to allow downloads from everywhere? Also, it doesn't show up in the extensions in my system preferences. Still seems to me like a glitch in the security if it can install like that without my authorization - unless it's somehow part of Adobe Flash - the only thing outside of Apple software that's been updated recently.

patrickportwilliam wrote:

Okay, so how did it bypass Apple's security?

Without knowing what other adware you may have installed, I can't tell you exactly, but Apple does not consider most Adware to be Malware at this time. The most common source of Omnibar is the Genieo installer. The Genieo application is signed with a valid Apple Developer ID and considered legitimate software. Since it installs everything in your user folder, it doesn't need an admin password. I realize all this is annoying but it doesn't really harm anything. They always include just enough language in the installer dialog to legally do what they are able to do unless you notice it and uncheck a box in the fine print to opt-out.

If you think that Apple should do more to protect you from Adware, then I encourage you to give them direct Feedback, as many other users have done over the past year or so. Hopefully they will ultimately get the message, eventually. In the meanwhile, be sure you carefully read about every download and installation you perform and stay away from software consolidator sites such as C|Net's download[dot]com and Softonics that included adware with almost every download. Get your software from the App Store or the developer's web site whenever possible.

it doesn't show up in the extensions in my system preferences.

That's not where browser extensions go. You need to look in Safari Preferences->Extensions.

patrickportwilliam wrote:

Okay, so how did it bypass Apple's security?

First, the Genieo installer is a signed app. This means that the Genieo folks obtained a developer ID from Apple, and with it, a cryptographic certificate that can be used to sign their software. This means that they are an "identified developer," and thus the app will be allowed to open (with a warning) when using the default setting for System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General -> "Allow apps downloaded from". (The default is "Mac App Store and identified developers").

Second, Genieo has never been added to the anti-malware system (XProtect) built into Mac OS X.

Apple could revoke their developer ID and the certificate if they felt it was being abused to create malware. They could also add identification of Genieo to XProtect. Either of these things would be sufficient to prevent Genieo from installing. However, Apple has not done so, probably because Genieo simply hasn't crossed that line from annoying to outright malicious. There is a school of thought that adware is legit, because it allows some apps to remain free rather than requiring payment. Presumably, this is why Apple has not taken action to block Genieo.

I'd strongly encourage leaving feeback for Apple, as MadMacs0 has suggested, to let them know how you feel about Genieo.

It's funny: people ask: "how to COMPLETELY" remove some search engine and, apart from the specific problem with Bing or Genieo, the best answer is: "Choose Google". No way! Completely remove means deleting, removing, getting rid of!...

Safari seems not to have a way to COMPLETELY remove a not wanted search engine from its list whilst other browser offer you a very simple feature: MANAGE your search engines, so you can really delete the unwanted ones.

Why should I keep in my list duckduck or others, even the good ones? Haven't I got the right to decide which ones keep and which not? What if I select again another one by mistake?

Sorry, it a question of principle: I have all the rights to delete something form the list. This is one of the many reasons why I don't use Safari. The problem is that quite often other people ask for my help to solve problems with their Macs....

This might have been figured out a while back but I would like to ensure it was because I really had a hard time getting ready of this annoying search results I would get while using google as my search engine. I would always get redirected to a bing search result page while using google as a search engine. I removed the extension under preferences and no longer have this issue. 🙂

You didn't mention the name of the extension, so I can't be certain where it came from, but normally it's one part of a suite of Adware software items installed by Genieo or it's current incarnation InKeepr. It would probably be a good idea to use the instructions at Adware Removal Guide : Genieo to see if you can find anything else that needs to go.

Its called feelbeing.com in my case

I had a problem with "Search" search engine. I had changed the default search engine to Google BUT it was changing the homepage address under the General tab that ceased "search" from dominating google...... thank you very much for the picture it made a BIG difference in order to see where i was going wrong.. It is all sorted now...

This is where I found how to change the search engine in the address bar under Safari's preferences.

This response is inaccurate. I have set my default search engine to be Google and Bing continues to appear.

The response is dead Accurate, please create your own thread and someone will address your problem .