Safari Default Search Engine changed to Yandex

Sometime this morning, the default search engine in Safari was changed to Yandex on my computer (apparently some sort of Russian search engine). I know that some searches I did earlier in the day went through Google as usual, but later searches were run through Yandex.


Walking back through my browsing history, I'm able to narrow down when the change occurred, and I know I didn't download anything at all in that interval. (much less a "toolbar" which I would have avoided like the plague)


I know how to change my search engine back to Google and have done so, but Yandex is still showing up as an option, and I'm wondering if there's more I can do to remove all sign of it from my computer. It's disturbing that somewhere along the way this morning, something must have added this to Safari and I'm not comfortable handling any sensitive information in my computer until I sort this out.


I'm on a 2012 iMac running Mac OSX 10.9.4. Safari 7.0.5. According to Software Update, all software is up to date.

iMac, iOS 7.0.5

Posted on Sep 18, 2014 1:44 PM

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10 replies

Sep 18, 2014 3:44 PM in response to edithatJH

DDG was added to Safari 7.1 in OS X 10.9.5 which was released earlier today:


User uploaded file


There was no mention of Yandex being added, though I have not tested anything other than North American localizations. DDG was also added to iOS 8.


It is possible the option for Yandex was added without your explicit consent. If you have reason for concern, go to the Safari menu > Preferences > Extensions. If you see any extensions that you do not recognize or understand, simply click the Uninstall button and they will be gone.

Edit: Here you go - old news: https://gigaom.com/2013/06/11/yandex-becomes-safari-search-option-in-russia-ukra ine-and-turkey/

Sep 18, 2014 2:13 PM in response to edithatJH

How else did it get there on a secure system? Why are you being argumentative? If you think you have malware then see:


Helpful Links Regarding Malware Problems


If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide and AdwareMedic.


Open Safari, select Preferences from the Safari menu. Click on Extensions icon in the toolbar. Disable all Extensions. If this stops your problem, then re-enable them one by one until the problem returns. Now remove that extension as it is causing the problem.


An excellent link to read is Tom Reed's Mac Malware Guide.

Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read Detecting and avoiding malware and spyware.

See these Apple articles:


Mac OS X Snow Leopard and malware detection

OS X Lion- Protect your Mac from malware

OS X Mountain Lion- Protect your Mac from malware

OS X Mavericks- Protect your Mac from malware

About file quarantine in OS X


If you require anti-virus protection Thomas Reed recommends using ClamXAV. (Thank you to Thomas Reed for this recommendation.)


From user Joe Bailey comes this equally useful advice:


The facts are:


1. There is no anti-malware software that can detect 100% of the malware out there.

2. There is no anti-malware that can detect everything targeting the Mac.

3. The very best way to prevent the most attacks is for you as the user to be aware that

the most successful malware attacks rely on very sophisticated social engineering

techniques preying on human avarice, ****, and fear.

4. Internet popups saying the FBI, NSA, Microsoft, your ISP has detected malware on

your computer is intended to entice you to install their malware thinking it is a

protection against malware.

5. Some of the anti-malware products on the market are worse than the malware

from which they purport to protect you.

6. Be cautious where you go on the internet.

7. Only download anything from sites you know are safe.

8. Avoid links you receive in email, always be suspicious even if you get something

you think is from a friend, but you were not expecting.

9. If there is any question in your mind, then assume it is malware.

Sep 18, 2014 2:35 PM in response to Kappy

After doing some research, I've learned that because of iOS8, the search engine options have been updated to: Google, Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo.


No mention of Yandex.


I'm sure plenty of people think their systems are secure right up until something unexpected happens. So I'm being argumentative because you're just asserting without any evidence that Yandex is legit when everything else I see says it's not. In fact, it's more curious now because I don't have DuckDuckGo, I have Yandex.


BUT that did get me thinking...because of my job, I do have Russian Cyrillic input sources enabled in my Keyboard Preferences. Since I got Yandex instead of DuckDuckGo, I wonder if that influenced the choice of alternative search engine that was added to Safari.


So, probably not malware after all, but there was more to the answer than "just accept it!"

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Safari Default Search Engine changed to Yandex

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