RebekkahRoseRyan

Q: I have a new ISP. They changed how my searches appear.

I have a new ISP, and although I did NOT select their website as my homepage, now the results of my searches include their website page.  I cannot see where they are listed as my search engine.  Google still appears as my search engine, but my searches are definitely using their search engine.  How can I get back the Google search engine, and remove Century Link's search engine? Please help me? RRR

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.4), Mail app

Posted on May 5, 2016 10:45 AM

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Q: I have a new ISP. They changed how my searches appear.

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  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa May 8, 2016 12:24 PM in response to RebekkahRoseRyan
    Level 7 (32,056 points)
    iPad
    May 8, 2016 12:24 PM in response to RebekkahRoseRyan

    Sorry, you've lost me; you said you had a problem with FF on a Dell running Windows. You said her view of FF was different, but did not say what kind of computer she has (or I missed it). It also doesn't matter which Windows computer: if it runs Windows, then any applications you install are Windows versions. They are different from apps that are Mac versions. In both cases, it is the OS that runs the system - the apps run within that system and Mac OS is entirely different from Windows. Since I do not have a Windows machine, I can't comment on that further.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang May 8, 2016 1:28 PM in response to RebekkahRoseRyan
    Level 8 (37,837 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 8, 2016 1:28 PM in response to RebekkahRoseRyan

    Is this what you mean?

     

    I've been using Century Link for years. It has never changed how I search the web. BUT, what it will do if you mistype a URL, or simply enter something goofy that ends in a domain name suffix, Century Link's system will step in and say, "Huh?", and then offer various links it thinks you may have meant. Such as to my nonsense entry of dasddd.com .

     

    Screen Shot.png

     

    If you're seeing this every time you launch your web browser, it only means your startup page has been changed. All you have to do is change it to something else. Open Safari's preferences and click on the General tab if it isn't already active. If the Homepage (as below where it has my web site name) setting says something like http://webhelper.centurylink.com/, then that's why it keeps going there. Change it to anything else you want.

     

    Screen Shot 1.png

     

    Or, change the second and third drop down menus so they both say Empty Page. Then each time you launch Safari, it will open with a blank page. Once Safari is running, all new windows and tabs will also come up blank and will wait for you to choose a web page to go to.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain May 8, 2016 1:53 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 5 (6,251 points)
    Mac App Store
    May 8, 2016 1:53 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Just to add to what Kurt had to say, I have Verizon FIOS and if I mistype a  URL or enter a nonsense URL, It will bring up a list of links to choose from Yahoo, despite having Google set as my search engine. I expect most ISPs behave the same way.

    Screen Shot 2016-05-08 at 4.51.07 PM.png

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa May 8, 2016 3:05 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 7 (32,056 points)
    iPad
    May 8, 2016 3:05 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    I did mention the nonsense entry for search; however, I did not know that the homepage could change itself. It has never done that here; I have mine set to blanks.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain May 8, 2016 3:07 PM in response to babowa
    Level 5 (6,251 points)
    Mac App Store
    May 8, 2016 3:07 PM in response to babowa

    FWIW, it's never changed my home page.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang May 8, 2016 3:14 PM in response to babowa
    Level 8 (37,837 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 8, 2016 3:14 PM in response to babowa

    No, not mine, either. But that it's set in the browser preferences is the only reason I can think of why CenturyLink's own search page would keep coming up.

  • by MrHoffman,

    MrHoffman MrHoffman May 8, 2016 3:46 PM in response to RebekkahRoseRyan
    Level 6 (15,627 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 8, 2016 3:46 PM in response to RebekkahRoseRyan

    This behavior is almost certainly due to the router and the local DNS settings, and how CenturyLink has chosen to configure — or arguably chosen to misconfigure — their DNS services.   There've been other discussions of this around the net, with a few that have turned up from a quick search:

     

    Centurylink.net Webhelper Safari Redirect Bot-How Do I Remove it? I have completely reformatted my computer, and it is …

    http://www.safebro.com/remove-centurylink-virus

     

    With OS X, reset the local DNS server settings in System Preferences (to another DNS provider, such as the Google public DNS servers at IP addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4), reset your router firewall or whatever else might be providing what is known as a DNS resolver to an alternate DNS provider, and then flush your local DNS cache.

  • by RebekkahRoseRyan,

    RebekkahRoseRyan RebekkahRoseRyan May 8, 2016 5:59 PM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (31 points)
    iPhone
    May 8, 2016 5:59 PM in response to dialabrain

    I can only speak about the ISP I used for the last 16 years in Ohio, and that ISP never appeared on any of my web searches when Google was my chosen search engine.  If I didn't know the exact name of the website I wanted to find, Google options were supplied to me and my ISP did NOT appear anywhere on that page of suggested websites.  This page of "website suggestions" with Century Link's Brand and Logo plastered all over it, and none of the suggestions even relate to what I was searching for, is a new and startling experience for me.  I was searching for Sony, and "website suggestions" with a  web page of 'search.centurylink.com' appeared with job offers from Century Link (does not relate to Sony), something that I did not even recognize as anything I know about and whose name I do not remember was the first 'website suggestion' that was provided (again, does not relate to Sony), and it was a page full of links all containing Century Link in the web page suggested.  The ISP from Ohio was used for 15 years on a Dell windows based unit, and then on my new iMac for 8 months.  Again, their ISP brand never appeared anywhere on my web searches.  This thing that you all seem to believe is an acceptable way for Century Link to behave is totally new to me, and completely undesired by me.  With my Ohio ISP I didn't have to use the complete name of the website to get Google's options as solutions to my search.  My home page is not what has changed.  In the Safari Preferences area under Search, Google has always been my choice.  My home page is and has always been - apple.com/startpage, and my page to appear when I open Safari has always been my list of favorites.  These are not the areas where Century Link Brand and suggestions appears.  I have tried to use all the suggestions for DNS that you all have suggested.  Unfortunately, nothing we have tried has removed the Century Link 'website suggestions' 'search.centurylink.com' page from appearing when I do not know the exact name of the website I am hunting for.  The only option to not see the Century Link *&%)* (I can't say the word I would prefer to use to describe what Century Link proffers) is to add a space at the end of the word that I am hunting for. When I include a space at the end of the word I am searching for, then the Google options are what appears.  I can't believe that when I complained on the phone for more than 2 hours to Century Link technical support people, they did not know how to remove this problem, and also they were doing Google searches to find a solution.  Wish Comcast and Century Link were not my only options for my new location.

  • by RebekkahRoseRyan,

    RebekkahRoseRyan RebekkahRoseRyan May 8, 2016 6:01 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (31 points)
    iPhone
    May 8, 2016 6:01 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    It's not anywhere on my browser's preferences in an area that I can see on my iMac.  It has to be coming from Century Link somewhere, and unfortunately I do not know enough about that end of this technology to have an answer.

  • by MrHoffman,

    MrHoffman MrHoffman May 9, 2016 6:50 AM in response to RebekkahRoseRyan
    Level 6 (15,627 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 9, 2016 6:50 AM in response to RebekkahRoseRyan

    RebekkahRoseRyan wrote:

     

    It's not anywhere on my browser's preferences in an area that I can see on my iMac.  It has to be coming from Century Link somewhere, and unfortunately I do not know enough about that end of this technology to have an answer.

     

    I am not familiar with CenturyLink, though I do see various postings involving then with similar behaviors reported, either due to DNS or software loaded onto the client devices.

     

    The general mechanism for any of these involves intercepting traffic, and most commonly intercepting DNS traffic.   The ISP can implement this interception at their DNS servers — where a failed translation is turned into something else at the ISP DNS server, or – with more equipment and a willingness to inject into DNS traffic routed through (but not to) the ISP network; into DNS traffic for other sites. 

     

    Further down this same monetization path is what is variously known as HTTP injection, where the ISP injects ads or other ISP provided traffic into the web HTTP traffic between the ISP customers and third-party web sites.

     

    Again, I do not know what or how — or even if — CenturyLink or any other ISP might be doing this in this or any other particular case, and this sort of behavior can also involve "routine" malware / adware that's present on the OS X and other systems, can also be caused by a network-level hijack of the router for the local network.

  • by chattphotos,

    chattphotos chattphotos May 9, 2016 7:04 AM in response to MrHoffman
    Level 4 (2,434 points)
    Desktops
    May 9, 2016 7:04 AM in response to MrHoffman

    At this stage, I recommend a test of Internet browsing with Betternet or similar VPN connection as a way to see DNS queries on a non-hijackKing network.

     

    If connecting to different dns servers isn't working, CenturyLink is quite the troublesome ISP eh?

     

    Let me know if you'd like to set up a remote support session, I do IT for a living and it would be good to find a solution that works every time.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain May 9, 2016 7:11 AM in response to chattphotos
    Level 5 (6,251 points)
    Mac App Store
    May 9, 2016 7:11 AM in response to chattphotos

    FWIW, when I connect with a VPN I get this as opposed to my previous screenshot…

    Screen Shot 2016-05-09 at 10.09.27 AM.png

  • by chattphotos,

    chattphotos chattphotos May 9, 2016 7:19 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 4 (2,434 points)
    Desktops
    May 9, 2016 7:19 AM in response to dialabrain

    That's good to see

    Since there's no server at that dummy url, that's what is supposed to happen.

     

    It's something about recursive DNS that CenturyLink is hijacking.

    Try resetting your DNS to the servers at DNS.Watch or OpenNic.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain May 9, 2016 7:26 AM in response to chattphotos
    Level 5 (6,251 points)
    Mac App Store
    May 9, 2016 7:26 AM in response to chattphotos

    I'm actually not the one using CenturyLink.

    I'm using Verizon FIOS which takes me to Yahoo with a dummy address. I'm also not concerned that they do such a thing. It happens very rarely.

    Re: I have a new ISP. They changed how my searches appear.

  • by RebekkahRoseRyan,

    RebekkahRoseRyan RebekkahRoseRyan May 9, 2016 7:48 AM in response to chattphotos
    Level 1 (31 points)
    iPhone
    May 9, 2016 7:48 AM in response to chattphotos

    A remote support session that costs me what? Since you do this for a living, I do not imagine that you are offering free advice via a remote session? Please provide more details. I too would like to solve this as entering a space after the word I am searching for seems like a work around and not a solution.  My previous Ohio ISP of 16 years never did what Century Link has done to my browser searches using Safari 9.1.

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