Summary

Type a search into the address bar and the results arrive from a site you have never heard of. This happens when an extension takes ownership of your search settings — a permission browsers grant on purpose, which is why nothing feels infected and antivirus reports nothing. This article puts the settings back, finds and removes the extension holding them, and covers the one scenario where the change was your employer's doing all along.

Symptoms

• Searches typed into the address bar arrive at an unfamiliar results page, often after flashing through one or two redirects.
• The results page carries a name you do not recognise, or looks like a plain search page wrapped in advertisements.
• Your homepage or startup page changed on its own and returns after you change it back.
• The new tab page shows a different search box, a tile grid you did not set up, or news you did not choose.
• A new toolbar, sidebar button, or icon appeared next to the address bar.
• The Search engine used in the address bar dropdown is greyed out, or resets itself the next time you open the browser.
• Your antivirus scan comes back clean, which makes the whole thing more alarming rather than less.

In this guide

• 1. Rule Out a Company Policy First
• 2. Reset the Default Search Engine
• 3. Reset the Startup Page, Home Button, and New Tab Page
• 4. Find and Remove the Extension That Did It
• 5. Handle an Extension That Reinstalls Itself
• 6. Reset the Browser When the Setting Will Not Stick
• 7. Check for a Matching Windows App

Before You Start

• Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome on Windows 11 or Windows 10.
• No admin rights required for the browser steps. Uninstalling a Windows program in Step 7 needs admin rights on some managed devices.
• Note the exact address of the unfamiliar search page before you start. You will use it to identify the culprit.

Instructions

1. Rule Out a Company Policy First

On a work-managed device, a deliberate company search engine, homepage, or new tab page is indistinguishable from a hijack. Both change the setting without asking, and both grey the setting out. Two minutes here saves you resetting a browser that was working as designed.

1. Type edge://policy in Edge, or chrome://policy in Chrome, into the address bar and press Enter.
2. A page opens listing every policy applied to this browser, with a Policy name column and a Value column.
3. Use Ctrl + F and search for Search. Look for entries named DefaultSearchProviderEnabled, DefaultSearchProviderName, or DefaultSearchProviderSearchURL.
4. Search for Homepage and Restore as well, to catch HomepageLocation and RestoreOnStartupURLs.
5. If those entries are present and their Status reads OK, your organization set them. Stop here — the browser is behaving correctly, and resetting it changes nothing permanent.
6. If the policy page lists nothing about search or the homepage, this was not your employer. Continue to Step 2.

Note: Something else worth checking: policies can also be applied by a program installed on the computer rather than by your employer. If the policy page shows a search entry with a source of Platform and you know your device is not managed, treat it as part of the hijack and work through Step 7 as well.

Verification: If you found company policies and want the search engine changed, tell IT: "The default search provider is set by policy on my browser profile. Please confirm whether it can be changed for my account and which provider is approved."

2. Reset the Default Search Engine

This is the visible symptom. Fix it now, then Step 4 stops it coming back.

Microsoft Edge:

1. Click the three dots (...) at the top right and select Settings.
2. Click Privacy, search, and services in the left sidebar.
3. Scroll to the bottom, to the Services section, and click Address bar and search.
4. Open the Search engine used in the address bar dropdown and select the one you want — Bing (recommended), Google, or DuckDuckGo are listed by default.
5. Click Manage search engines below the dropdown.
6. Find the unfamiliar entry in the list, click the three dots (...) to its right, and select Delete. The row disappears.

Google Chrome:

1. Click the three dots (⋮) at the top right and select Settings.
2. Click Search engine in the left sidebar.
3. Open the Search engine used in the address bar dropdown and select your preferred provider.
4. Click Manage search engines and site search.
5. Under the Search engines heading, find the unfamiliar entry, click the three dots (⋮) to its right, and select Delete.
6. Scroll down and check the Site search section too — hijackers frequently leave a shortcut entry there that reactivates when you type a keyword.

Verification: Type a word into the address bar and press Enter. The results arrive at the provider you selected, with its address at the front of the URL and no redirect in between.

Note: If the dropdown is greyed out and a message names an extension, go straight to Step 4. The setting cannot be changed while the extension owns it.

3. Reset the Startup Page, Home Button, and New Tab Page

A hijacker rarely changes one setting. Clearing the search engine while the startup page still points at the same site sends you back there every morning.

Microsoft Edge:

1. In Settings, click Start, home, and new tab page in the left sidebar.
2. Under When Edge starts, select Open the new tab page or Open tabs from the previous session.
3. If Open these pages is selected, look at the list beneath it. Click the three dots (...) beside any unfamiliar address and select Delete.
4. Scroll to the Home button section. Set it to New tab page, or clear any address in the box beside Enter URL and click Save.

Google Chrome:

1. In Settings, click On startup in the left sidebar.
2. Select Open the New Tab page or Continue where you left off.
3. If Open a specific page or set of pages is selected, click the three dots (⋮) beside each unfamiliar address and select Remove.
4. Click Appearance in the left sidebar. If Show home button is on, select New Tab page rather than the custom address, or clear the address box.

Verification: Close the browser completely and reopen it. You land on the new tab page or your own tabs, and the address bar is empty rather than loading a search site.

4. Find and Remove the Extension That Did It

This is the actual fix. Everything above is undone the next time the browser starts unless the extension goes.

1. Type edge://extensions in Edge, or chrome://extensions in Chrome, into the address bar and press Enter.
2. Read the whole list. You are looking for anything you do not remember installing. Search tools, coupon finders, PDF converters, video downloaders, weather widgets, and map add-ons are the recurring names.
3. Compare against the search page address you noted earlier. The extension is often named after it, or its description mentions it.
4. Click Details on a suspect extension and look at Site access. An extension that reads and changes data on all sites has the reach to do this. A single-site extension almost certainly did not.
5. Switch the extension's toggle to Off first and reload a page. If searches behave, you have found it.
6. Click Remove on that extension, then Remove again in the confirmation dialog. The tile disappears from the page.
7. Go back and redo Step 2. The search engine dropdown is now editable, and the value you set holds.

Note: In Chrome, a greyed-out search setting shows a note stating that the setting is controlled by an extension, with a link that opens the extension directly. Follow it and remove that extension. Edge shows a briefcase icon instead when the setting comes from company policy — that is Step 1, not this step.

5. Handle an Extension That Reinstalls Itself

You removed it, restarted the browser, and it is back. Three things cause that, and each has its own fix.

• Browser sync is restoring it. Your profile syncs extensions across devices, so removing it here and leaving it installed on a second machine brings it straight back. In Edge, go to Settings > Profiles > Sync and turn Extensions off. In Chrome, go to Settings > You and Google > Sync and Google services > Manage what you sync, select Customize sync, and turn Extensions off. Remove the extension again, then remove it on every other device before turning sync back on.
• A second profile still has it. Click the profile picture at the top right of the browser. If more than one profile is listed, open each one and check its own extensions page — profiles hold entirely separate extension lists.
• A Windows program is putting it back. This is the most common cause and Step 7 handles it. The tell is that the extension returns after a Windows restart rather than a browser restart.

Tip: After removing the extension, close every browser window before testing. An extension that is still running in a background window reinstates its settings the moment a new window opens.

6. Reset the Browser When the Setting Will Not Stick

A reset clears every hijacked setting in one action — search engine, startup pages, new tab page, home button, site permissions, and pinned tabs. It keeps your bookmarks, browsing history, and saved passwords.

1. In Edge: go to Settings, click Reset settings in the left sidebar, click Restore settings to their default values, and click Reset in the dialog.
2. In Chrome: go to Settings, click Reset settings in the left sidebar, click Restore settings to their original defaults, and click Reset settings in the dialog.
3. Close the browser completely and reopen it.
4. Open the extensions page. Every extension now shows as switched off. Turn back on only the ones you recognise and use — and leave the culprit off, or click Remove on it now.
5. Set your search engine and startup page as in Steps 2 and 3.

Verification: Search from the address bar, open a new tab, and restart the browser. All three land where you set them. If any of them reverts, the cause is outside the browser — go to Step 7.

7. Check for a Matching Windows App

Search hijackers frequently arrive as a Windows program that installs the browser extension and reinstalls it whenever it is removed. Removing the program removes the source.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
2. Click Apps in the left sidebar, then click Installed apps.
3. Open the Sort by dropdown at the top right of the list and select Install date. The newest installations move to the top.
4. Look at everything installed around the date your searches changed. Names referencing search, toolbars, system cleaners, driver updaters, or download managers are the usual suspects — as is anything you do not recognise at all.
5. Click the three dots (...) beside the entry and select Uninstall, then Uninstall again to confirm. Follow any prompts the program's own uninstaller shows.
6. Restart the computer.
7. Reopen the browser and check the extensions page. The extension is gone and stays gone.

Note: If Uninstall is greyed out, or the uninstall fails partway through, the program needs admin rights to remove. Tell IT: "A program named the exact name from the list installed a browser extension that changes my search engine, and I need it uninstalled." Include the install date and the address of the search page — that is everything they need to act on the first reply.

Troubleshooting

WARNING

Never enter your work password, card details, or a verification code on the unfamiliar search page or anything it links to. Hijacked search results are monetised by sending you to look-alike sites. If you already entered your work password on a page you reached this way, change it now from a different device and tell your helpdesk that your credentials may have been submitted to a fraudulent page.

Symptom / Error	Potential Cause	Solution
Search engine dropdown is greyed out	An extension owns the setting	Remove the extension as in Step 4. The dropdown becomes editable immediately afterwards.
Setting reverts every time the browser starts	The extension is still installed	Disabling is not enough on its own — click Remove, not the toggle (Step 4).
Extension returns after every Windows restart	A Windows program reinstalls it	Uninstall the matching program from Installed apps (Step 7), then restart.
A briefcase icon sits beside the setting	Company policy, not a hijack	Check edge://policy or chrome://policy as in Step 1. This is a deliberate configuration and the browser is working correctly.
Only the new tab page is wrong	New tab is overridden separately	Both browsers let an extension own the new tab page on its own. Remove the extension (Step 4), then confirm the setting in Step 3.
The other browser is fine	Each browser holds its own settings	That is expected and useful — it confirms an extension rather than anything system-wide. Fix the affected browser only.
Reset finished but searches still redirect	Source is a Windows program or a network setting	Work through Step 7. If it survives that, tell IT: "Searches redirect to an unfamiliar site after a full browser reset and an app uninstall — the device needs checking for a proxy or DNS change."

Related Articles

• How to Manage Browser Extensions
• How to Set Your Default Browser and Home Page
• How to Stop Fake Virus Pop-ups and Spam Notifications from Your Browser
• How to Recognize and Avoid Tech Support Scams
• How to Clear Browser Cache and Cookies
• How to Update Your Web Browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari)

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