How To Remove Search Engines (Specifically Yahoo) From Firefox / Flock

Perfect! Thanks a million! There should be an option for this in Firefox though!!

i just uninstalled ff and reinstalled a new version and it’s fine… no more yahoo search

Thank you so much for helping me get rid of that yahoo search engine. What a dirty trick to install a trojan in user’s computer to catch up with Google. And they’re failing horribly too. I hate yahoo so much fuck them.

Remove and Disable Yahoo! Search from Firefox

One of the neat tricks with Firefox is that when you type in a partial URL into the search field, say for example “netflix,” Firefox will automatically direct you to “https://www.netflix.com/.”
Firefox does this trick by using Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” feature. So, while you never see Google.com, you are actually using the Google search engine to find the partial Web address that you have entered.

This all works great unless you somehow download the Yahoo add-on which makes Yahoo! Search the default browser for Firefox. If you have AT&T DSL service or if you installed Yahoo IM (Instant Messenger), you may have installed this Yahoo add-on without being aware. Yahoo does not alert you that this add-on is being installed to Firefox.

If you have the Yahoo add-on in Firefox and you type a partial Web address into the Firefox search field, you will not go straight to the Web site. Instead you will see a list of Yahoo Search results.

This is a step backward in terms of usability, but it is also very easy to remove/disable this Yahoo add-on feature from Firefox. To make Google your default search engine in Firefox, just follow these five easy steps:

Step 1: Open a new Firefox browser window.
Step 2: Type about:config in the search field (most top) and press Enter.
Step 3: Click the “I Will Be Careful” button if necessary.
Step 4: Scroll to find a configuration key titled: keyword.URL
Step 5: Select “keyword.URL” and right-click, then hit “Reset” from the drop-down menu.

Ding dong! The witch is dead!
The wicked witch is dead!
Thank you, thank you!
I’ve been searching everywhere for this.

Tried using about:config, and setting google to the default search then restarting Firefox on my Vista 64 bit, but Yahoo search just popped right back when I restarted Firefox.

On my machine in searchplugins, was yahoo.xml to remove. Now I’ve got the ruby slippers! Yahoo is only hurting themselves by acting like such a witch.

I solved, with removing Programi Files\Mozilla Firefox\searchplugins\yahoo.xml

like u i have the search engine problem. unlike you i have no clue WHERE [installation Directory]\searchplugins is to be found. like, is it in program files in My Computer or in WINDOWS in My Computer? i would be happy to be rid of yahoo but im a computer-illiterate person. please i need help. Thank you in advance

Awesome, thank you so much for the info on how to remove it. It’s been a pain in the rear for a couple of weeks now, and the darndest thing is, I don’t ever recall accepting that Yahoo! could replace Google as my search function in Firefox.

I don’t think I’ll be using Yahoo! or their services ever again after this. This is a big breach of trust for me.

I found a new way that yahoo is forcing it’s malware into firefox 2. There is a program called PDFForge that installs a search bar into firefox. Every time you load it, it forces yahoo search to be the main search engine. Nothing will remove it until you uninstall PDFForge entirely. Yahoo just sucks.

Thank you so much. I really enjoyed these instructions. Especially the one about the returning the google “i’m feeling lucky” default location bar setting.

Never thought i would be feeling so strongly against a web search engine but once my location bar started giving yahoo search results, i am never using yahoo for anything again. Uninstalling yahoo messengers and everything yahoo from my comp.

Thx for the help

Igual no es tan dificil cambiarlo, solo pongan “about:config” en la barra de direcciones y a cada variable que diga yahoo denle click derecho > restaurar, y listo.

Thanks. This really helps!

Ike,
Please refer to:
How To Change Firefox Location Bar Searching

Willie,
Firefox has an uninstallation option. Are you on Windows or Linux?

Try this website: https://kb.mozillazine.org/Keyword.URL

This gives the answer. I too was frustrated by this Yahoo problem. Very frustrating.

how do i remove firefox from my computer and all of its components, it slow my computer down

Never mind i found the delete option i deleted what you said but it still dident work

I Found the files yahoo.src and yahoo.gif but when i right click them there is no option to delete it PLEASE HELP YAHOO is really making me mad

Thanks for your usefull tips!!!

yeah, my sis installed yahoo instant messenger onto the GOOD computer, not the bad 800mhz 640 ram 16mb graphix card one. and i rely heavily on the firefox location bar search.

so kudos to Angsuman Chakraborty for the fix.

ps: yahoo sucks.

Nice, I hate the yahoo and amazon being added to my firefox. In anwser to the first post. You probably take care of that by reinstalling FireFox, if you uninstall it make sure that you backup your favorites and plugins in you want. Then make sure you completely remove the firefox folder. With the new google toolbar (for FF) you can select which toolbar will show

LOL I just found out the answer to my question.

1st Step:
type: “about:config” into your address box
at the filter box type: “search”
Then simply change every “Yahoo” into “Google”

Firefox have a special feature that when you highlight and right-click on some words they will automatically do a google search for you. It’s quick and easy, however, yahoo has replaced google instead. And they are useless. I have tried for hours to switch it to Google but still failed. Pleae help me !! @.@

man, i’ve been able to remove yahoo search plugin from firefox, but there are others that i’ve previously installed that i can’t find a trace of in the program directory.
not in searchplugins, not in plugins, not in prefs., etc…

any idea how to remove search plugins that i myself have installed from mozdev?

thanks,
ben

@Michael
Yahoo IM effort is sick to the core.

You can try this:
How to Change Your FireFox Location Bar Search Engine

Check if they modified your %WINDOWS%/system32/drivers/etc/hosts file and included google.com there. If so just delete the entries.

Ever since I recently upgraded Yahoo Messenger, I have a great deal of difficulty browsing to Google content - any address starting with https://www.google.com/... or any page containing a Google syndicated ad. I have uninstalled YM and manually deleted a few lingering Yahoo files and registry keys, and run my spyware programs, all to no avail. Any ideas?

Please see this article for solution:
How to Change Your FireFox Location Bar Search Engine

I found the answer to my own question: Yahoo! Toolbar Help

Getting rid of the Yahoo! search engine in the search box is easy, but I can’t get rid of it in the location bar (the larger box to the left of the search box — where, typically, the URL is displayed).

Before installing (and quickly uninstalling) Yahoo! IM, I could type in “gmail” in the location bar, hit enter, and go directly to https://www.gmail.com. (Same for similar sites — hotmail, amazon, ebay, etc.) Now, however, instead of going directly to the site I want to go to, I am taken to the Yahoo! search results for whatever term I entered. To go directly to the site, I have to add (at the very least) a “.com” on the end.

It sucks.

Any way to solve this?