Complaint: Make Bing your default search engine s...

I lost a lot of trust in Skype when they recently published an update and had the installer try to trick me into making Bing my default search engine and MSN my default home page.
These kinds of "viral payloads" do more harm than good because:
1)  They feel like cheap tricks and erode at our trust in the company and product.
2)  They make the payload in question seem pathetic. How good can Bing and MSN be if Microsoft has to trick people into using them? It's like parents trying to pay other children to be their child's friend.
3)  They are predatory practices that prey on people who aren't technologically savy enough to change the settings -- and who just assume that the checked boxes need to be checked.
4)  People feel tricked and betrayed.
Come on Microsoft... Is it really work it?
[real name redacted to protect privacy]

Hi, Basiclife, and welcome to the Community,
Not all of my responses are stellar. 
Discretion being the better part of valour, I will refrain from listing the software suites I use that try to "trick" me into adding yet another free trial of yet another anti-virus software package or browser toolbar ... ahhh, the "fine print" ...
"Do you want to make [fill in the blank] your default browser?"
Cheers,
Elaine
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Similar Messages

  • Complaint: Make Bing your default search engine side-effect

    I lost a lot of trust in Skype when they recently published an update and had the installer try to trick me into making Bing my default search engine and MSN my default home page.
    These kinds of "viral payloads" do more harm than good because:
    1)  They feel like cheap tricks and erode at our trust in the company and product.
    2)  They make the payload in question seem pathetic. How good can Bing and MSN be if Microsoft has to trick people into using them? It's like parents trying to pay other children to be their child's friend.
    3)  They are predatory practices that prey on people who aren't technologically savy enough to change the settings -- and who just assume that the checked boxes need to be checked.
    4)  People feel tricked and betrayed.
    Come on Microsoft... Is it really work it?
    [real name redacted to protect privacy]

    I have to agree. I decided not to update to the latest version of Skype because again it tried to make MSN my default homepage and Bing my default search engine. Maybe I want to make those changes, maybe I don't, but I do NOT want them forced on me in order to update Skype! No, there are no checkboxes or other ways to decline those changes. Unchecky usually prevents this kind of install, but it doesn't seem to work with Skype. I just closed Unchecky and tried the Skype update again. Same thing. No way to decline the change in homepage or in default search engine. I know I can change things back after installing Skype, but why should I have to? This is similar to Microsoft Update telling me that the Bing Bar and the Bing Desktop are "important" updates. In my not-so-humble opinion, MS is taking lessons from the folks over at Ask. I neither want nor need a toolbar, nor do I want/need the desktop app. Now if they called it an *optional* update, I'd have no problem. Optional, yes. Important, no. I will no longer allow automatic updates.  

  • I want google as my search engine, not Bing. How do I make Google the default search engine in the "Search the Web" feature of the search bar; or, how do I remove the "Search the Web" feature of the search bar so that "Google" can be default?

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    Sometime Bing is not located in the Add/Remove programs section of the control panel.
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    Long version: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Search%20bar?s=bing&as=s

  • Safari won't make Google my default search engine. + Top Sites issue.

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    I switched it in preferences, and it says the default search engine is 'Google', as well as saying it even saying 'Google' in the Toolbar text field.
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    ;D

      Adware installed without your knowledge?
      Use  free  AdwareMedic by clicking “Download ” from here.
       http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php
       Install , open,  and run it by clicking “Scan for Adware” button   to remove adware.
       Once done, quit AdwareMedic by clicking AdwareMedic in the menu bar and selecting
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  • Why is Bing my default search engine?

    My default search engine changed to Bing yesterday and I CAN'T get rid of it, it's driving me mental. I've tried changing preferences but it doesn't work. I've also read about uninstalling Geneio but I don't think I have that? It may be soemthing to do with installing a Paint software on my MAC as it seemed to happen after that! Please Help!

    andreahopscotch wrote:
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  • Remove Bing as default search engine in Safari

    Suddenly my Safari default search engine (in the URL bar) has switched to Bing. I changed it back to Google in preferences (on the Safari menu) and although the URL bar says "Search Google or enter address", it still defaults to Bing. Please help.

    Hi there I\'m an Apple user,
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  • Change bing as default search engine

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