The Hijacked Omnibox
The address bar in Google Chrome (known as the Omnibox) serves a dual purpose: you can type in a specific URL to go directly to a website, or you can type a query to perform a web search. By default, Chrome uses Google to execute these searches. However, you might suddenly notice that typing a query routes you through Yahoo, Bing, or a strange, unfamiliar search engine instead. This automatic changing of your default search engine is almost always caused by a newly installed browser extension, or worse, malicious adware that has hijacked your browser settings to generate ad revenue.
Restoring the Default Engine
To reclaim your search bar and stop Google Chrome from automatically routing your queries through an unwanted search engine, you must manually reset the setting and identify the culprit.
Open Google Chrome. Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner and select Settings. In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on Search engine. In the main panel, look at the dropdown menu next to “Search engine used in the address bar” and set it back to your preferred choice (e.g., Google). However, this is only half the fix; if an extension made the change, it will just change it back later. Click on Manage search engines and site search just below that. Look through the list and delete any suspicious search engines using the three dots next to them. Finally, navigate to chrome://extensions/ and aggressively disable or remove any toolbars, PDF converters, or shopping assistants that you do not explicitly recognize, as these are the primary culprits for search hijacking.