Today I started noticing a few odd things about my interactions with Yahoo. And keep in mind my online existence is purely Google-based. My search engines, some blogs, image hosting... well you get it. The only interaction I have with Yahoo is because I am forced to use it with a specific club I interact with and they use Yahoo Groups from yesteryear. It's not horrible but it's a bit rough or non-intuitive to use.
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With that said,
First up was that I could not download any attachments in an email I had in Yahoo. I HAD TO FORWARD IT to a good working email system like Google's Gmail to be able to download the attachments. (Yes, they were from a trusted source.)
Then I noticed that when I opened my Chrome browser, rather than opening to my pre-designated home page, I was getting two tabs now, which included my home page and the Yahoo Search engine page.
Yahoo... you are getting on my nerves.
But wait, I am not done.
I went off to search for something in my FireFox browser, whose default search window WAS set to Google until today. Now I am suddenly facing Yahoo's search engine window.
WTF Yahoo?
Ah, but the best one of them all was that I was going to go to my personal, on-disk home page. I have special links for work and my online life, but when I clicked on my "Home" symbol in FireFox, a Yahoo Search engine page pops up in its place.
If this does not work for some malwarish reason, you will probably need the ' Chrome Cleanup Tool [Windows Only] ' (https://www.google.com/chrome/cleanup-tool/)
Now I am f()ing mad at Yahoo.
Now I have to go through the hoops to fix what Yahoo has or allowed to have done to my system.
Now I have to dig up the location address of my home page and reinstate it.
Now, now I am officially done with Yahoo.
So I used Yahoo to search for Google and went to a Google search page via Yahoo. Thanks Yahoo... that was helpful.
This was the Home address that my new home page was set to:
http://us.yhs4.search.yahoo.com/
xxxxxxxxxx yhs/web?hspart=iry&
xxxxxxxxxx hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_003&type=wncy_frg01_15_36
xxxxxxxxxx ¶m1=1¶m2=
xxxxxxxxxx f%3D1%26b%3DFirefox%26cc%3Dus%26pa%3DWincy%26cd%3D2Xzuy
xxxxxxxxxx EtN2Y1L1Qzu0Bzz0C0AtA0AyB0EyEtByD0E0FzytB0AtN0D0Tzu0S
xxxxxxxxxx tCtAtAzztN1L2XzutAtFtCtBtFyDtFtAtN1L1Czu1BtAtN1L1G1B1V1N2Y
xxxxxxxxxx 1L1Qzu2S0BtC0AyEzzyCzytBtGyDyBtBtDtGyEtC0EzztGzyyE0FtAtGtB
xxxxxxxxxx tB0C0BzyyDtCtAyD0F0D0E2QtN1M1F1B2Z1V1N2Y1L1Qzu2StDzy
xxxxxxxxxx 0C0AtD0B0B0DtGtC0A0CzztGyEtAtDyDtG0BtDzz0EtGtByCtB0D0BtB0A0Fzz0E
xxxxxxxxxx yB0C2QtN0A0LzuyEtN1B2Z1V1T1S1NzuzyyEyE%26cr%3D
xxxxxxxxxx 1709324882%26a%3Dwncy_frg01_15_36%26os%3DWindows%2B7%2BEnt
xxxxxxxxxx erprise
(All the X's are injected to keep this link from working.)
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So now I've reset Google to the default search engine in Firefox, (again)
(Go to the search window, click on the magnifying glass, click on 'Change Search Settings' and have at there.)
My history seemed to have been swiped clean so I had to find my old home page on my hard drive and do this the hard way.
I found a previous bookmark that I had pointing to it, brought it up, then clicked on the three bars in the upper right corner of my Firefox, chose 'Options,' and on that page, you can input your choice of start page, which seems to set
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Over setting our search engine in Chrome: I used the Yahoo search window to figure out how to get rid of it from Chrome. HA!
I clicked on the Chrome Menu in the upper right corner. Clicked on 'Settings.'
Then 'On Startup' I deleted the Yahoo page from the 'Open Specific page or set of pages' option.
Under 'Search,' changed the provider to Google, then to the right, clicked on 'Manage search engines' and deleted all the instances of Yahoo there.
Dang, this was one insidious little beast on my machine.
Now to be honest, I don't know for sure if it was Yahoo or not. It could have been some malware beast I came across on the web. I'm usually pretty careful about what I do and click on and what not. I don't surf freely around the web.
I found it odd and annoying enough to get ticked at Yahoo... until I prove otherwise.
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I agree with you entirely in the respect that anyone who changes your web preferences is acting maliciously, and Yahoo tends to be a big offender. However, I feel no better about Google. Google uses many of the same tactics, including having to create and log into a Google account before I can view documents sent to me by Google Share, YouTube, and probably more.
ReplyDeleteAlways being prompted to load chrome on my desktop, and more than half the time I install new software, I am given the option to not have my search engine changed to Google. (i.e. if you miss the check box option, you are changed by default. Malware.)
As if Google doesn't already know enough about me. My God, by now Google knows how old I am, what I make, what I drive, what I watch, what I buy, what games I play. Then this information is used to target me with ads, and route salesmen to call me at home.
The main difference between Yahoo and Google? How the interface looks and it's popularity.