Bing is the second largest search engine on the internet after Google, and Microsoft would like you to use that search engine in Windows 10. Are you not waiting for that, because you simply like Google better? Then you can make sure that you use Google as a search engine in your browser or in Office by default. In this article, you’ll learn how to get Windows to say goodbye to Bing.
01 Choose yourself
We don’t intend to impose our opinion of Bing quality on you. However, chances are that you prefer Google’s popular search engine over Bing anyway. Bing appears in several places Windows 10 invoked by default. Well-known examples are the search from the start menu (search on the web), the browsers Internet Explorer and Edge, Cortana (not yet available in Dutch Windows versions) and the built-in search function of Office. The solutions discussed in this article all come with a Bing Banned guarantee. Also read: 20 tips to search better with Google.
02 Other browser
If you’re not a fan of Bing, you probably already use a browser other than what Microsoft offers by default. Google Chrome is obvious because of its amalgamation with the search engine of the same name, but Firefox is also an excellent alternative to Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer is still present in Windows 10, but is hardly being developed and is therefore not recommended.
You also have the browser Opera. According to the Consumers’ Association, this browser protects users best against malicious phishing sites. In addition, Opera has a built-in ad blocker, which is easy to use and makes sites less able to track you. Firefox has that built in too.
If you’re trying to separate your browser from Microsoft in general and Bing in particular, install Chrome or Firefox as a favorite browser.
03 Standard browser
Windows 10 works with a standard browser just like the previous Windows versions. This is the browser that is started when you click on a web link somewhere in Windows. If you have Chrome or Firefox installed, you can set your browser as the default browser as follows. Use the key combination Windows key + I to open Windows settings. Go to System / Default apps and choose at Web browser in front of Chrome or Firefox. Unfortunately, this step is insufficient to properly redirect Cortana’s search traffic or your Start menu. Your operating system will still be Edge in either case.
04 Search from Start
Make sure web search is enabled for your start menu. Click on Start, give a random search and open the settings of your start menu via the gear icon. Make sure the option Online search and web results use is enabled. Put it to the test by doing another search in your start menu. If you don’t see any internet search results, click Web. Edge will now start and Bing will display the search results. Now you know that the web search function is turned on. We are going to make sure that your default browser becomes active and the results from Google are shown.
05 SearchWithMyBrowser
Microsoft makes it nearly impossible to redirect searches from Windows to your default browser. Instead, it stubbornly opens the Edge browser for this. To still use your default browser for this, a few tricks are needed. Go here and download the files from SearchWithMyBrowser with the button Clone or download / Download zip. Create the folder C: SearchWithMyBrowser using Windows Explorer. Extract the contents of your download to this folder. Press Windows Key + X and click Command Prompt (administrator). From the prompt, navigate to the folder with the commands c: (Enter) and cd c: SearchWithMyBrowser (Enter). Give the command make.cmd (Enter).
06 Spartan commandos
A few files are created. As soon as the notification Done is displayed, the necessary scripts are ready. Now give the order SearchWithMyBrowser.exe / registry (Enter) and then the command install.cmd (Enter). The script wants to know where the file SearchWithMyBrowser.exe can be found. Specify as location C: SearchWithMyBrowser and confirm with Enter. The script reports that a question is being asked from Windows. In the dialog box, choose SearchWithMyBrowser.exe and confirm with OK. Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.
07 You are almost there!
After the previous step, searches via Cortana or your start menu will be forwarded to your default browser (Chrome or Firefox). Unfortunately, the search is still running in Bing. A browser extension ensures that your browser sends all searches in Bing to Google. The extension you need in Chrome is called Chrometana. For Firefox users, there is the extension Bing-Google. The box of tricks is complete with the completion of this step. Search commands in Windows are redirected to your default browser via SearchWithMyBrowser. The Chrometana or Bing-Google extension then ensures that the Bing command ends up with Google.
08 Undo
If you ever want to go back to the default settings, go through the following scenario. Via Windows key + X, open a command prompt as administrator again and go to the folder SearchWithMyBrowser. Give the command SearchWithMyBrowser.exe / unregister followed by Enter and restart your computer. If necessary, choose Edge again as your default browser. You can undo the extensions in Chrome or Firefox in the browser. Open in Chrome chrome: // extensions in the address bar. Remove Chrometana via the trash can icon. If you’re using Firefox, type about: addons in the address bar, after which you can remove the Bing-Google extension.
Duckduck… go!
The search engine DuckDuckGo is a popular alternative to Google. At DuckDuckGo, privacy is of paramount importance, while that is by no means the case with Google and Bing. DuckDuckGo’s search results are supplemented with information from Wikipedia, among others. If you’ve always used Google, you may have to get used to DuckDuckGo, but it’ll be fast! You can also set DuckDuckGo as an alternative to Google (step 7). With the options of Chrometana you can directly choose DuckDuckGo. Firefox users need a separate extension called Bing to Duck redirect. If you install this extension, it is recommended to remove Bing-Google. This way you avoid ‘conflicts’ about which extension should catch Bing search results.
Eavesdrop Cortana
Microsoft considers Cortana an important part of Windows. However, for it to work, you have to give up a lot for it. Everything you do in Windows is stored and your PC’s microphone is constantly listening. And then we are not even talking about whether you are happy to talk to a PC, regardless of the fact that Cortana does not understand Dutch. However, starting with Windows 10’s Anniversary Update, Cortana cannot be turned off completely. Does the eavesdropper with the beautiful name make you feel uncomfortable? Then the only remedy is to turn off your microphone completely. To do this, press start, type Device management and find your microphone in the list. Right click on it and choose Undo installation.
.