How to remove other search engines?

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @hucker

@hucker The INI files were part of Opera Presto (Opera 12 and older), Opera Chromium never had such files.

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @hucker

@hucker said in How to remove other search engines?:

eg. "b c d circuit breaker curves",

You type d b c d circuit breaker curves in the address field and press enter. The d and the space is for DuckDuckGo. Just always type a d and a space first when searching and then you don't have to worry about it.

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @hucker

@hucker said in How to remove other search engines?:

I can't believe that. It may not be in the settings, but I doubt it's hard coded, as search engines change over time. Surely there's an ini file. It's not like I'm trying to do something illegal..

In the install folder, in the latest version folder, in the resources folder, there's "default_partner_content.json" that defines the search engines and keywords. However, the file is protected by a key to prevent tampering. If you edit the file and don't generate the correct key based on the new contents of the file (the exact way Opera does), Opera will delete the file and recreate it with the default values. So, you're out of luck unless you figure out how Opera does it.

hucker

hucker @burnout426

@burnout426 said in How to remove other search engines?:

@hucker said in How to remove other search engines?:

eg. "b c d circuit breaker curves",

You type d b c d circuit breaker curves in the address field and press enter. The d and the space is for DuckDuckGo. Just always type a d and a space first when searching and then you don't have to worry about it.

Very inconvenient. What an insane setup, not being able to disable, remove, or change the key for each search engine.

@burnout426 said in How to remove other search engines?:

@hucker said in How to remove other search engines?:

I can't believe that. It may not be in the settings, but I doubt it's hard coded, as search engines change over time. Surely there's an ini file. It's not like I'm trying to do something illegal..

In the install folder, in the latest version folder, in the resources folder, there's "default_partner_content.json" that defines the search engines and keywords. However, the file is protected by a key to prevent tampering. If you edit the file and don't generate the correct key based on the new contents of the file (the exact way Opera does), Opera will delete the file and recreate it with the default values. So, you're out of luck unless you figure out how Opera does it.

They encrypt it?! Is this something to do with royalties from the search engines? This sounds very suss.

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @hucker

@hucker said in How to remove other search engines?:

They encrypt it?! Is this something to do with royalties from the search engines?

Not sure, but it appears that might be one reason. The other might be to protect malware from hijacking your searches by modifying the files.

SadScribbler

SadScribbler @burnout426

@burnout426 There is a desperate need to be able to edit this file.

The latest download contains malware. Any search using Bing is redirected to a scum site "ysrcunow.com"

default_partner_content.json contains malware redirect

I have discovered two instances that so far contain the redirect:

1: C:\Users{YOUR_NAME}\AppData\Local\Programs\Opera\104.0.4944.33\resources\default_partner_content.json

2: C:\Users{YOUR_NAME}\AppData\Roaming\Opera Software\Opera Stable\default_partner_content.json

I tried searching and replacing the many references within the files to "bing_attributed_ysrcunow", with "bing", but as you say, Opera falls over and demands reinstallation.

This is very poor and should be addressed immediately. Personally, I would prefer to be able edit the file.

hucker

hucker @SadScribbler

@sadscribbler The whole world is a communist state nowadays, we're not allowed to do anything ourselves, the general public are treated as imbeciles.

I can't see the problem you're having since I blocked Opera from downloading at version 99, until such time as someone shows me they've removed the modern fluffy Apple like interface with rounded corners lest I hurt my fingers.

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @SadScribbler

@sadscribbler Those entries were put there by Opera. They're not malware.

SadScribbler

SadScribbler @burnout426

@burnout426 Are you really sure that Opera would place multiple references to "bing_attributed_ysrcunow" in it's file?

This means Bing is redirected to the untrustworthy ysrcunow.com and the browser hangs because my anti-virus [Avast] flags it up. There are a lot of complaints about this on the internet at present.

How does one actually contact the developers?

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @SadScribbler

@sadscribbler Yes, they are legit. Check https://forums.opera.com/post/331764

A Former User @burnout426

@burnout426 Do you think, this is a matter for concern? I'm not using Bing anyways. But why should there be a redirect, when you use a certain search engine?

hucker

hucker @leocg

@leocg https://www.scam-detector.com/validator/ysrcunow-com-review/
It is not legit. Why would searching on Bing go to anything but Bing?
Notice it calls it an "ecommerce site", not a search engine.
Scams inside browser code whatever next.

SadScribbler

SadScribbler @hucker

@hucker Totally agree. If I want to go to Bing - then I go Bing, nowhere else.

It seems the developers of Opera don't want persons to be able to edits the search engine list - now perhaps we know why.

It does beg the question, how trustworthy are other aspects of the browser? Unconscionable and outrageous conduct.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @hucker

@hucker As said, it was confirmed by someone from Opera that the link is legit.

hucker

hucker @leocg

@leocg It is not legit to go somewhere other than where I asked.

myswtest

myswtest

So I've spent time experimenting with different options for a fix for this issue.

Ultimately, this is the easiest and most reasonable. Of course it means you'll have to apply this change to all machines you have Opera on. This easy fix will help those who are concerned with this.

So on all OSes, there is a config file named: "hosts". On Unix style OSes (like Linux), it's path is:
/etc/hosts

On Windows OSes, the path is:
c:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts

You have to be the root user to edit it. Open the file in your favorite text editor, and append this line:
0.0.0.0 ysrcunow.com

Basically, your browsers and such need to resolve the spelled-out-website-name into an IP numerical address, and then it reaches out to the website using that value. The first thing it does is look in the "hosts" file for the numerical address - if found, it uses it ... otherwise, it reaches out to the your DNS server (like a phonebook of the Internet) for the translation.

Basically, the address "0.0.0.0" is a dead address, ie, it resolves to "nothing", so your browser will NOT be directed to the actual website.

That's it. Good luck to all. I will post this here, and to another thread regarding this concern. The user leocg will probably comment, but doesn't matter. I've also seen this person posting out to a Reddit thread (with a slightly different username, but similar pattern: gomesleo).

(Sidenote: FWIW, I'm a software engineer with 35+ years experience (now retired ... I'm also a published author of four computer books), and spent quite a while with the security team. This is very questionable. After I'm done posting, I will be gone from this forum, and will uninstall Opera from all four of my machines, and will pass on the info to many others).

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @Guest

@celticcross said in How to remove other search engines?:

@burnout426 Do you think, this is a matter for concern?

If you don't like the site's privacy policy and don't want your Bing searches shared with that site, then yes, it's a concern. If you trust Opera and trust that they fully vetted the company and the site, then you don't need to worry.

I'm not using Bing anyways.

Then you're all good either way. It's only with the default Bing search. I don't use Bing either.

If you did want to use Bing but without the redirect, you can goto the URL opera://settings/searchEngines, click "Add" under the
"Site Search" section, name it Bing (Direct), set its keyword to bd and set its URL to https://www.bing.com/search?q=%s. Then, whenever you want to search Bing, type bd and a space in the address field before you type your search terms.

But why should there be a redirect, when you use a certain search engine?

Ideally, there shouldn't. But, to make money, Opera has all kinds of partners and shares things. See https://legal.opera.com/privacy/ for example.

A Former User @burnout426

@burnout426 Thank you for your answer, clear and decent as always. It appears to be a full time job to explain Opera‘s sometimes very mysterious behavior.
In this case, I‘m not concerned personally as I switch between Google and DDG, usually. Even as I tried Bing yesterday I saw no redirect here maybe, bc it‘s bing.de not bing.com?
Anyways as far as I understand Opera‘s need to monetize, such behavior isn‘t helpful to maintain the trust of its users, is it? I mean, you always read about this China thing and about selling user data. I don‘t believe this, at least not in this form. But Opera often gets over ambitious with its promotional stuff.
I really like this browser. Although I‘m trying out others in parallel, Vivaldi, Firefox and Edge especially, I‘m always coming back here, as it gives me the best mixture of all these. But they have to work, not to lose users‘ trust.

hucker

hucker @burnout426

@burnout426 said in How to remove other search engines?:

If you don't like the site's privacy policy and don't want your Bing searches shared with that site, then yes, it's a concern. If you trust Opera and trust that they fully vetted the company and the site, then you don't need to worry.

I'm not using Bing anyways.

Neither am I, I trust MS less than anything else. Bing is useless anyway, 90% ads, 10% results.

If you did want to use Bing but without the redirect, you can goto the URL opera://settings/searchEngines, click "Add" under the
"Site Search" section, name it Bing (Direct), set its keyword to bd and set its URL to https://www.bing.com/search?q=%s. Then, whenever you want to search Bing, type bd and a space in the address field before you type your search terms.

We should be able to change the letters.

But why should there be a redirect, when you use a certain search engine?

Ideally, there shouldn't. But, to make money, Opera has all kinds of partners and shares things. See https://legal.opera.com/privacy/ for example.

I don't understand how I can get 5% off everything from AliExpress. Who is paying? £11 off a laser engraver was nice. Anyone want an engraved mahogany house sign?

Ideally, there shouldn't. But, to make money, Opera has all kinds of partners and shares things. See https://legal.opera.com/privacy/ for example.

Sorry I can't read that, I only speak English.

hucker

hucker @Guest

@celticcross said in How to remove other search engines?:

Anyways as far as I understand Opera‘s need to monetize, such behavior isn‘t helpful to maintain the trust of its users, is it? I mean, you always read about this China thing and about selling user data.

Google is the biggest seller of user data. At least Opera blocks all it's ads