Member Avatar for happygeek

An interesting story came into my radar this week when one of my sources told me of problems some chap had when installing Yahoo Messenger with the auto-update function enabled.

Turns out, apparently, that this chap discovered immediately that all his web link associations were changed from Firefox, his default system browser, to IE7 and then a rather confusing error message was thrown up informing him of this change and offering to 'fix your settings' or 'accept changes.'

Now this is where Yahoo would appear to have got rather sneaky and dealt the low-blow. Thinking that something is interfering with your browser settings you would most likely not want to accept the changes, instead you would go for the fix problem route. Which is what chappy did, only to discover his homepage was now pointing to Yahoo by default and IE was defaulting to Yahoo for search as well.

Sort of brings a new meaning to search engine optimization huh?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by selfhelpebooks

Dani AI

Generated

This thread (posts dated 2007–2008) illustrates a long‑standing installer pattern: bundled toolbars and default‑setting changes. ’s report, echoed by ’s toolbar observation and ’s advertising headache, shows why installers need close scrutiny. ’s comment about corporate removal of IM clients also reminds that these behaviors can trigger security or policy actions in managed environments.

Immediate remediation steps include:

  • Removal of unwanted extensions or toolbars from the browser Add‑ons/Extensions page, then restarting the browser.
  • Uninstallation of unfamiliar programs via Control Panel / Programs and Features (Windows) or Applications (macOS); check install dates to correlate changes.
  • Resetting the default browser and default search provider in both the OS and the browser; if settings remain stubborn, create a new browser profile or reinstall the browser to clear persistent state.
  • Scanning with an up‑to‑date anti‑malware tool and reviewing startup items and the hosts file if redirects persist.

Prevention and policy notes: prefer Custom/Advanced installs to uncheck toolbars or “set as default” options; download installers only from official vendor sites and verify digital signatures; run daily tasks under least‑privilege accounts so installers cannot change system‑wide defaults. In enterprise environments, enforce default‑app and homepage settings with Group Policy or MDM and whitelist approved installers.

Cautions: avoid ad hoc registry edits without a restore point; persistent or suspicious changes that resist cleanup are often PUP/adware indicators and warrant a full scan or professional remediation. Though browser UIs have changed since these posts, the basic defensive steps above remain effective.

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Member Avatar for leelee

This type of sneaky change is a fairly common thing. I've noticed loads of software asking me to download Yahoo! toolbar for a while now.

Google are also getting in on the act (and I believe there desktop software can impose a serious security risk); I believe they had their wrists slapped recently for bundling software with 'clean' Dell installations. Naughty!

Microsoft started this trend, Google strived to be different, and now they're all the same again. Typical.

Member Avatar for Dani

I am typically a fan of everything and anything Google throws out, but I have to admit I have a strong dislike for their Desktop tools.

Member Avatar for jdenver

Yahoo is terrible. A friend of mine signed up for their overture advertising with a $50 credit from their web host.

First, they gave him one click, depleted the 5.00 he added to his account, and didn't give him the 50$.

Then, they tried to charge his account 5 times for the 5 dollars, until they shut off his card for fraud protection.

He sent them an email telling them its no wonder google is kicking their a$%, their advertising is a complete scam. !!!

Member Avatar for A_member

wow...would have been great to see the look on their faces when they read that mail? not that i have something against yahoo...

Member Avatar for TroyM

I know a very big software development company removed all Gtalk clients from their systems after seeing a serious/suspicious data traffic generated by Gtalk.

Member Avatar for selfhelpebooks

I used to use Yahoo Messenger, particularly the beta version. Wow, so many bugs! I uninstalled eventually.

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