Can't change search engine away from Google

[chrisholliday]

Hey all,

So I've just setup my first mackintosh, and everything has gone really well. I used the latest version os unibeast and multibeast, which made it really easy. All of my hardware is working and this computer is super fast (much faster than my new iMac 21").

I want to use the Safari browser as I trust Apple more than other browser vendors. I also want to move my search engine to DuckDuckGo. So, I go to Safari, preferences, search. Then I see that there are several search engines the drop down, with the default at google. If I choose any of them, it first changes to that engine and within half a second it changes back to google.

I've closed safari (quit, not just closing windows) gone to my user folder / library / preferences and deleted all .plist files starting with com.apple.safari, then emptied my trash and shutdown the computer. After rebooting, same problem. I'm currently scanning the system with avast av just in case I somehow managed to get a virus or some malware. It definitely feels that something is actively changing the setting back, and it's got me spooked enough to consider starting over.

Any thoughts?

 

[Bob_the_Tomato]

I just checked mine and DDG works for me. What version is your OSX?
Perhaps you could try using Pacifist to reinstall just Safari?

 

[chrisholliday]

Mac OS is showing 10.13.3 and Safari is 11.0.3. I'm also able to make this change on my iMac. I did find that if I open a new tab and delete all text in the URL / Search bar, then click the magnifying glass, I can select any search engine and this does change the setting for all future use. So using that method I've changed the default search engine. However, if I try to change it via the preferences window, I get the same problem. My Avast AV scan came back clean, so perhaps this is just a weird bug. I'll look into that Pacifist tool though, thanks.