Microsoft has announced that they will install a new Google Chrome extension for some Office 365 ProPlus customers that will force the browser to use Bing as the default search engine "to access relevant workplace information directly from the browser address bar."
The Microsoft Search in Bing extension will be added to all new Office 365 ProPlus installations and when updating to newer releases. The only customers that won't have this Chrome extension installed automatically are those that already have set Bing as their default Chrome search engine.
"Microsoft Search is part of Microsoft 365 and is turned on by default for all Microsoft apps that support it," Microsoft says. "Even after Bing is made the default search engine, your users can still change to a different default search engine in Google Chrome on their own."
"Support for the Firefox web browser is planned for a later date. We will keep you informed about support for Firefox through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and this article," Redmond adds.
Deployment starting in mid-February
The Microsoft Search in Bing Chrome extension will be rolling out to customers starting with Office 365 ProPlus, Version 2002, through the targeted monthly channel, and in early March for the monthly update channel.
While not all users will get the extension after installing Office 365 ProPlus, Version 2002 at once, their default search engine for the Chrome web browser will be changed to Bing with a future update.
Users from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States will be the first to have the extension installed on their devices, based on their IP addresses.
Microsoft will also check Office 365 ProPlus devices' location once a month to install the Chrome extension if they move to one of the supported locations.
The full rollout timeline for the Microsoft Search in Bing Chrome extension is available in the table below.
| Update channel | Version | Release date |
| Monthly Channel (Targeted) | Version 2002 | Middle of February 2020 |
| Monthly | Version 2002 | Early March 2020 |
| Semi-Annual (Targeted) | To be determined | 03/10/20 |
| Semi-Annual | To be determined | 07/14/20 |
Feedback to Microsoft's change
After this change was made public, customers expressed their disapproval on Twitter, Reddit, and GitHub, asking for Microsoft to change their decision.
"What are you thinking? Is this a return to the IE browser wars or something? This is an amazing abuse and should NOT be done under any circumstance," one user said on GitHub.
"So rather than simply changing the default search engine as a one off... as this is an extension presumably the point is to check and reset the search engine back to Bing if you change it to anything else?," another one commented on Reddit. "Either way it’s quite incredible that Microsoft feel entitled to do this, and I suspect it may land them in some trouble."
Microsoft's feedback section to the support article explaining this move was also invaded by outraged users suggesting its addition to "Microsoft Security Intelligence Definitions so that Windows Defender detects and removes this threat as for other similar software: 'This browser modifier installs add-ons or extensions to your Internet browser without asking you or confirming that you want to install them.'"
"Utterly Unacceptable. This feature SHOULD NOT be on by default and is totally unacceptable in a business environment," another customer added. "It would be bad enough if bing was a good search engine but it's just not, no matter how many users you force onto the platform."
"NO WAY, this is unacceptable. What are you thinking? Is this a return to the IE browser wars or something? This is an amazing abuse and should NOT be done under any circumstance," said another user.
How to prevent the Microsoft Search in Bing extension from being installed
To prevent the Microsoft Search in Bing extension from automatically being installed in Chrome, you can configure a group policy before March 2020.
To configure this group policy, please follow these steps:
- Download and install the Microsoft Office Group Policy Templates.
- Once installed, open the Group Policy Editor via Start menu or search.
- In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to the Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine)\Updates.
- Look through the list of policies and double-click on the Don't install extension for Microsoft Search in Bing that makes Bing the default the search engine option.
- Select Enabled and then press Apply followed by OK to configure the policy.
Configure Policy - You can now close the Group Policy Editor and the policy will be configured.
When the policy is configured, it will create the following Registry entry:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate]
"preventbinginstall"=dword:00000001
BleepingComputer has also created a registry file that you can download to automatically configure this policy for you in the Registry.
How to remove the Microsoft Search in Bing extension
If you already had the extension installed on one of your devices, you can remove it by running the following command as an Administrator:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\DefaultPackPC\MainBootStrap.exe uninstallAll
The command can also be used to remove the extension from multiple devices within an organization with the help of a script, the Configuration Manager, or with the enterprise software deployment tool of your choice.
Comments
wgianopoulos - 4 years ago
One of the reasons I refuse to use Google Chrome!
wolff000 - 4 years ago
You dislike Chrome because MS is forcing an install? That's like saying I hate oranges because pears are green. One has nothing to do with the other!
vschwake - 4 years ago
He's going to be pissed when he finds out Edge is going to be chromium based now too.
pauldisney - 4 years ago
Thanks for this article!
Whalley_World - 4 years ago
I suppose turnabout is fair play. It seems like all browsers except Edge default to Google for their search engines, so there you go.
forum11 - 4 years ago
I hope you're joking, as a browser having a default is very different from another application force installing a browser extension/add-on into said browser. If this is in fact how things will function, MS is way overstepping.
Dominique1 - 4 years ago
:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:
the_moss_666 - 4 years ago
MS is on a thin ice. First, they are changing setting of third party SW without permission. Second, browser hijacking* is considered as malware, even by Microsoft. This is the reason (officially) why W10 doesn't allow browsers to set themselves as default browsers. I hope anything containing word "Bing" will be marked as PUP (potentially unwanted program) by every AV solution. Technically, this update is a malware.
* Browser hijacking is a form of unwanted software that modifies a web browser's settings without a user's permission, to inject unwanted advertising into the user's browser. A browser hijacker may replace the existing home page, error page, or search engine with its own.
MisterAtoZ - 4 years ago
I've been using Brave browser on my laptop for almost a year now and everything works great. It has better privacy features.
If you're using your mobile phone assuming it's android I suggest using TENTA browser. Not available on iOS yet, but soon.
RedneckPCtech - 4 years ago
This isn't going to help Microsoft at all. If they have to FORCE people to use it they're not providing a viable service. And as someone who supports users on Microsoft products and platforms, this absolutely makes my blood boil.
NoneRain - 4 years ago
Dude, it's not in all 365 versions, only those aimed for enterprise, and you can CHANGE the default search engine any time. Not a big deal to make you angry...
NoneRain - 4 years ago
1º - "Office 365 ProPlus" is aimed for enterprises.
2º - Adms can block it in GPO for the entire domain.
3º - "Even after Bing is made the default search engine, your users can still change to a different default search engine in Google Chrome on their own."
EDIT: I'm not saying it's a good thing, but people are enraged on github :p I think internet is overreacting a little bit again.
mikeloeven - 4 years ago
I feel like google should actually mark this extension as malware and block installation