Internet Explorer 11 now protects your settings

Have you ever downloaded something from the Internet and suddenly noticed that your Internet Explorer home page or default search engine has changed?

From now on, Internet Explorer 11 will prevent third-party programs from changing these settings, just like Microsoft Edge already does.

The only thing you need to do is choose which settings you want Internet Explorer to protect. Once you’ve chosen, you can always change them at any point.

Change your home page

1. In Internet Explorer 11, select Tools 
   
   > Internet options.
2. On the General tab, under Home page, type the URL of the site you want to set as a home page. You can add more than one URL, or add the site you're currently viewing by selecting Use current. If you add more than one URL, put each URL on its own line.
3. Select Apply > OK. You’ll see the changes you made the next time you open Internet Explorer.

Change your default search engine

1. Select Tools 
   
   > Manage add-ons. Then, under Add-on Types, select Search Providers.
2. Select the search engine you want, and then select Set as default > Close.
   
   If you don’t see the search engine you want on the list, select Find more search providers at the bottom of the dialog box and follow the on-screen instructions to add a new one.