Why does Google suddenly think I'm Korean?
December 9, 2008 7:10 AM   Subscribe

Why would the Google search bar in Firefox suddenly think I'm Korean?

I'm using Firefox 3.0.4 and iGoogle is one of my homepages. If I search Google via that page everything is normal, but any search from the search bar in Firefox comes up under google.co.kr.

This just started this morning and I haven't changed any preferences or system settings recently. I used the search bar with no problems yesterday. I've tried restarting my pc but it's still happening and I have no idea what to try next. Any help would be appreciated.
posted by Mamapotomus to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)
 
If you do Manage> Features tab> Search box settings it sets your country search page there. Is it US or Korea?
posted by 8dot3 at 7:56 AM on December 9, 2008


If you go to google.com, there should be a "Google in English" (or some variant of that) link towards the bottom. This happens to me every now and then too. I think it has something to do with the IP address your ISP gives you.
posted by niles at 8:54 AM on December 9, 2008


I believe Google will auto-adjust based on where your IP address is coming from. Are you going through any type of proxy that you know of (i.e., Corporate VPN?)
posted by mattholomew at 9:24 AM on December 9, 2008


I had that problem once. Try this.
posted by kidbritish at 10:28 AM on December 9, 2008


Response by poster: 8dot3, I'm not sure where the menu is you're telling me about. Is it in Firefox or on the Google page? If it's Google then I'm out of luck- I can't read Korean :-) The only options I can find for the search bar seem to just add or delete different search engines.

niles & kidbritish- When I click either of your links I get the regular English page (with my Google account name showing myself as logged in on the upper right side).

I'm not using a proxy.

If the problem is one of my Firefox settings why would it only affect the search bar and not tabs opened in the browser?
posted by Mamapotomus at 2:09 PM on December 9, 2008


Sorry - the menu I was asking about is in the google menu on the firefox toolbar, but i think i have a google menu add-on, which is where I saw the drop-down, on the side of that toolbar button. Do you see a drop down on the toolbar anywhere? (Sorry, my pc is at work and I'm on a mac at home so I can't give step-by-step from here.)
posted by 8dot3 at 3:34 PM on December 9, 2008


Look for a wrench icon maybe?
posted by 8dot3 at 3:36 PM on December 9, 2008


Response by poster: 8dot3- the search bar only has a drop-down menu that will let me Manage Search Engines (add, delete, or re-order them ). The only other option in that menu is to Restore Factory Defaults.
posted by Mamapotomus at 3:55 PM on December 9, 2008


Best answer: Well, since you can't edit the properties of a search engine, you might try this: Go to the search bar, Manage Search Engines, select Google, delete. Then browse to this page, find Google (making sure it's the US version*), and add it. Does that freshly-installed search option make any difference?

*It's the first entry under Category 29, Major Search Engines.
posted by exphysicist345 at 5:08 PM on December 9, 2008


Response by poster: Yaaaay!!! Thank you!
posted by Mamapotomus at 6:30 PM on December 10, 2008


« Older How to take a Kindle screenshot?   |   Fun songs about growing up and graduating? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.