[ms office - o365] Office 365 ProPlus to change Chrome's default search engine to Bing

[Arthur]

Click the Microsoft link below to read more. There are multiple methods you can use to prevent the Bing extension from being installed.

 

Source: Microsoft (via r/sysadmin)

 

Starting with Version 2002 of Office 365 ProPlus, an extension for Microsoft Search in Bing will be installed that makes Bing the default search engine for the Google Chrome web browser. This extension will be installed with new installations of Office 365 ProPlus or when existing installations of Office 365 ProPlus are updated. If Bing is already the default search engine, the extension doesn't get installed.

 

By making Bing the default search engine, users in your organization with Google Chrome will be able to take advantage of Microsoft Search, including being able to access relevant workplace information directly from the browser address bar. Microsoft Search is part of Microsoft 365 and is turned on by default for all Microsoft apps that support it.

 

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.

 

Note

• 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.
  
• This extension is included only with Office 365 ProPlus. It isn’t included with Office 365 Business, which is the version of Office that is comes with certain business plans, such as the Microsoft 365 Business plan and the Office 365 Business Premium plan.
  

Which locations will receive Microsoft Search in Bing with Office 365 ProPlus?

At this time, the extension will only be installed on devices in the following locations, based on the IP address of the device:

 

• Australia
  
• Canada
  
• France
  
• Germany
  
• India
  
• United Kingdom
  
• United States
  

Other locations might be added over time. Before any new locations are added, we’ll notify you through the Message Center in the Microsoft 365 admin center and we’ll update the list above accordingly.

 

How to exclude the extension for Microsoft Search in Bing from being installed

If you don’t want Bing to be made the default search engine, you can exclude the extension from being installed by using the Office Deployment Tool or by using Group Policy. There are also ways to exclude the extension from being installed if you’re using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (current branch) or Microsoft Intune.

 

Important

Whichever exclusion method you use, be sure to implement it before you install or update to a version of Office 365 ProPlus that installs the extension for Microsoft Search in Bing. If you implement the exclusion after the extension has been installed, the extension won’t be removed from the device. To remove the extension, see How to remove the extension after it’s been installed.

 

Office Deployment Tool

If you use the Office Deployment Tool, you can use the ExcludeApp element in your configuration.xml file, as shown in the following example. This method is probably best used for new installations of Office 365 ProPlus.

 

  
     
      
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Group Policy

If you use Group Policy in your organization, you can enable the Don't install extension for Microsoft Search in Bing that makes Bing the default the search engine policy setting. This method is probably best used for existing installations of Office 365 ProPlus.

 

You can find this policy setting under Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine)\Updates. This policy setting is available in the Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) download starting with version 4966.1000, which is scheduled to be released on January 21, 2020.

 

Note

If you let your users install Office 365 ProPlus for themselves from the Office 365 portal, you can’t exclude the extension for Microsoft Search in Bing from being installed unless you enable the Don't install extension for Microsoft Search in Bing that makes Bing the default the search engine policy setting.

 

If you don’t exclude the extension from being installed, your users can still change to a different default search engine on their own. For more information, see What your users will see with Microsoft Search in Bing.

 

Configuration Manager (current branch)

If you’re deploying Office 365 ProPlus by using the Office 365 Client Installation wizard in Configuration Manager, you can set the Set default search engine to Microsoft Search in Bing toggle to the Off position in the Features section.

 

The Features section showing the toggle for Microsoft Search in Bing

 

Microsoft Intune

If you're deploying Office 365 ProPlus by using Intune, you can clear the Set default search engine to Microsoft Search in Bing check box on the Configure App Suite pane.

[msm1000]

I was also going to post this!

 

I am sure they will get fined for this!

Guess I will update the Office ADMX template files I use and configure this in the next couple of days.

 

This reg key should also do the same thing...

 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate]
"preventbinginstall"=dword:00000001

Edited January 22, 2020 by msm1000

[Jawloms]

As one of my techs said to me about this; "When is Malware not Malware?"

[free780]

If you allow staff/students to install pro plus in personal devices this will create a lot of support calls. The Office cloud policy service does not support the policy to suppress the install of the bing extension.

[Arthur]

Update to Microsoft Search in Bing through Office 365 ProPlus

 

Based on your feedback, we are making a few changes to our plan:

 

• The Microsoft Search in Bing browser extension will not be automatically deployed with Office 365 ProPlus.
  
• Through a new toggle in Microsoft 365 admin center, administrators will be able to opt in to deploy the browser extension to their organization through Office 365 ProPlus.
  
• In the near term, Office 365 ProPlus will only deploy the browser extension to AD-joined devices, even within organizations that have opted in. In the future we will add specific settings to govern the deployment of the extension to unmanaged devices.
  
• We will continue to provide end users who receive the extension with control over their search engine preference.
  

Due to these changes, the Microsoft Search in Bing extension will not ship with Version 2002 of Office 365 ProPlus. We will provide an updated timeline for this rollout over the next few weeks. For more detailed information about deploying Microsoft Search in Bing through Office 365 ProPlus, please refer to this support article. Learn more about rolling out Microsoft Search in Bing to your organization by reading this user adoption guide.

 

Thank you for your ongoing feedback. Please continue to share with us through UserVoice.