@Mr_Internet okay, so let’s start from square one here.
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Always try to be careful what you click and allow permission to.
- This includes extensions you add. Often they can be malware. Go to
brave://extensions/to see everything you have installed. Long way to get there isSettings→Extensions→Manage Extensions
- This includes extensions you add. Often they can be malware. Go to
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Any time you’re redirected when searching, most likely it has changed your default search engine. You can always check this out at
Settings→Search Engineto see what your default search engines are. And you can go one step further toManage search engines and site searchto see a list of all search engines.- You may want to hit Edit on your default search engine to make sure it’s not been changed. Such as if you see Google for your default search engine, make sure the URL is going to Google and not some other URL. Also look for duplicates, as any malware could have created Google as a Site Search and set it as your default.
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If your browser is going to something different at launch, it’s good to go to
Settings→Get Startedand check what it’s set to open to. If it’s to open on a set page, you would delete that and then could change it to whichever option you want to use by default. -
If you ever see changes you did not make, you should know to check for any extensions, especially any you may have recently added. It’s also very critical to run scans with a good antivirus or malware scanner. Malwarebytes is a common one, but whatever you want. Just try to make sure it’s legitimate.
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Depending on the above, it may be good to clear your cookies, cache, etc. You’ll need to login to everything again but this can help purge anything they may have put into your browser.