Google search engine suddenly not working

Albert C.

Hello,

I use Firefox, and also Chrome (at times). My selected search engine is Google. For some strange reason, today Google is not responding as a search engine in neither browser. But if I switch it to Duckduckgo, it works without a problem.

I added google.com to BitDefender VPN's Split-Tunneling, and still, it's not going through.

Is there a setting somewhere that I need to change?

Thanks in advance

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/105199/google-search-engine-suddenly-not-working

Most likely cause: Bitdefender VPN is conflicting with Google DNS. This can disrupt Google Search, while DuckDuckGo continues to work because it does not rely on the same Google transport protocols or hostnames that cause this clash.

Quick Fixes:

1. Turn off Bitdefender VPN and try accessing the Google website to confirm if Bitdefender VPN is causing the issue.
2. In the Google Chrome web browser, disable “Use secure DNS”, and in the Mozilla Firefox web browser, disable “DNS over HTTPS” to prevent resolver conflicts with Bitdefender VPN and its split tunneling feature. Follow the procedure as stated on the stated website (https://techdocs.akamai.com/etp/docs/disable-doh-browsers)
3. In Bitdefender VPN split tunneling feature, add the following Google hostnames to ensure all necessary connections bypass the VPN tunnel consistently:
   • google.com
   • clients1.google.com
   • gstatic.com
   • googleapis.com
   • googleusercontent.com
4. If the problem persists, try switching to another VPN server or changing the VPN protocol, then test again to rule out server- or protocol-specific issues.
5. Optionally, if SSL scanning is enabled in your Bitdefender antimalware product, temporarily disable it and retest, as SSL inspection can sometimes interfere with connections to major sites like Google.
6. Additional step: Flush your system DNS cache to clear any outdated or corrupted entries that might be causing issues.

• On Windows, open Command Prompt as administrator and run: ipconfig /flushdns
• On macOS, open Terminal and run: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

You can also have a look at the website stated below.

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/13353/

If the issue persists, kindly contact Bitdefender support by visiting https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

Select, How to's & Troubleshooting Bitdefender products→Troubleshooting→I don't know→Contact Support→ You will get the option of chat, call or email.

To get an immediate update, kindly use the chat option. Also, ensure that no ad blockers or privacy extensions are enabled in your web browser, as they may prevent the chat window from appearing.

Bitdefender support may request diagnostic logs and will guide you through the process of generating them.

Regards