Search using Norton Safe Search

Question

Search using Norton Safe Search

Judy 0

When using Edge, but searching something using Norton Safe Search, clicking a link no longer opens a new tab on my MacBook. How do I fix this?

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Emma1-N 13,320 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Welcome Judy,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand that when using Norton Safe Search in Microsoft Edge on your MacBook, clicking search-result links no longer opens them in a new tab.

Please make sure you already tried the Q&A Assist steps. In addition, could you help clarify:

Does this happen only with Norton Safe Search, or also when using Bing or another search engine?
Did the behavior change after a recent Norton Safe Search or Norton extension update?

In the meantime, you can try these steps:

Test in an InPrivate window.
- Open a new InPrivate window.
- Search with Norton Safe Search and test a result link.
Test with the Norton extension temporarily disabled.
- Select the Extensions icon.
- Open Manage Extensions.
- Disable Norton Safe Search or other Norton browser extensions.
- Test the search results again.
Create a new Edge profile.
- Open Settings.
- Select Profiles.
- Add a new profile and test before installing any extensions.
Check whether the same behavior occurs in another browser on the Mac.
- This can help determine whether the issue is specific to Edge or related to Norton Safe Search itself.

Looking forward to your update.

Emma1-N 13,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-02T04:36:29.3233333+00:00

Hello Judy,

I just wanted to check if my previous response addressed your question correctly. If there is anything I may have misunderstood, I would truly appreciate it if you could provide a bit more detail to help me better understand your needs.
Judy 0 Reputation points

2026-10-02T11:06:01.84+00:00

Thanks for your help. I checked my extensions and seemed to have 2 versions of Norton Safe Search and one that was Norton safe Web. I had also been using the Norton home page. I changed ivy default search to Bing, deleted the extra Norton safe search extension and now it works.
Emma1-N 13,320 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-03T08:19:38.5566667+00:00

Hello Judy,

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear the issue has been resolved.

Thank you for sharing the solution, as it may help others experiencing the same issue. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

Answer 2

Try these steps in Edge on the MacBook:

Check whether an extension is changing site behavior.
- Select the Extensions icon next to the address bar, then select Manage Extensions.
- Disable extensions one at a time, especially anything related to search, pop-up blocking, ad blocking, or Norton.
- Test the link behavior after each change.
If Norton Safe Search changed the search experience, review search-related settings.
- Go to Settings and more > Settings.
- Select Privacy, search, and services.
- Open Search and connected experiences > Address bar and search.
- Check which search engine is set as default.
If pages are opening incorrectly or not as expected, clear cached data.
- Select Settings and more > History > Open history page.
- Select Delete browsing data.
- Choose All time for Time range.
- Select Browsing history and Cached images and files, then select Clear now.
Make sure Edge is up to date.
- Select Settings and more > Settings > About Microsoft Edge.
- Apply any available update.
If the issue started after an extension or browser setting change and continues, repair or reset the browser behavior by isolating extensions first. On managed installations, some changes may be controlled by an administrator.

If the problem only happens with Norton Safe Search results, the most likely cause is an extension or a changed browser/search setting rather than Edge tabs themselves.