Bill D -

The behaviour described is not "normal" for Win Explorer, and should only be happening if something has been reset. I don't even see an easy way that it could be reset, to do what's described, in Windows; although I can't eliminate the "accessibility features" since I haven't looked into them much.

We're not told (yet) what search engine is launched, and whether it has its own toolbar(?), but an odd engine or turning on unusual search features could also be guilty. (There also are a lot of "toolbars" that are nothing but malware/spyware in fancy dress, and they can be tempting to the unwary.)

John