Setup Changelog: Why My Machine Does What It Does

A running, dated log of changes to my Debian setup: what I changed, why I changed it, and how to undo it. It started after two “mysteries” turned out to be my own forgotten settings.

Last updated: October 9, 2026

Why this page exists

On two mornings in a row, my computer did something I couldn’t explain. Zen Browser kept opening links even though Microsoft Edge was my default browser. Then a Startpage search results page kept appearing when I expected Yahoo.

Both turned out to be my own past decisions, made for good reasons and then forgotten. Solving them took an hour of digging through config files. A one-line note would have taken ten seconds.

So this page is that note. It’s a running log of changes to my setup, newest first. Each entry records:

  • Machine: which computer
  • What changed: the setting or file
  • Why: the reason, which is the part I always forget
  • How to check: the command or screen that shows the current state
  • How to undo: so I’m never stuck

There’s a cybersecurity angle here too. The same files and settings that confused me are what malware and browser hijackers quietly modify. Knowing how to inspect them is a defensive skill, not just tidiness.

2026-10-09: Startpage is my search engine in Edge (on purpose)

Machine: ASUS desktop, Debian, XFCE

What I saw: Typing yahoo in Edge’s address bar opened a Startpage results page instead of Yahoo.

What was going on: In edge://settings, under Privacy, search, and services → Search and connected experiences → Address bar and search, the search engine dropdown was greyed out. Below it, a line said the Startpage — Private Search Engine extension was controlling the default search engine.

Typing a single word with no .com makes the browser treat it as a search, so yahoo went to Startpage as a search term.

Why I set it up: Startpage is a privacy-focused search engine:

  • It sends my search to Google on my behalf, so Google sees Startpage’s servers, not my IP address or cookies.
  • It says it doesn’t log IP addresses or keep search history.
  • It’s based in the Netherlands, under EU privacy law (GDPR).
  • Anonymous View opens results through Startpage’s servers, which acts as a lightweight proxy against trackers.

Decision: Keep it. No change made.

Habit change: Type the full address (yahoo.com) or use a bookmark when I want a site. Typing one word means “search.” Bookmarks are also safer for logins, because search results can include ads or look-alike phishing pages.

How to check: edge://settings/searchEngines, or edge://extensions to see the Startpage extension.

How to undo: Click Turn off next to the Startpage line, then pick another engine from the dropdown. Or remove the extension at edge://extensions.

2026-10-08: Removed Zen Browser’s leftover link-handler entries

Machine: ASUS desktop, Debian, XFCE

What I saw: Links kept opening in Zen Browser, even though Edge was set as my default browser.

What was going on: Linux stores “which app opens which kind of link or file” in ~/.config/mimeapps.list. Mine had two answers for the same link types:

  • The [Default Applications] section said Edge.
  • The [Added Associations] section said Zen, left over from when I’d clicked “Make Zen your default browser” at some point.

Zen had also claimed HTML file types that Edge never registered (.htm, .xhtml, and others), so for those it won outright. The standard check (xdg-settings get default-web-browser) reported Edge, which is why everything looked fine on the surface.

Investigation commands:

bash

xdg-settings get default-web-browser
grep -iE 'http|html' ~/.config/mimeapps.list
grep -n zen ~/.config/mimeapps.list

The fix:

bash

# Back up first
cp ~/.config/mimeapps.list ~/.config/mimeapps.list.bak

# Delete every line that mentions Zen
sed -i '/zen\.desktop/d' ~/.config/mimeapps.list

# Give the HTML types to Edge
xdg-mime default microsoft-edge.desktop application/xhtml+xml
xdg-mime default microsoft-edge.desktop application/x-extension-html
xdg-mime default microsoft-edge.desktop application/x-extension-htm
xdg-mime default microsoft-edge.desktop application/x-extension-shtml
xdg-mime default microsoft-edge.desktop application/x-extension-xhtml
xdg-mime default microsoft-edge.desktop application/x-extension-xht

I also unchecked “Always check if Zen is your default browser” in Zen’s settings, so one stray click can’t put it all back.

Why: I want Edge to handle links. Zen stays installed for when I choose to use it.

How to check:

bash

grep -n zen ~/.config/mimeapps.list    # should print nothing
xdg-open https://ny2honolulu.com       # should open in Edge

How to undo: cp ~/.config/mimeapps.list.bak ~/.config/mimeapps.list

Lesson learned: When a setting “won’t stick” on Linux, the settings screen is often showing one file while a second one overrides it. Read the actual file.

Security note: mimeapps.list is a plain text file in my home folder, and any program running as me can rewrite it. Attackers sometimes register custom link handlers so that clicking a crafted link launches their program. Running a grep on this file now and then is a cheap check.

Each entry follows the same format. Feel free to borrow it for your own setup log.