Bonkers MS security update flags Google.com as malign A dodgy update to Microsoft's anti-virus software on Tuesday meant users of the software were wrongly warned that Google's homepage was infected with the infamous Blackhole Exploit Kit. Users of Microsoft's Forefront corporate security products (here) and freebie Security Essentials scanner software (here) were both affected …
Despite the usual deluge of praise heaped on it, even here - I think the first warning to me that a lot of computer-illiterates post on The Reg - one can only imagine because it is free, ad-free, and probably because it's from Microsoft who are the bestest IT company on Earth - since it was Giant-just-bought-by-MS, then Windows Defender, MSAS - and FFS OneCare, that people actually paid for (!) the product has been unadulterated shite.
:)
Nah, I have to give that to Google. Their slogan is the first sign.
First, MS only wants most of my money, not all of my personal details which they sell to other people to make money. Second, while it may be possible to avoid MS product in your environment, it is theoretically possible. Even if you never use Gmail, Google Search, Google Toolbars, GoogleDesktop, Google Earth, or any of the various other Google Apps (including Android), if you've read this post, Google has learned something about you. Because like 99% of the other websites out there, El Reg uses Google Analytics in their pages.
Microsoft should get some kind of anti-Nobel prize for inventing many infection vectors, like this one: clicking on a web link or visiting an infected website. Then you have a whole menagerie of possibilities. Like, with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, there is a false positive and false negative (errors of the I,II kind).
The multi-billion antivirus industry is so much in debt to Microsoft, they should be paying 1/10 of their revenues to the Grand Master from Redmond, WA that had innovatively begotten their business.
I have no doubt that this incident - like other «glitches» in MS code which «accidently» derailed Google products - was nothing but an unfortunate mistake. After all, we all know how much Steven Anthony - «I'm going to f***ing kill Google.» - Ballmer loves and appreciates Google, in particular Eric Schmidt (http://news.cnet.com/2100-1014_3-5846243.html)....
Henri
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