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Microsoft Security Essentials accidentally kills Google Chrome

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 Oct 2011 10:22 User comments (5)

Microsoft Security Essentials accidentally kills Google Chrome Microsoft has updated its MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) antivirus definitions this weekend after an earlier released update began detecting Google Chrome as malware and deleting it.
The first reported incident came from the Chrome help forums:

This morning, after I started up the PC, a Windows Security box popped up and said I had a Security Problem that needed to be removed. I clicked the Details button and saw that it was 'PWS:Win32/Zbot.' I clicked the Remove button and restarted my PC. Now I do not have Chrome. It has been removed or uninstalled.


Microsoft, after updating the definitions, acknowledged and apologized for the mistake:

An incorrect detection for PWS:Win32/Zbot was identified and as a result, Google Chrome was inadvertently blocked and in some cases removed from customers PCs. We have already fixed the issue..., but approximately 3,000 customers were impacted.




Google, forced to act on the stupid mistake, placed a large red banner on its support pages reading "Alert: Google Chrome has been incorrectly marked as malware by Microsoft security software."

If you were affected, just download the update, reboot, and reinstall Chrome, says Microsoft.

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5 user comments

12.10.2011 23:22

well, they are losing share to Chrome, why wouldn't they do such a thing.

23.10.2011 01:04
llongtheD
Inactive

Oops, can you say protecting your monopoly? Or diminishing market share?

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 03 Oct 2011 @ 1:05

33.10.2011 01:11

Yes... "Accident"...

43.10.2011 06:43

Yeah...I accidentally killed my wife...the gun kept going off every time I accidentally pulled the trigger, and then I accidentally put in another clip and finished her off...accidentally of course.

53.10.2011 21:31

I guess it helped all the people that got Chrome installed without them realizing itbecause it was forced as "Opt in" when they installed some other program. Too bad it didn't detect the google toolbar as a piece of malware too.

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