If you’re amongst the billion-plus users of Google Chrome on Windows, then a warning has been issued that malware potentially hijacking your browser might be more than it appears to be…
For the billion-plus Chrome users on Windows, a serious new warning has been served.
Google Chrome dominates the desktop browser market, and due to this, it is the default for a billion-plus Windows users—almost all of whom also default to Google for their search activities.
This scenario seems to annoy Microsoft, who can’t comprehend why all the Windows users aren’t also using Edge as their browser and Bing as their search engine. They aim to fix this situation. Speaking in terms of captive audiences…
Last month, I reported that Mozilla (another also ran behind Chrome in the browser market) had commissioned independent research that warned Window’s Chrome users that they would be inundated with “switch to Edge” banners and pop-ups when they installed Chrome. That same report also warned that Bing messages were being targeted at those same users.
A month later and here we are again. As first reported by Windows Latest, “Microsoft is rolling out a new server-side update that could trick some people into using Bing as a default search engine in Google Chrome.” Users on Reddit and elsewhere are also warning that a new Bing popup is such an irritant that it looks like malware. It’s safe—that’s not the issue. It’s a persistent ad pushing Chrome users away from Google towards Bing, which is a different kind of problem.
According to The Verge, “Microsoft has confirmed that the pop-ups are genuine and should only appear once.” The company’s spokesperson even suggested that Chrome users were being offered some kind of Microsoft freebie here, in the form of Co-Pilot (aka ChatGPT) prompts. “We value providing our customers with choice, so there is an option to dismiss the notification.”
Despite that assurance, online comments suggest this Bing promotion echoes the persistence of the Edge push that hit the headlines last month, and which included an “error” on Microsoft’s part—since fixed, where Edge was copying across Chrome settings without user permission.
Bing popup targeting Chrome users
The issue here is that Microsoft banners and popups for Windows users appear as OS notifications, not just advertisements. As suggested by the researchers in last month’s Mozilla report, users can get alarmed when they see the Edge promotional message appears within the Chrome download page. They might think it’s critically important because such a banner is unusual.
The same view sparks online discussions. One Reddit user voiced their concern mentioning that a computer OS should not be a sales or an advertising platform for the company’s other products, and such marketing strategy is obnoxious and must not be allowed. Another user urged Microsoft to find the ‘Microsoft Support’ employees within their company and hold them accountable as their actions are blurring the lines between being a credible software vendor and generating malware.
Tom Warren, a writer in The Verge, expressed a similar sentiment. He finds Microsoft’s attempts to aggressively push pop-up ads to Chrome users over the recent years increasingly annoying. Once, Microsoft even compelled people into Edge following a Windows Update and regularly displays a full-screen message to Windows users urging them to switch to Bing and Edge following updates.
Remarkably, this situation evolves even as Europe’s DMA and other regulators are tightening their focus on so-called gatekeeper technology vendors, including Microsoft and Google. However, despite Microsoft’s superiority in Windows desktop OS and certain AI components, when it comes down to Edge and Bing, they are merely small players. While these Microsoft platforms are striving to catch up with Chrome and Google Search, Microsoft is like David pitted against Google’s Goliath.
So, for the time being, if you’re using Chrome and Google Search, you’ll have to overlook the banners and pop-up alerts, unless you buy into the marketing and desire to transition. If you do, all you need to do is click. Microsoft has made it this simple, which is the entire point.
Microsoft has been contacted for any remarks regarding these user complaints.
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