Microsoft is known for trying to keep users away from rival browsers while promoting its own Edge. Now the Microsoft browser has even started falsely flagging Google Chrome as malware.
Microsoft Edge has started marking ChromeSetup.exe, the installation file for Google Chrome, as potentially unsafe. This anomaly has been observed in approximately one out of every five Microsoft Edge 116 stable installations. While Edge boasts an inbuilt security mechanism intended to safeguard users against malicious files, it seems to have misjudged ChromeSetup.exe and labeled it as a potential hazard.
Upon attempting to download Chrome using Microsoft Edge, users may encounter a cautionary message: “ChromeSetup.exe could harm your device. Do you want to keep it anyway?” Subsequently, users are given the option to either “Keep” or “Delete” the downloaded file.
Coincidence?
This is most likely just a bug, but the coincidence of it targeting its biggest rival is just uncanny. We are all aware of how much Microsoft tries to keep you loyal to Edge. Switching your default browser on Windows has been made easier now, but when you search for Google Chrome online, Microsoft tries hard to keep you with Edge. You get a prompt that says:
There’s no need to download a new web browser. Microsoft recommends using Microsoft Edge for a fast, secure, and modern web experience that can help you save time and money. Try it now.
Even if you dismiss this prompt, Edge makes yet another desperate attempt, reminding you how the Microsoft browser runs on the same engine as Chrome.
Given all these practices, it’s hard to see this recent development as only a bug. Microsoft has yet to respond to this situation, but since this warning is not widespread, there is a high chance that the company has fixed the issue already.
Via: Gizmochina
