Microsoft is once again harassing Google Chrome users on Windows 10 and Windows 11 with popup desktop advertisements promoting Bing and its GPT-4 Bing Chat platform.
However, due to the quality of the pixelated ads, some who received them were concerned that they were being displayed by malware, even though the embedded links led directly to Microsoft.
Microsoft has since confirmed that the popup ads are legitimate, telling BleepingComputer that this is a one-time notification.
"This is a one-time notification giving people the choice to set Bing as their default search engine on Chrome," Microsoft told BleepingComputer.
"We value providing our customers with choice, so there is an option to dismiss the notification."
The unsolicited ads are believed to be shown when users have Google Chrome open and configured to use Google as the default search engine.
"Chat with GPT-4 for free on Chrome! Get hundreds of daily chat turns with Bing AI," reads the popup advertisement.
The ad then says that clicking "Yes" will change your default Google Chrome search engine to Bing and install the Bing Service.
Source: WindowsLatest
According to WindowsLatest, clicking the Yes button will manually install the "Microsoft Bing Search for Chrome" extension. This extension changes the default search for the address bar and the browser's New Tab Page (NTP) to Bing.
Google Chrome includes a security feature that defends against malicious extensions that hijack your search engine.
When Chrome detects that an extension has changed your default search engine, it will display a prompt asking whether you want to keep this change. This confirmation dialog is shown regardless of your initially configured search engine, whether that be Google, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, or Bing.
Like other search extensions, such as DuckDuckGo, when Google asks for this confirmation, the Bing extension displays a message asking users not to change it back.
"Wait-don't change it back! If you do, you'll turn off Microsoft Bing Search for Chrome and lose access to Bing Search and wallpapers," reads the Bing extension's plea.
"Select Keep it to continue searching with Microsoft Bing."
Source: BleepingComputer
This is not the first time Microsoft has targeted Google with popup desktop ads, previously using a similar one in July 2023 to promote Bing Chat.
Both companies have historically targeted each other with competing ads in their search engines, applications, and even operating systems.
In 2020, Google and Microsoft targeted each other with ads promoting their own browsers, with further ads shown in 2021.
We will likely continue to see the browser and search engine wars in the future as both companies strive to control users' data, browsing habits, and ad landscape.
Comments
jipjip - 3 months ago
Microsoft should pay penalties. They also moved my folders to onedrive without my permision this should be illegal.
NoneRain - 3 months ago
You at some point accepted to have your files synced to OneDrive... It probably was asked once when you started using the device.
jipjip - 3 months ago
I never accepted and most people I know didnt know their files are in onedrive. so microsoft is using a trick and should not be allowed to do this by default.
U_Swimf - 3 months ago
microsoft is following the law to the letter. All 3 letter agencies require microsoft to store copies of your data and files. The rational behind this is if you are doing something illegal, then decide to wipe the evidence, later it can be restored (suppposedly pending a warrant, yea right). Every country i know of does something similair with varying protections for you the end user. Limit usage of the data, or a time restriction to how long it can be stored for.. Usually one to three years, but probably longer to purge everything if they even do and not just add it to a pool of data to mine later
OnlyTrueFalcon - 3 months ago
I uninstalled OneDrive. I get pestered to reinstall it occasionally; I just dismiss.
I won't use Chrome or Google search. Go to your search history on search and find how many years back they have. I deleted all the search history.
I had already switched to DuckDuckGo for search anyway and I've been happily using Firefox since dl'ing 2004-02-15 10:05 PM 6,500,352 FirefoxSetup-0.8.exe. I'm currently using Firefox Nightly, fully updated. No complaints.
MS deleted that early beta a few years ago saying it was a security hazard. No tears over that; actually I had tried to run it a year or two before that and it wouldn't open on 64 bit Windows.
Chris Cosgrove - 3 months ago
@ jipjip
Why should this be illegal ? You are expected to take responsibility for the consequences of your actions and copying/transferring files to the cloud is what OneDrive is for and it is installed as part of the Windows OS. If you started using a new install or a new computer without checking its system settings MS can hardly be blamed for that.
I can understand you not wanting to use OneDrive, I don't use it myself, but it is easy enough to either disable or uninstall. However if you don't use it make sure you have some other back up system in place. And if you don't have a back up system in place and refuse to use OneDrive don't come complaining to BC about lost data when a hard drive dies.
Chris Cosgrove
thatirish - 3 months ago
I don't use either, I currently use either Firefox or Brave, and alternate between the two.
MisterVVV - 3 months ago
poor people who use Onedrive as a backup solution........omg
have a nice day
NoneRain - 3 months ago
Why? It's a solution like any other on the market....
electrolite - 3 months ago
So now they don't only want to own your data, they want to own you as well.
Mahhn - 3 months ago
Moving all data and finance from something you own to something you access. So when you lose access (for any reason- global disaster/account take over/legal control/glitch) you have NOTHING but your cloths you have on. Come on solar flare!
electrolite - 3 months ago
Unfortunately this is what society has come to for some time now. Only a Carrington like event would knock some sense into the masses as the house of virtual cards comes crashing down.
ThomasMann - 3 months ago
I must have done something right, I never get even a single one of these MS pop-ups.
I spent an hour deleting everything of MS's bloatware, incl Edge and Bing...
Get rid off all the MS garbage that can be replaced by non-MS !
U_Swimf - 3 months ago
you probably are already using it..Fact is 99% of people havent realized that no matter what browser u use, most requests go directly through google anyway, with varying amounts of middle men, CDNs or load balancing techniques filtering the rest.
MS doesnt ask permission and you cant really remove the Onedrive bs as it would be illegal to do so. Otherwise MS would feel the wrath of any police with a warrant when MS cant reproduce any data they are legally bound to store when the cops need it