MS and Oracle trading salvos…toolbars are the issue, and well, money.

Published on June 13, 2015 By DrJBHL In Personal Computing

MS has over the past month turned its security software to destroy the Ask browser toolbar. For anyone who doesn’t know, Oracle bundled this crap with Java…despite consumer complaints.

So Oracle “answered” MS by changing its installer to now bundle the Yahoo browser tool to IE.

On 12.11.14 MS threw down the gauntlet and said “enough” (here) and set the target date to 6.1 for implementation.

“Late last month, Microsoft warned developers that as of June 1 its security software would finger programs that engage in "search protection," lingo referring to programs that "prevent or limit users from viewing or modifying browser features or settings." Commonly, those kinds of programs, usually add-ons like toolbars, lock in a search provider and/or a specific URL as the home page -- again, typically a search provider's -- or try to discourage users from making any changes that the add-on implemented.” – Computerworld

So, MS’s Windows Defender and MSE will be identifying and destroying the Ask toolbar. A service to humanity which should have happened along with the birth of MSE, imho.

“Microsoft's security software will identify and remove older editions of Search App by Ask, the toolbar Oracle bundles with the Windows and OS X versions of Java. By default, the toolbar is installed along with Java; users must notice a warning and deselect the download by unchecking a box.

Ask's toolbar comes in versions for IE, Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox.” – ibid

To be clear, Oracle did it for the residuals it would collect for each installation of the toolbar.

To the real meat:

“Computerworld verified that Java 8 on OS X did not come with or offer the toolbar, while Java 8 for Windows pitched a Yahoo toolbar instead.

"Set Yahoo as your homepage and default search engine on Chrome and Internet Explorer, plus get Yahoo as your new tab page on Chrome," the Java's installation dialog stated. WhenComputerworld ran the Java 8 installer, the Yahoo tool was also installed.” – ibid

Since that fulfills MS’s definition from 12/2014, will MSE take out the Yahoo toolbar? Answer: Nope. The Oracle update changed the Browser’s search to Yahoo from Chrome. Also, in the past Oracle partnered with MS and Yahoo to inject their crapware with updates.

So…pay attention during Java updates and UNCHECK the “Set Yahoo…” that comes checked by default.

If you screw up, and end up with the Yahoo crapbar, here’s how to uninstall it:

http://malwaretips.com/blogs/browser-toolbar-removal/ (IE and FF)

Source:

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2935575/web-browsers/microsoft-deletes-older-ask-com-browser-toolbars-but-ignores-oracles-new-crapware.html

Comments

starkers

on Jun 13, 2015

Toolbars are so much a pain in the arse.... not to mention completely unnecessary, so good on MS for targetting that ASK POS. I can't remember how many times I've had to remove it and other toolbars from peoples machines.

For mine, they should be illegal and punishable by denuttification.

harpo99999

on Jun 14, 2015

my choice of punishment for those idiots that are so bent ot crapifying other people's computers should be to remove the NUTT on top of the neck of EACH perpitrator.

and I also have lost count of how many times I have removed such SHIT from computers THIS year, let alone the PAST years

harpo, the ghost NON-subscriber

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