Microsoft To End Year With Massive Security Update

Two Questions:

1) Why would anyone use Bing? a poor attempt to be Google
2) Why would anyone install a 'Bar' on their internet client? in my experience those kinds of programs "phone home" providing data to the programs authors and who knows what they can get. I know that sounds paranoid but a little skepticism is healthy.

 

feral:
1) bing is working just fine. it's a search engine, not a poor attempt to be google.
2) because he gets free rewards? not everyone panics because of the phone home drama that gets spread everywhere.

 

There's no need to use the Bing Toolbar unless you like bloat. There's much better ways to get news, weather and deals without the need for a silly toolbar. And yes Bing is a poor attempt at Google hence the 'Bing Rewards'.

Hey we'll pay you to use our search engine !

Regards,
Microsoft

 

I actually like Bing but the only reason I use the Bing Bar is to get rewards, otherwise I wouldn't have it installed. I use Bing maps because I like it, has some better viewing options over Google Maps. Otherwise I mainly use Google (Chrome is my fav browser ). And the Bing iOS app is nice...

 

Examples: Because it's a good search engine. Because some people haven't drunk the Google Kool-Aid.

Heheh, this from someone who just promoted Google, the undisputed king of selling people's data to whoever pays. Here's a dose of reality for you: Nothing that a company in this country is offering you is free. Somebody is paying for Google's server farms and personnel, just like somebody is paying for Microsoft's stuff, or Apple's, etc. Guess who that is, once all is said and done?

 

Bing vs. Google

 

I can't even find Bing Bar on my system. lol

And, yeah, I'll admit that I overreacted. I just don't like the idea of being forced to install something I won't even use at all.

 

Quoted for truth. Besides, we all know Hawaiian Punch is the shiznit when it comes to colored water + high fructose corn syrup.

Unless there's some perk like the Bing Rewards thing, there's no need to have a search toolbar installed in a browser unless you love the way it looks. I know Chromium, Mozilla and Opera browsers all search within the address bar. You can even set it up for keywords and letters so you have your Bing and Google entered in the browser search preferences but you search by entering

'g cruise vacation' or 'bing Sandy Bridge'

simple and less bloat.

I also had no bing bar in my updates.

 

Yep. IE does the same thing, so, I agree, nobody needs a stupid Search Bar. I'd go further by saying that nobody needs the stupid Search field every browser on the planet now includes, either...

 

no forced update to the Bng bar here either. on 5 systems (2 XP, 3 Win7).

All I can think of is that the OP must have had the Bing bar previously installed but disabled (you can do this with all toolbars these days) and somehow self-triggered an 'activate the toolbar'.

Every once in a while I hit my MSIE options and DEINSTALL every toolbar I don't actively use, which in my case is all of them. Only takes a little while.

And I use Opera as my primary browser.

 

windows live suite has the option to install bing bar. he most likely got it from there, but doesn't use ie, thus has never seen it. and now got the "forced update" as the windows live suite gets some updates.

 

It's called "marketing". Bing bing bing!

 

How do i check for rootkits? I have a free version of Avira and Superantispyware and malware bytes, which one checks for rootkits?

 

Use a Live CD for that purpose. Most AV companies offer these as free download.

It is a feature of rootkits that they can hide themselves when Windows is running.

Michael