4 ms·

Yes, it's far better to not inform the public that their computers are being infected by an active Windows zero day.

zelon88 10y ago
I see where he's coming from though. It is hypocritical that Google cares so much about Microsoft's customers and then craps on their own user-base so regularly. Case in point: Google released the app launcher for Linux, waited for adoption to take place (so that devs and users had apps made, tested, installed, and in-use) and then they canned the whole thing because it was taking market share away from Chromium. Then, they canned Chromium OS! If I were Microsoft I'd tell them to mind their own damn business as well. It's obvious anyway that the only thing Google cares about in this instance is making themselves look good at the expense of Microsoft.
- JoshTriplett 10y ago
  > Then, they canned Chromium OS! Chromium OS is alive and well. Perhaps you're thinking of the Chrome-specific "application" APIs, which have been deprecated in favor of web technologies?
- bitmapbrother 10y ago
  Why shouldn't Google care about customers that use Windows? A large percentage of them also use Google services so it's in their interest to inform them. >If I were Microsoft I'd tell them to mind their own damn business as well. What would you tell their customers that were infected by their negligence? Let me guess? "Mind your own damn business".
  - zelon88 10y ago
    I'm sure Microsoft has a bug-bounty. Google looks for bugs in competitors software and then blackmails the developers with disclosure, irregardless of that bug bounty. That isn't white-hat at all.
    - Buge 10y ago
      Bug bounties are usually for unexploited vulnerabilities that you find yourself. It sounds to me like google didn't discover this vulnerability on their own, they discovered malware that was exploiting it. I'm not sure if a bug bounty would pay out for a vulnerability you didn't discover.
      - flattone 10y ago
        Some comments feel almost troll
- golfer 10y ago
  Maybe after the ridiculous Scroogled campaign that Microsoft did against Google, and stealing Google's search results, and extorting money from Android OEMs for lame patents, Google has earned the right to bully Microsoft a little. I'm okay with this.
- Ph0X 10y ago
  No, they did what any security researcher would do, Google or not. To be honest, their call is a perfect one. On the one hand, you don't tell anyone other than Microsoft and wait for them to patch as many people as possible while the bug is ACTIVELY being exploited and possibly thousands are getting hacked by the hour. On the other hand, you tell people, and many are now able to patch it themselves RIGHT NOW, force an update on their machine, not use affected software, and potentially avoid a hack that would've happened if they didn't know. So yes, it's not black and white, but I think their call of waiting a week was an okay one.

I see where he's coming from though. It is hypocritical that Google cares so much about Microsoft's customers and then craps on their own user-base so regularly. Case in point: Google released the app launcher for Linux, waited for adoption to take place (so that devs and users had apps made, tested, installed, and in-use) and then they canned the whole thing because it was taking market share away from Chromium. Then, they canned Chromium OS! If I were Microsoft I'd tell them to mind their own damn business as well. It's obvious anyway that the only thing Google cares about in this instance is making themselves look good at the expense of Microsoft.

JoshTriplett 10y ago
> Then, they canned Chromium OS! Chromium OS is alive and well. Perhaps you're thinking of the Chrome-specific "application" APIs, which have been deprecated in favor of web technologies?
bitmapbrother 10y ago
Why shouldn't Google care about customers that use Windows? A large percentage of them also use Google services so it's in their interest to inform them. >If I were Microsoft I'd tell them to mind their own damn business as well. What would you tell their customers that were infected by their negligence? Let me guess? "Mind your own damn business".
- zelon88 10y ago
  I'm sure Microsoft has a bug-bounty. Google looks for bugs in competitors software and then blackmails the developers with disclosure, irregardless of that bug bounty. That isn't white-hat at all.
  - Buge 10y ago
    Bug bounties are usually for unexploited vulnerabilities that you find yourself. It sounds to me like google didn't discover this vulnerability on their own, they discovered malware that was exploiting it. I'm not sure if a bug bounty would pay out for a vulnerability you didn't discover.
    - flattone 10y ago
      Some comments feel almost troll
golfer 10y ago
Maybe after the ridiculous Scroogled campaign that Microsoft did against Google, and stealing Google's search results, and extorting money from Android OEMs for lame patents, Google has earned the right to bully Microsoft a little. I'm okay with this.
Ph0X 10y ago
No, they did what any security researcher would do, Google or not. To be honest, their call is a perfect one. On the one hand, you don't tell anyone other than Microsoft and wait for them to patch as many people as possible while the bug is ACTIVELY being exploited and possibly thousands are getting hacked by the hour. On the other hand, you tell people, and many are now able to patch it themselves RIGHT NOW, force an update on their machine, not use affected software, and potentially avoid a hack that would've happened if they didn't know. So yes, it's not black and white, but I think their call of waiting a week was an okay one.