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Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

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Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#231

Post by BeefWellington »

mastax wrote: post #170

I once saw a google search ad result for a malware version of GNU Cash. It was extremely easy to miss. The website was identical except the Windows download was replaced with malware instead of linking to Sourceforge. The malware installer was signed with a key from a random Taiwanese electronics company (likely stolen). I emailed DigiCert and got the cert revoked. None of the scanners on VirusTotal flagged the insta…

Yeah, especially with open-source stuff it's been a problem for a while. The GIMP team is regularly targeted this way and has been for years.

2022: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-ad-for...

2015: (The SourceForge Fiasco) https://www.gimp.org/news/2015/05/27/gimp-projects-official-...

2013: https://www.gimpusers.com/forums/gimp-user/15999-adware-malw...

Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#232

Post by navigate8310 »

tedivm wrote: post #7

The malvertisement thing has become real bad. The other day I had a problem so I used chrome, where I unfortunately hadn't installed an add blocker yet. I searched for my bank (I know, I should have put the URL in directly, but I was being lazy since it was a new chrome install and I didn't have the url in my history yet). I hit the first link, logged in (my password manager would have saved me here, but again it was…

It is also advised not to search for customer care numbers of prominent services on Google. Most results will have fake numbers listed that may lead to social engineering of the caller.

Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#233

Post by Obscurity4340 »

sneak wrote: post #218
tedivm wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My bank's website (their real one) was having an issue with Firefox so I installed Chrome just to log into the bank. Since I normally don't use chrome I hadn't installed a password manager yet. I copy/pasted my password out of my password manager.

Any time you copy/paste from a password manager, alarm bells should be ringing.

Why's that?

Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#234

Post by sneak »

Obscurity4340 wrote: post #233
sneak wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any time you copy/paste from a password manager, alarm bells should be ringing.

Why's that?

Phishing. Password managers will work automatically on the correct domain.

Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#235

Post by grishka »

Smilliam wrote: post #157
grishka wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's gotten so bad that there's now an ad blocker filter list that removes the StackOverflow clones from search results.

I'm not OP, but for those of you who saw this comment and were hoping for a link, the one that I use is https://github.com/quenhus/uBlock-Origin-dev-filter

Yes, it's this

Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#236

Post by kcartlidge »

horsawlarway wrote: post #107

Honestly - just stop using Google search (and while I remain flabberghasted I'm saying this - Edge is a better chromium browser than Chrome.). Or better yet, any Google product. The company is diving off a cliff. For reference... A private Jellyfin server I use for hosting videos of my kid for his grandparents, and some music I legally own is consistently flagged as phishing (along with basically anyone else hosting…

> and while I remain flabberghasted I'm saying this - Edge is a better chromium browser than Chrome

This is surprisingly true. On my work Windows laptop I switched as (a) the system overhead was less than half and (b) the performance was better. Been months, and other than the occasional wrong icon being clicked I've not launched Chrome since.

Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#237

Post by kcartlidge »

potbelly83 wrote: post #193

I think we're moving back towards a 90s version of the web again. No search, just a list of hand curated sites of people who's opinions we trust. The only thing is now these will be likes specs of gold drowning in a sea of shit.

And no behavioural ads; contextual ones work good enough and have the benefits of (a) no tracking needed, (b) ads that actually relate to what you're looking at/searching for, (c) no monopoly marketplaces, and (d) sites able to host their own ads within a web that can survive off revenues without losing billions to Google and Meta.

To be honest even if contextual ads are less efficient than behavioural ones (debatable) it's still worth it to rescue the web from what it has largely become.

Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#238

Post by horsawlarway »

kcartlidge wrote: post #236
horsawlarway wrote: post #107

Honestly - just stop using Google search (and while I remain flabberghasted I'm saying this - Edge is a better chromium browser than Chrome.). Or better yet, any Google product. The company is diving off a cliff. For reference... A private Jellyfin server I use for hosting videos of my kid for his grandparents, and some music I legally own is consistently flagged as phishing (along with basically anyone else hosting…

> and while I remain flabberghasted I'm saying this - Edge is a better chromium browser than Chrome This is surprisingly true. On my work Windows laptop I switched as (a) the system overhead was less than half and (b) the performance was better. Been months, and other than the occasional wrong icon being clicked I've not launched Chrome since.

I use it on my Linux boxes, and it's better there too, which is really a bit stunning at the end of the day.

I would have laughed in your face 10 years ago if you'd told me I would prefer a MS browser over chrome... but here we are.

Google is rapidly becoming a dinosaur, and I don't think they have the ability (or perhaps desire) to change course.

Frankly - I'd like to see their search monopoly broken up at this point. It's time for some fresh air in the space.

Re: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software

#239

Post by deafpolygon »

ManuelKiessling wrote: post #216
GeekyBear wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ads were not only a different color, they were also limited to the margins of the page and did not appear in the list of search results. As a matter of fact, when Google was the scrappy new underdog, they used to make fun of the legacy search engines for the practice of mixing ads into the list of search results.

You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain…

Or they were the second mystery final boss.
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