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Yahoo Fights Dirty 
By: Andy Beal 2007-01-12 The power struggle between Yahoo and Google for your desktop just took an evil turn, with evidence that suggests Yahoo is trying to switch Google users without their explicit permission. Over email, Jarrod Hunt of Text Link Brokers explained how a recent upgrade to Yahoo Messenger includes an innocuous "auto-update" option. When the user gives Yahoo permission to "update" - what they think is just Yahoo Messenger - the updater downloads IE 7 (which we already know to be buggy) and then proceeds to hijack many browser preferences - including search engine settings. The updater's first sneaky switch is to associate all web links to IE 7 instead of the user's default browser - in Jarrod's case all links started opening in IE 7 instead of Firefox. The next step in the process is an ambiguous error message saying your search settings have been changed and would you like to either "fix settings" or "allow change". Thinking you are about to have your browser settings switched away from your default; most users - like Jarrod - will click "fix settings". Upon doing so, they'll find their homepage is now switched to Yahoo as the default!  If you think that's sneaky, wait until you see what happens next! Not only does the Yahoo download of IE 7 hijack your homepage, it also switches IE's default search engine to Yahoo, without permission. Jarrod didn't even realize that this had changed until the Google Toolbar displayed a warning that an attempt had been made to switch the default search engine from Google to Yahoo.  Can you believe that such a battle is going on for your search settings? Is Yahoo deliberately using old-school spyware tactics to try and win new users, are they that desperate? I'm emailing Yahoo for a response. Maybe they'll blame Microsoft on this one, maybe it's an isolated incident. Or, maybe it is what it is - a battle for your browser, which just turned a little more sinister. Comment Tags: Google, Yahoo Add to  Del.icio.us |  Digg |  Reddit |  Furl
Have a bookmark! -  About the Author: Andy Beal is an internet marketing consultant and considered one of the world's most respected and interactive search engine marketing experts. Andy has worked with many Fortune 1000 companies such as Motorola, CitiFinancial, Lowes, Alaska Air, DeWALT, NBC and Experian. You can read his internet marketing blog at Marketing Pilgrim and reach him at andy.beal@gmail.com. |
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