January 31st, 2009
Google flags entire Web as 'malware'
UPDATE: Google explains, blaming “human error.”
A major hiccup at Google this morning caused the entire Internet to be flagged as malware.
The problem appears to be centered around the Google Safe Browsing API — even that returned a “This site may harm your computer” warning (see screenshot below) — the security diagnostics service that powers Firefox’s malware blocking service.
There has been no official word from Google yet but the blogosphere and Twittersphere is abuzz with screenshots and complaints from unhappy Web surfers. (See Techmeme discussion).
For a short period during the hiccup, Firefox was blocking access to Web sites with the standard “This is an attack site!” warning.
With all the damaged reputations from this episode, how soon before we see a high-level warning about the dangers of the Google monoculture?
Ryan Naraine is a journalist and security evangelist at Kaspersky Lab. He manages Threatpost.com, a security news portal. Here is Ryan's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
For daily updates on Ryan's activities, follow him on Twitter.
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