Republished on January 25 with a new warning of Microsoft’s “security nightmare” for all Windows users.
Games and entertainment between Microsoft and Google continue, and for their new advice, the Windows manufacturer has just made Google disappear. “A new tactic has just been abandoned,” he complained about a Google executive. “How can they go?”
This appears to be a continuation of Microsoft’s replacement of the look and feel of its Bing Search effects to mimic Google. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” the Chrome boss said when he revealed. “But Microsoft spoofing Google’s homepage is another tactic in its long history of tricks aimed at confusing users and restricting choices. “
This tactic has been reversed, but now we have a new one. “Recently, we’ve noticed that Microsoft tricks searchers into thinking they’re searching on Google and not Bing,” Search Engine Optimization Roundtable reported when the new trick was first discovered. “Bing now hides Google search effects and places them when you search on Bing for the term Google. Additionally, Bing features a “Promoted through Microsoft” search box.
Essentially, if you search for Google through Bing in your browser, check out a drop-down search box “promoted through Microsoft,” getting rid of the desire to click Google after all. “Logo, but it doesn’t hide Google Seek listings underneath. “I have reached out to Microsoft for any feedback on this most recent update and response.
These updates might be wryly amusing, but the question remains whether they’re actually effective. Google dominates search and no-one has yet to make much of a dent. The real threat will come from AI changing the nature of search itself, not adjusting results appearances in a browser.
This isn’t the only trick doing the rounds at the moment. “Microsoft doesn’t want Google to dominate the search market and browser war,” Windows Latest reports, after spotting “Microsoft rolling out a server-side update that makes it slightly tricky to find the Chrome download link.. Microsoft shows a giant search bar when you search for Google Chrome on Bing.”
For those watching from afar, Google and Microsoft taking hits on them, while dominating their respective domain names, will make for wonderfully horny headlines.
Meanwhile, Bing’s invisibility cloak isn’t the only Microsoft update decision making headlines. We also have its new, controversial move to keep users logged into their accounts rather than signing in each time. This is a potential “security nightmare” when it comes to inadvertently leaving accounts exposed on shared or (worse) public computers without realizing. Users need to remember to use private browsing to ensure no risks — what could go wrong?
“The Internet browser attachment delights in settings when attached to a product or service in your Microsoft account,” the company showed. “Starting in February 2025, it will remain attached automatically, unless you miss or use personal browsing. It doesn’t belong to you or what other people have access to, you’ll have to go through the steps to use a personal browsing window. Outlook. com;
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