Exclusive – Yahoo Using Dirty Tactics to Switch Google & Firefox Users?

Just another step in the road to Yahoo and MS partnering.

I cant wait to see how this progresses over the next couple years.

Before you install the update, it clearly mentions in a side column what all it is going to do, and you have the choice doing a custom install.
So sneaky, but not without your consent.

sensationalizing at it’s best! Oh yes, that’s how the site attracts readers.

I say up your med dosage a bit.

Ho hum. This is small potatoes compared to what the telcoms would do in the 80′s-90′s. They’d be “slamming” millions of phone accounts changing your long distance carrier without permission.

this is compelete rubbish. but hey, if it brings a traffic spike you’re all set i guess.

I installed Google Earth 4 this morning, following an article about its improved 3D building views. When the install was complete, it gave me two options at the final dialog: did I want to start Google Earth (preselected), and did I want to make Google my default search engine in IE (also preselected.)

It was difficult to miss, right in the open like that. But I wonder if the two things are related.

This is not exclusive. I had reported this long back on 19th December on my website at http://www.dharwadkar.com/weblog/yahoo_badware and also reported to the stopbadware group.

The thing that really steamed me about this was that I was not upgrading to IE7 for multiple reasons.

I upgraded to the new Yahoo IM because it is the IM we use for our internal ops.

The message that popped up about enabling auto-update said nothing about also updating Internet Explorer.

I was duped, and I’m sure there are plenty of others out there less internet savvy then I.

I’m not saying that other companies don’t do this, just that this seemed particularly sneaky.

The other funny part of it was watching the Google and Yahoo toolbars trying to prevent each other from changing setting. It was hilarious. One pop-up warning after the other. It would make a good comic strip.

Yahoo has always been a Hi-forced marketer. they might deliver your email to spamsters(just my opinion, since I got spam without ever giving out my email address at beginning signup). They allow bots in their chats, Advertising methods they use are IN-YOUR FACE. Google gmail and services do have advertising, but it is not offensive since they are useful programs that don’t overdo it(gmail,you can pause pointer over message and shows who’s it is from, Yahoo you can’t do that. That tells me Yahoo want’s you to open that spam because it is in Yahoo’s best interests. Your article does not suprise me.It is right on target.

I’d be more worried about Yahoo and other large internet companies and how they’ve been collaborating with the Chinese government and handing over details of dissidents and political opponents. This is nothing in comparison.

This is what happens when you download the new IE7 “optimized for Yahoo.” The standard version of IE7 from Microsoft’s site doesn’t do this. If you don’t want Yahoo to optimize your browser, then don’t download the Yahoo-optimized version, idiot!

How about deceitful, deceitful, devious, dishonest, double-dealing, furtive, indirect, shifty, slippery, snaky, stealthy, unconscionable, unethical, wily?

When you download Yahoo’s version of IE7, that action alone implies that you want your browser to be optimized for Yahoo.

Ooooooh, ok. I guess I should have read the article more thoroughly. Apologies.

Confirmed.
YIM try to upgrade IE to IE7 (yahoo version) without permission and switch all settings from google to yahoo.

The point here, again, is that this is Yahoo Messenger, the chat function, doing a major screwing with the rest of your environment.

There was another update problem a few weeks ago, which I didn’t partake in. This is a new update.

This week’s Messenger Update window does not have a tickbox to say “leave me alone for a while about this update”.

I agree that Yahoo has been getting uglier for a while now, but many people like the yahoo life.

I agree that they are preying and underhanded in their tactics toward naive users.

This really seems so typical of the adjustments done by so many applications that share the browser, or use of certain file extensions.

Google does some very sneaky things, such as their attempts at invasion of privacy, and I see very little of the outcry that I see for even the most minor questionable things that Yahoo or the original evil empire, Microsoft, does. Its a Conspiracy!!!!

Some of you here should go back to your Google-shrines and continue worshiping your new God.

Hey, Google does the same thing. In Firefox, their toolbar resets the RSS mime type to Google, instead of my default (thunderbird). Let he without rocks…

This story is a lie. Messenger does *NOT* install IE 7. If you look at the video below, you’ll see it installs the Yahoo! toolbar, changes the search engine setting, and changes the home page. That’s it. And of course you can turn them off if you choose.
http://news.com.com/1606-2-6144280.html

It seems odd to me that people are too lazy to click a button and a few checkboxes, but will spend the time to bitch about the evil install experience on a forum like this.

Why is google informing the user when its search has been changed? Yahoo is guilty for this, but Google is also guilty for monitoring the default search page – I don’t care whether its for security or not – that uses memory (maybe a small amount, but polling still takes up memory).

Plus Google isn’t doing this for our security, but moreso to ensure that it makes it trickier to change the default search page away from them. Toolbars suck, especially Google, Alexa and Yahoo bars. You don’t need them in this day and age – all browsers (IE, Firefox, Opera) have addons that can give you whatever feature you need and want.

What a suprise??

What you are saying is done by Yahoo! has been the standard for a long time! nothing new here!

@53. Soooo…lemme get this straight. A guy that has a career built around the internet didn’t even THINK to do “Help About” to confirm whether his browser was really updated or not before informing the world? Brilliant!!!! Typical of the blogosphere now. In the rush to link whore simple fact checking goes out the window. Good luck finding that credibility you just lost.

i have had the problem of yahoo and google trying to be my search browser i am using msn and i find yahoo and google in my computer programs i deleat them as it it is sneaky way to gather more data.i feel they have enough info on me in ther data base why do the want to control other peaples choices

Well I haven’t tried it really. I don’t like toolbars. But I tried Yahoo Messenger just before IE7 was released and it came with many bundled options. It sounds like Yahoo can’t believe someone really downloaded their software and they want to make the most out of it. It will be interesting to hear their comments.

I haven’t installed Yahoo Mess(enger) on this computer since I bought it a couple of months ago. But I experienced this on my last computer. A friend stayed with me for several days last year and during the visit decided to install Yahoo Messenger on my computer. I guess she figured that since we had used it to chat in the past, that I wouldn’t mind if she installed it. And normally I wouldn’t except she didn’t change any of the options during the install.

Yep, I got the Yahoo Toolbar (that I don’t use). I got some crap for Yahoo mail (that I don’t use). I got three or four other things that I also un-installed via Ad/Remove Programs. I also had to change my default search engine back to Google (took me a little while to figure out.

The most annoying thing, though, was some weird translation tips or something. When you hovered over some words in the browser, you would get a pop-up tip with some translation in a language I didn’t know. I have no idea exactly what it was and couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it. It stayed on my PC until it died a couple of months back.

this is ridiculous… I haven’t read thru all the comments but how can Yahoo think they can get away with this in the age of scrutiny?

“The point here, again, is that this is Yahoo Messenger, the chat function, doing a major screwing with the rest of your environment.

Bullshit.

This happens IF YOU CHOOSE TO INSTALL THE YAHOO TOOLBAR.

Google does the EXACT SAME THING.

Lol….
I think the wars between google and the others are just starting to heat up.

Who knows what they will start doing next

jMan

http://searchengine.jeremygaul.com/

I use a mix of yahoo and Google. i will search with Google but i have a yahoo account. I did not like it though, when my homepage was changed and IE7 was installed.

There is no power struggle between Google and Yahoo. The very concept in 2007 is a joke. Market share numbers alone reveal that (surprise lol) Google has won hands-down. Microsoft has kept Yahoo in business which is what last year’s “strategic partnership” was all about. Since that agreement and major cash payment to Yahoo, all of Yahoo’s important programs (except search) like IM are licensed from Microsoft; there’s little question that Microsoft will end up buying Yahoo ~ it’s just a matter of time. Google isn’t any angel but Yahoo’s behavior this past year make them look like one. Here’s the thing I like about Google most beside the fact that they’re the largest and most powerful software company on earth by market capitalization alone ~ (1) unlike anyone else, they have Microsoft’s respect (some would say fear lol); (2) unlike Yahoo or Microsoft, Google puts their TOS / EULA’s in plain language that even you and I can read ~ heck, 99.9% of ppl using Windows can’t even understand the what each of 3,000+ programs in Windows Vista Ultimate/Enterprise DO. XP wasn’t much better in the verbiage catagory. Microsoft and its baby clone Yahoo don’t want you to understand this stuff because if you did… well, you fill in the rest of that sentence from your own experience with Windows. Maybe you adore Windows and think Microsoft actually cares even the tiniest bit about you ~ fine, can you understand their TOS / EULA’s? My husband’s a corporate attorney and even he can’t. This to me is not a good sign of honorable intentions on Yahoo and Microsoft’s part. The one major difference between Yahoo and Microsoft is that Yahoo lies right to your face ~ at least Microsoft is shrewd enough to obfuscate the truth.

This is not a good idea, bad luck Yahoo!

You know, this isn’t much different to what the Google toolbar, or most of the other things that Google creates. They all let you import settings from other companies products in an automated fashion, but not export them to other programs.

Ok..so when does the lawsuit start? Isn’t that where situations like this normally end up? Then everyone gets publicity and blog traffic.

Yahoo Search Marketing will do anything to take your $$$.

They are very sneaky into getting you to pay big $$$ for each “click” without you even realizing it. 24 hours later…you’re down at least $50.00….even $100…on up…with nothing to show for it!

Google Adwords and MSN are so much better!

they are ba****rds of the first degree,using such lowdown tactics,should be ashmed of themselves.now on i swiched all my emails to gmail.yahoo lost its respect i hope others will follow my way soon.

Google are a front for all the 3 letter government agencies to spy on people. Since 911 Google has come from nowhere to a point where people now say google this and that like it’s mainstream language.

Microshaft don’t care what you do as long as you buy their products. They are like Boyscouts compared to Googles agenda.

For a clean search engine I use searchalot.com as I have for years.

Yea, well John I’d like to say that I mindlessly accepted Yahoo’s invasion like so many do and they wonder how they got all those toolbars etc. But that is not the case for me. Agreeing along the way I probably did BUT it wasn’t in plain view and had to of been hidden deep in the t&c’s which I am sure you would agree get scrolled through and seldom read from beginning to end. I appreciate what you are saying here but this is not the case for me and I am not a newbie. By the way, I still can’t get rid of Yahoo search from my address bar. I suppose if I spent weeks hovering in the forums I might get lucky with a fix. Any suggestions that would be more useful for people like me?