Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

Geek Culture / Microsoft took over my laptop!

Author
Message
Phaelax
DBPro Master
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 16th Apr 2003
Location: Metropia
Posted: 5th May 2013 07:16
Link
Both Chrome and FF now default to msn.com and their search bars use Bing, even though I changed their settings which now show google instead. wtf? I haven't even installed anything lately.

"You're all wrong. You're all idiots." ~Fluffy Rabbit
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Dark Java Dude 64
Community Leader
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st Sep 2010
Location: Neither here nor there nor anywhere
Posted: 5th May 2013 08:58
Link
Ooh trying to increase Bing's 'popularity' are they?

http://www.google.com/
Back to top
Profile PM Website
CoffeeGrunt
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Oct 2007
Location: England
Posted: 5th May 2013 14:32
Link
Painfully sad, that. They also silently updated everyone's Internet Explorer, too.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
The Zoq2
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Nov 2009
Location: Linköping, Sweden
Posted: 5th May 2013 18:31
Link
Quote: "Painfully sad, that. They also silently updated everyone's Internet Explorer, too."


That sounds like a good thing. IE needs an update to HTML5 on the older browsers
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Kevin Picone
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 27th Aug 2002
Location: Australia
Posted: 5th May 2013 18:35
Link
hmmm, I get the odd drama when AVG tool bar decides it wants to update. So I wonder if this is similar problem?


Mobile Platforms Are Coming
Back to top
Profile PM Website
CoffeeGrunt
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Oct 2007
Location: England
Posted: 5th May 2013 18:52
Link
Quote: "That sounds like a good thing. IE needs an update to HTML5 on the older browsers"


The point is that they were pulled into court years back for leveraging IE as a monopoly. Now it's a minority, but everyone has the newest version for their OS pre-installed, so they're less likely to search for other browsers.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Airslide
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 18th Oct 2004
Location: California
Posted: 5th May 2013 20:00
Link
Quote: "The point is that they were pulled into court years back for leveraging IE as a monopoly. Now it's a minority, but everyone has the newest version for their OS pre-installed, so they're less likely to search for other browsers."


A lot of people aren't going to go searching for another browser anyway, and you need SOMETHING installed on the system to even get those. Better to have everyone, including the non-tech savvy, kept up-to-date with the latest security fixes (to say nothing of HTML5 standards). Besides, every other operating system has its own default browser it ships with, why should Windows be any different?

The fragmentation of web browser market share should say enough - people are clearly willing to go download another browser if they want to. And the people who don't either actually want to use IE or they wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they were given a choice, and they'd pick the one with the prettiest icon.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Phaelax
DBPro Master
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 16th Apr 2003
Location: Metropia
Posted: 6th May 2013 07:43
Link
Quote: "The point is that they were pulled into court years back for leveraging IE as a monopoly"


I don't like IE, but I still support MS in the fact that having to include competitor software with their own is BS. Especially since all the browsers are free. You bought a MS product and you're mad because you have to use their product for 5seconds to get an alternative tool? I'll never support the courts decision on that. (I did a big paper on it way back in the day)

I run Avira on both laptop and desktop and desktop hasn't been affected, nor do I have any toolbars at all. I open my laptop, watch netflix, close laptop. Then suddenly, it changed one day. I'm absolutely clueless on what would've caused it and more importantly, why Chrome settings shows google as my homepage yet I'm still being taken to msn default.

"You're all wrong. You're all idiots." ~Fluffy Rabbit
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
easter bunny
13
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 20th Nov 2012
Playing: Dota 2
Posted: 6th May 2013 10:38
Link
check your hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\)
does it have anything suspicious in it?

Dodge those Balls, awesomest app on the Play Store
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Phaelax
DBPro Master
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 16th Apr 2003
Location: Metropia
Posted: 8th May 2013 11:22 Edited at: 8th May 2013 11:25
Link
Wouldn't be anything in host, because I can hit my home button once its open and it'll take me to my real home page (after I set it back). But it still defaults to msn when I open it.

Apparently, whatever did this also did it to FF and IE as well. They default to this page:
http://www.msn.com/?pc=UP21&ocid=UP21DHP&dt=031913

I was able to change IE and FF back and it now works fine. Opera never seemed affected. And finally Chrome seems to be remembering my real homepage.

"You're all wrong. You're all idiots." ~Fluffy Rabbit
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
kaedroho
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st Aug 2007
Location: Oxford,UK
Posted: 8th May 2013 18:11
Link
Quote: "I don't like IE, but I still support MS in the fact that having to include competitor software with their own is BS. Especially since all the browsers are free. You bought a MS product and you're mad because you have to use their product for 5seconds to get an alternative tool? I'll never support the courts decision on that. (I did a big paper on it way back in the day)"


The idea was to give the other web browsers a chance. Most PCs come with IE by default. Many people don't think of replacing it with something else. So Microsoft are given an unfair advantage in the browser world simply because they have the most popular desktop.

Blitzwerks Terrain
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Ortu
DBPro Master
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st Nov 2007
Location: Austin, TX
Posted: 13th May 2013 05:14
Link
Quote: " Many people don't think of replacing it with something else"


there is nothing to stop other browsers from advertising themselves, rather than piggybacking in forced distribution. dont get me wrong, i dont care for much for IE, the older versions particularly are a pain to support and develope for. firefox is my browser of choice, but none of them really make any effort to present themselves or go out and get peoples interest or awareness. they all just rely on people seeking them out, no proactivity. while google does push chrome through its own services and sites, it doesnt present much outside of itself, so it still relies on people coming to them, rather than going to the people.

Shazam!
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Airslide
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 18th Oct 2004
Location: California
Posted: 13th May 2013 06:23
Link
If you use any Google services you'll be bombarded by requests to try Chrome. Sometimes it gets downright annoying. It's not like it requires much digging to find.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
easter bunny
13
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 20th Nov 2012
Playing: Dota 2
Posted: 13th May 2013 07:59
Link
Quote: "If you use any Google services you'll be bombarded by requests to try Chrome. Sometimes it gets downright annoying. It's not like it requires much digging to find. "

unless you use chrome.....
except that I'm a Firefox user and totally agree

Dodge those Balls, awesomest app on the Play Store
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Melancholic
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 26th Nov 2009
Location:
Posted: 13th May 2013 12:33
Link
Quote: "there is nothing to stop other browsers from advertising themselves, rather than piggybacking in forced distribution."


So your solution to having the forced distribution of one of multiple browsers is to impose the forced distribution of one of those browsers , and arguably the worst one at that? Makes perfect sense... I really don't see how people can argue in favor of Microsoft having monopoly power over yet another market, having a fairer, more competitive market benefits consumers massively in this case.


I can count to banana...
Back to top
Profile PM Email
kaedroho
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st Aug 2007
Location: Oxford,UK
Posted: 13th May 2013 12:36 Edited at: 13th May 2013 12:40
Link
Quote: "there is nothing to stop other browsers from advertising themselves, rather than piggybacking in forced distribution. dont get me wrong, i dont care for much for IE, the older versions particularly are a pain to support and develope for. firefox is my browser of choice, but none of them really make any effort to present themselves or go out and get peoples interest or awareness."



Mozilla are the only major browser developer that aren't out to take your privacy and/or money. The problem with that is they don't make much money so they can't spend much on advertising

Should all browsers be out to grab money in order to succeed?

Blitzwerks Terrain
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Phaelax
DBPro Master
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 16th Apr 2003
Location: Metropia
Posted: 13th May 2013 18:32
Link
How is IE, Chrome, or Opera out to grab my money?

"You're all wrong. You're all idiots." ~Fluffy Rabbit
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
BiggAdd
Retired Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 6th Aug 2004
Location: != null
Posted: 13th May 2013 20:26
Link
Quote: "The idea was to give the other web browsers a chance. Most PCs come with IE by default. Many people don't think of replacing it with something else. So Microsoft are given an unfair advantage in the browser world simply because they have the most popular desktop."


I don't see why Microsoft should have to do this when every other OS creator out there doesn't.

Apple with Safari,
Google with Chrome.

Don't get me wrong, IE is a load of rubbish, but it seems unfair that Microsoft is targeted yet again by all of this.

Back to top
Profile PM
Benjamin
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 24th Nov 2002
Location: France
Posted: 13th May 2013 20:46
Link
Quote: "but it seems unfair that Microsoft is targeted yet again by all of this."


I do agree mostly, although you have to admit Windows is the "PC" operating system. I guess it's a way of keeping capitalism in check.

I'm infamous. Enter my name here for proof.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
kaedroho
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st Aug 2007
Location: Oxford,UK
Posted: 13th May 2013 21:38 Edited at: 13th May 2013 21:39
Link
I agree with the EU on this one. Competition is a good thing. Microsoft are able to gain a big market share on browsers simply because they own the most market share in OSes (I think this is a bad thing)

So I think this browser choice thing is a step in the right direction. The point is to stop any browser vendor getting power over the web. When that happens you get them trying to push things like ActiveX, Dart and NaCl. Weather or not you like those things is not the point though. But the idea of having multiple browsers all with a chunk of the market share, they can stop the bad ideas from catching on (web developers tend to not like writing websites that only work in one web browser)

The EU want a world where no single company has control over OSes or browsers

This browser choice thing was thought up back when IE had a 95% market share though. Its a bit dated but I think its still necessary as it gives all browsers a chance of gaining a decent market share without needing deep pockets (Firefox proves you don't need deep pockets to make a good browser)

If Chromes market share ever goes above 80% I bet the EU will start putting some rules on Google. But I don't think that will ever happen though

They would also love to take Microsoft to court over Windows but Macs are too expensive and there aren't many companies supporting Linux at the moment so they can't. But they will if they get the chance. Imagine a world where Microsoft has to work to sell copies of Windows!

Blitzwerks Terrain
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2026-07-09 20:55:19
Your offset time is: 2026-07-09 20:55:19