I'm getting this cute malware alert in chromium when I hit the website when it's down. I'm guessing it's the pacman flash game.
Does anyone else get that?
Malware alert!
I've never gotten that. I primarily use Chrome on OS X (I wonder if Chromium behaves differently than Chrome in this case?).
Yeah I've been getting it over about the past week when loading the pac man / downtime game. The site which that game originates from is apparently in bad standing with google.
Well, Chrome itself is malware, so ignore that. Use Firefox.
(Sigh... inevitably someone will now feel urged to defend Chrome. I can see it coming.
Therefore some explanation: software which installs secretly without the user's consent (in fact, against the user's explicit opt-out) on a scheduled antivirus program update (Avast 7), and which upon finishing its covert install -- again, secretly, and without user consent, changes critical system settings (default internet browser and start page) demonstrates some very obvious malware behaviour. Software that demonstrates malware behaviour is malware.).
Sounds more like Avast is the malware in that case -- they're the ones fucking with your system, not Google. They've also silently installed other software in the past...
Do you have a citation for that case btw? The only one I found was this, which is a case where you can opt out if you're paying attention, just like all those other sleazy browser toolbar plugin funded freeware installers, except in this case they ask at the beginning, and then again at the end only if you said no the first time...
Sigh... inevitably someone will now feel urged to defend Chrome. I can see it coming.
If so, you can thank yourself for starting the 'my browser is better than yours' fight 
Not only a citation, this is something that happened to me personally. It will install Chrome by default, but you can opt out, which I did. I also made sure that it has "do not use Chrome" checked in the settings. Upon updating version 7 to 8 a month or so ago, it installed Chrome anyway (silently, and without asking). You are right insofar as this is a serious fuck-up from the side of Avast in the first place.
However, also, Google Chrome secretly changed the default browser to itself upon completing install (and the start page, of course), and that's not something one can blame on someone else. Even Internet Exploder asks you whether it's allowed to do such a thing.
I wrote a support ticket (being a paying idiot customer) and the answer I got was "Yeah, you can opt out, and anyway if you are not happy with Chrome's features you can still uninstall it again". Which of course doesn't help if opting out is being ignored, and uninstalling a program that has already changed/overwritten an unknown number of registry keys and/or system files really isn't an applicable solution compared to not installing it in the first place (when you didn't want it).
t's not about being unhappy with Chrome's features either, it's being unhappy that people at major software companies think they own your computer. If someone changes your system settings, they had better ask for permission first.
Sadly many programs nowadays install useless preloaders that slow down booting and "forced on you" autoupdaters that phone home every minute and then download and install stuff without asking and at the worst moment.
Back then you could choose if you wanted some update, download it yourself, make a backup if you wanted so you didnt have to download it again after a reinstall, choose which update you want to install so you didnt have to use the newest version with possibly new bugs although the older version was working already or just because you didnt even use the program for a while or choose an appropriate time for an update so it didnt interrupt your work or force a reboot on you on the worst moment. Also you didnt have programs hog and hook your browser which you just wanted to use alone and not as a plugin that slows or nearly crashes the browser down needlessly like acrobat or weird seemingly purposeless MS plugins for Firefox without deinstall button.
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Well, Chrome itself is malware, so ignore that. Use Firefox.
(Sigh... inevitably someone will now feel urged to defend Chrome. I can see it coming.
Therefore some explanation: software which installs secretly without the user's consent (in fact, against the user's explicit opt-out) on a scheduled antivirus program update (Avast 7), and which upon finishing its covert install -- again, secretly, and without user consent, changes critical system settings (default internet browser and start page) demonstrates some very obvious malware behaviour. Software that demonstrates malware behaviour is malware.).
I'll just put this here, but Chromium isn't Chrome. So I'm not sure why you even brought up the "Chrome is malware" argument, but I guess it is a more interesting topic. I'm not too fussed about the warning itself, which is rather benign, as I'm under Linux most of the bad stuff isn't even targeted at me, I was just curious to see if other people got that, and to give a heads up to the staff. Clearly Google has this site on its blacklist for some reason, even if the pacman game itself is.. well.. just a game, a priori.
Well, Chrome itself is malware, so ignore that. Use Firefox.
(Sigh... inevitably someone will now feel urged to defend Chrome. I can see it coming.
Therefore some explanation: software which installs secretly without the user's consent (in fact, against the user's explicit opt-out) on a scheduled antivirus program update (Avast 7), and which upon finishing its covert install -- again, secretly, and without user consent, changes critical system settings (default internet browser and start page) demonstrates some very obvious malware behaviour. Software that demonstrates malware behaviour is malware.).
I'll just put this here, but Chromium isn't Chrome. So I'm not sure why you even brought up the "Chrome is malware" argument, but I guess it is a more interesting topic. I'm not too fussed about the warning itself, which is rather benign, as I'm under Linux most of the bad stuff isn't even targeted at me, I was just curious to see if other people got that, and to give a heads up to the staff. Clearly Google has this site on its blacklist for some reason, even if the pacman game itself is.. well.. just a game, a priori.
Want... to... vote... this... up...
@Cornstalks, find another post made by the same user and vote it up instead!
I got a message similar to that a day or two ago, and I use Chrome (not Chromium). I didn't even know there was a pac-man game that I could have played...I feel cheated!
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