Bing Bar, WTF?

Zarathustra[H]

Zarathustra[H]

Extremely [H]
Joined
Oct 29, 2000
Messages
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I almost never use IE as I consider it an insecure piece of junk.

Unfortunately my fiance's work webmail will only work in IE so we are forced to use it on occasion.

Today, the first time in using it since probably tuesday, when launched a popup came up asking if I wanted to use the "bing bar". Of course I didn't, so I clicked the "no thanks" button and that brought up a UAC dialog for me to enter my admin password.

Thinking that this might be some kind of malware trying to trick me into entering my UAC password I canceled and hit "no thanks" again, with the same result. The only way to get away from this dialogue was to bring up the task manager and force quit IE.

Restarting IE brought up the same dialogue again...

So I went into the control panel and "uninstall programs", and what do I find? There is the big bar. I uninstalled it immediately.

Is that Microsofts new policy? Install unwanted junk software and ask questions later??? I'd expect this of some malware company but not Microsoft.

This is really shady and unethical. Especially since we know from the "Bing copying Google results" fiasco that the bing bar spies on your search terms...


Unbelievable.... Shame on you Microsoft!
 
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I think DX web installer has a checkbox to install it by default. That's where it probably is from.
 
It doesn't just magically appear. Someone had to have installed it, either with the DirectX web setup program or some other bundle. Can't blame anyone but yourself (or whoever installed it).
 
There are a number of ways I've seen this try to invade my system. I've seen it bundled as part of the Windows Live updates from MS and a number of software packages... even codecs.
 
It's probably bundled with Silverlight as well. In their desperation, they're making some annoying moves on this one.
 
I installed something the other day...forget what it was. It had the check box asking if I wanted to install Bing. I said no and finished the install.

I do use IE though, and what I noticed was, the next time I fired up my browser, I had the bing bar. So this probably isn't Microsoft's fault, rather it's the fault of the author of the software I installed... they gave me the option to not install it as a component, and still installed it...
 
Zarathustra[H];1036971894 said:
Unbelievable.... Shame on you Microsoft!
Click to expand...
Actually, shame on you!

IE is the most targeted browser and Microsoft works their ass off to keep it secure, which is is (except IE6 but that's because they don't patch it anymore).

As for the Bing bar, it is installed when you install other software. It comes bundled with Live 2011, as well as other packs. If you do not use IE on a regular basis, it may of been installed a long time ago. Shame again on you again for installing software without using the customized install to see what you're actually putting on your system.

BTW, stop listening to your Apple friends about how much Microsoft sucks.

Also, Vista is actually a good OS. Just thought I'd throw that in there.
 
Dear Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.,

Nobody wants your F'in toolbar!!!

Stop asking me and or auto checking the "accept" box.


Up yours truly,

The Internet
 
There was actually a Windows Update that was for Bing Bar, at least I think it was, which I installed as it kept telling me there was a real update. I don't use IE either...but I figured it can be removed once I figure out how to kill the alert message saying it needs to be installed..lol.

This came out shortly after the Windows 7 patch I believe.
 
bigdogchris said:
Actually, shame on you!

IE is the most targeted browser and Microsoft works their ass off to keep it secure, which is is (except IE6 but that's because they don't patch it anymore).

As for the Bing bar, it is installed when you install other software. It comes bundled with Live 2011, as well as other packs. If you do not use IE on a regular basis, it may of been installed a long time ago. Shame again on you again for installing software without using the customized install to see what you're actually putting on your system.

BTW, stop listening to your Apple friends about how much Microsoft sucks.

Also, Vista is actually a good OS. Just thought I'd throw that in there.
Click to expand...

Who the hell mentioned Apple? I'm primarily a Linux guy occasionally booting to windows to run certain pieces of software. Safari is just as big of a turd as IE. And they both fell in close succession of each other at pwn2own.

I think you helped me figure out where it came from though. I installed movie maker last week to rotate a video (Surprisingly neither handbrake or badaboom include this functionality)

At no point did it ask me whether or not I wanted the stupid toolbar though...

That is just wrong.
 
It can be installed by many 3rd party setup apps. I find that the Shark007 codec pack installs it without even asking.
 
I just went through the installation of Windows Live Essentials. The Bing bar was right under Movie Maker. I disabled Bing Bar and when I finished the install I opened IE and did not have the Bing Bar installed.

I would be surprised if MS made a mistake like that with their installers as people would sue like mad.
 
Xerack said:
There was actually a Windows Update that was for Bing Bar, at least I think it was, which I installed as it kept telling me there was a real update. I don't use IE either...but I figured it can be removed once I figure out how to kill the alert message saying it needs to be installed..lol.

This came out shortly after the Windows 7 patch I believe.
Click to expand...

I don't have that update, and I just updated (nothing hidden)... no silly bing bar, either :)
 
Ehren8879 said:
Dear Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.,

Nobody wants your F'in toolbar!!!

Stop asking me and or auto checking the "accept" box.


Up yours truly,

The Internet
Click to expand...

LOL, we need to spam the crap out of them with this exact message.
 
Xerack said:
There was actually a Windows Update that was for Bing Bar, at least I think it was, which I installed as it kept telling me there was a real update. I don't use IE either...but I figured it can be removed once I figure out how to kill the alert message saying it needs to be installed..lol.

This came out shortly after the Windows 7 patch I believe.
Click to expand...

The only place I remember seeing it, in Windows update, was included with the Windows Live Essentails 2011 pack. Which is a massive pile of meh anyway.

Anyway, you can hide any updates you want and you won't be notified for them anymore.
 
I agree that Windows Live essentials 2011 is mostly useless, with one exception: movie maker. It is a really simple program to transfer video camera movies to your PC, and works really well for it.

And yes, the Bing bar is one of the 'features' that installs with Live essentials.

If I made an AV app I would make sure it flagged all toolbars as malware and removed them during scanning. I spend way too much time every week uninstalling these annoying POS's off people's PCs.
 
Maybe it's just me, but whenever I hear the word "toolbar", I get pissed off. Bad past I guess.
 
Zarathustra[H];1036975117 said:
At no point did it ask me whether or not I wanted the stupid toolbar though...

That is just wrong.
Click to expand...
It's on the screen where you put check boxes on what you want installed.

If you don't believe me, download it again and look ... very closely.

Shame on you! ;)
 
Zarathustra[H];1036971894 said:
Unbelievable.... Shame on you Microsoft!
Click to expand...

...and google, and yahoo, and jing, and ask.com, and many many others. ;)

Yes, those toolbars are about the easiest way for trojans and back-door nasties to get into a system running windows. They are also horribly unstable and have been since the late 90's.
 
I had the bing bar install when I had checked no.

Pisssed me off pretty bad. Felt like my rights were violated.
 
If you use Firefox, install IE Tab and set a rule for her webmail to always open in an IE Tab.
 
you installed it, or your fiance did, simple as that, also IE is not so insecure as you may think, might want to keep up with the times, it isnt IE6 any more.
 
MrGuvernment said:
you installed it, or your fiance did, simple as that, also IE is not so insecure as you may think, might want to keep up with the times, it isnt IE6 any more.
Click to expand...

As much as I hate to admit it, I must agree with this.

Google Chrome is actually one of the least secure web browsers in existence, while IE may be one of (if not the) most secure web browser. The exact opposite of what I had hoped! :eek:
 
That uac prompt was actually for uninstalling the bar. After it asks if you want to use it and you answer no it launches the uninstaller for the bing bar.
 
Red Falcon said:
As much as I hate to admit it, I must agree with this.

Google Chrome is actually one of the least secure web browsers in existence, while IE may be one of (if not the) most secure web browser. The exact opposite of what I had hoped! :eek:
Click to expand...

That doesn't match up with reality, especially considering the results of Pwn2Own.
 
PornoSatan said:
That doesn't match up with reality, especially considering the results of Pwn2Own.
Click to expand...

Well, reality is this, I no longer use Chrome, only use firefox and occasionally IE and now I have about 1/10 as many malware/spyware finds on my systems. Switching back to Chrome, using the same sites and apps and etc, makes the malware jump multiple times. Not to mention I've seen chrome get just as corrupted as IE 6 has in the past.

I'll be sticking with Firefox for now.
 
Odd; I use chrome and according to Security Essentials and Malware Antibytes, I haven't had an infection since installing Win7.
 
Red Falcon said:
Well, reality is this, I no longer use Chrome, only use firefox and occasionally IE and now I have about 1/10 as many malware/spyware finds on my systems. Switching back to Chrome, using the same sites and apps and etc, makes the malware jump multiple times. Not to mention I've seen chrome get just as corrupted as IE 6 has in the past.

I'll be sticking with Firefox for now.
Click to expand...
If you are getting ANY finds other than cookies its usually a good indication that you are doing something wrong...
 
Red Falcon said:
Well, reality is this, I no longer use Chrome, only use firefox and occasionally IE and now I have about 1/10 as many malware/spyware finds on my systems. Switching back to Chrome, using the same sites and apps and etc, makes the malware jump multiple times.
Click to expand...

LOL. What web sites do you visit? I use Chrome and have had no malware on my system ever since I started using it when it came out.
 
Database said:
That uac prompt was actually for uninstalling the bar. After it asks if you want to use it and you answer no it launches the uninstaller for the bing bar.
Click to expand...

I understand this now, but it wasn't evident at the time.

I would rather it had asked me IF I wanted to use it before it installed it as part of another program.

This is the part I have severe objections to.

For someone like us in these forums, we can quickly figure out what is going on and fix it. For the populous at large, they are probably going to go with whatever doesnt need a UAC prompt (cause their favorite geek friend has told them not to enter their UAC password if they are not sure what is causing the prompt to pop up) and thus wind up with the Bing bar, something they didn't ask for.

That is pretty shitty if you ask me.
 
Red Falcon said:
Well, reality is this, I no longer use Chrome, only use firefox and occasionally IE and now I have about 1/10 as many malware/spyware finds on my systems. Switching back to Chrome, using the same sites and apps and etc, makes the malware jump multiple times. Not to mention I've seen chrome get just as corrupted as IE 6 has in the past.

I'll be sticking with Firefox for now.
Click to expand...

My understanding of browser security right now is as follows:

Chrome > Firefox > IE > Safari.

(I don't know the current status of Opera)

I recently switched all my systems from Firefox to Chrome for this reason. Older versions of Chrome prior to 8.0.552.237 had a well publicized vulnerability that could lead to execution of arbitrary code, but currently current versions are the most secure of all commercial browsers.

If you don't use autoupdate for Chrome (portableapps versions don't use this or you might have disabled it) it is easy to quickly use an outdated version as Chrome versions are up-reved very quickly. As an example, as recently as October 2010, Chrome 7.xxxx was the latest version.

The downside (for some) of using Chrome is the data sharing that goes on with google for their advertising models. Granted this is anonymized, but a lot of people are uncomfortable with it either way. As I see it, I'd rather share anonymized data with Google than risk sharing personal information with identity thieves :p
 
boxterduke said:
Bing Bar is also listed in windows update.
I noticed that over the weekend.
Click to expand...
No, it's not. It may be listed in Microsoft update (which is opt-in, a huge difference), and even then I don't recall ever seeing it there.
 
Zarathustra[H];1036979352 said:
I recently switched all my systems from Firefox to Chrome for this reason. Older versions of Chrome prior to 8.0.552.237 had a well publicized vulnerability that could lead to execution of arbitrary code, but currently current versions are the most secure of all commercial browsers.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that they had fixed the vulnerability, thanks for the update, I'll start doing more research. ;)
 
Snowknight26 said:
It doesn't just magically appear. Someone had to have installed it, either with the DirectX web setup program or some other bundle. Can't blame anyone but yourself (or whoever installed it).
Click to expand...

Exactly. Tons of software packages try to slip the bing! bar, or the google bar or the yahoo bar into their packages. If you aren't careful with install options you end up with it installed.
 
The only place I've come across that I know doesn't give you the option to opt out is the x64 components of the Shark007 codec pack. The 32 bit installer asks and will not install the Bing Bar if you clear the checkbox. The 64bit components just include it.

But could be worse... It could be BonziBuddy.
 
jeremyshaw said:
I think DX web installer has a checkbox to install it by default. That's where it probably is from.
Click to expand...

On the topic of DirectX, does it not come standard with Windows (even Windows 7)? Every time I run the DirectX web updater (dxwebsetup.exe), it always finds outdated or missing files, even on fresh OS installs.
 
Microsoft frequently updates the DirectX libraries, necessitating the use of the web updater. While the core version remains the same, the libraries are updated frequently.
 
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