Google Search Flagging Everything As Potentially Harmful

dowlingw writes "It looks like for the moment at least, all Google results are failing the malware checks and being listed with a warning 'This site may harm your computer,' including all pages from Google themselves. Users trying to visit pages at search results will only be able to proceed via manual manipulation of the search result link to remove the Google click-through (which is also broken). Until Google fixes this bug, it looks Google web search is useless." Update: 01/31 at 15:16 GMT by SS: The problem now appears to be fixed.
Update: 01/31 at 22:01 GMT by KD : Google has now posted an explanation, apologizing and taking responsibility for the "human error" that led to the problem.

Comments

Re:Not Useless

[Anonymous Coward]

You can still copy and paste the address under the link.

Yes, just like the summary says.

Not a common carrier

[mangu]

This feature, no doubt implemented with good intentions, show the perils of the nanny state so many politicians all over the world are proposing. Why should Google police the internet?

They should act like the phone company used to be, a common carrier just sending through the information, for better or worse.

Of course, I understand that Google isn't an ISP, so the "common carrier" principle does not apply. They are just providing a service for me, without charging me directly. But the principle is the same, if I wanted some sort of protection from malware there are many places where I can get it by asking, I do not need to be protected involuntarily.

Re:Not a common carrier

[MWoody]

Involuntarily? ...ok, if someone has a gun to your head making you use google, and you need help, type "first post." We'll get you help as soon as we can.

Re:Not a common carrier

[Netsplitter]

The intentions indeed are good. They are doing the internet (and themselves, since they are probably the biggest player in the internet game) by attempting to curtail the spread of malware. Malware, and its repercussions thereof, are tremendous forces that very well handicap network capacity, are the causes of incredibly large spending, and destroy (financially or otherwise) companies and lone users alike through data and identity theft. Malware, quite simply, is one of the worst things on the internet.

if I wanted some sort of protection from malware there are many places where I can get it by asking, I do not need to be protected involuntarily.

...but most people don't know (and don't want to know) how to protect themselves. This isn't outright censorship. I don't think of it as the works of a "nanny state" at all. I, for one, commend Google for their service, and hope they don't experience an event like this one again.

Re:Not a common carrier

[ScuzzMonkey]

I think what it really shows the perils of is piling additional "features" on top of a perfectly good product until you've ruined what made it good in the first place and turned it into worthless crap. Search should be simple: give the user what they are looking for. All the other extraneous stuff they are loading it up with is bound to interfere with that basic requirement at some point.

I see this in mature development projects all the time. At some point, people get a pretty good product working, but they can't repress the urge to continue "improving" it... it can be boredom, wow factor for marketing, or just plain stupidity, but few people or organizations seem to know when to quit messing with a product that already works well.

Re:Not a common carrier

[LihTox]

but most people don't know (and don't want to know) how to protect themselves.

And furthermore, viruses don't just hurt the people whose computers they infect; infected computers are used for illegal activities of spam or just to infect other people. It becomes a matter of "public health", like requiring kids to get their vaccinations--it's not just for their benefit, it's to prevent epidemics as well.

Re:Not a common carrier

[j741]

Google shouldn't police the internet, but just like a good tour guide in an unfamiliar country I would expect them to at least warn me that it may not be safe for me to be in a certain neighborhood after dark. And that's just what Google seems to be doing.

Nanny State...

[timjones]

This is what happens get when (collectively) we try too hard to coddle the idiots will believe anything, click on anything, and download anything.

Re:Has anyone considered...

[Animaether]

yes - you just did. There's got to be an award for that :)

was that a serious question?

Re:Broke the internets!

[Shakrai]

http://flickr.com/photos/tonyaustin/3241509252/ [flickr.com]

Maybe Google is just flagging itself as harmful because it knows that Google doesn't respect your privacy ;)

(Sad thing is I'm only half joking....)

Re:What am I supposed to do now?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is this tagged as Funny?
Ah, I get it, you are all a bunch of Veronica elitists.

Re:Failsafe

[thebjorn]

At least it failsafes to every site being flagged. Much better than it just letting people get malware ridden sites.

You must be kidding? 15 minutes of the entire planet being without our precious Google is *much* better than some stupid yahoo getting a virus from his pr0n site? Not to me, at least...

Re:Broke the internets!

[causality]

On an off-topic note, following one of the links promising asian intercourse brought me to the most elaborate fake-virus-scan scam I've ever seen (probably NSF insecure browsers): http://computerantivirusproscan.com/promo/1/freescan.php?nu=880407 Is this the norm today?

It's apparently the norm for people who can't tell it's a scam and honestly believe that some random Web link is going to bring them sex with Asians. Provided that the scam is painful enough, I can't find anything wrong with that.

Re:Broke the internets!

[token0]

I don't know of any case in which Google sold my data, but.. but.. Google has to be evil in some way!

Seriously, how is parent getting modded insightful?