Security Fix – Microsoft Update Quietly Installs Firefox Extension

This sort of thing makes me very unhappy… without my permission, Microsoft pushes out an add-on for a competitor’s product.

The service pack for the .NET Framework, like other updates, was
pushed out to users through the Windows Update Web site. A number of
readers had never heard of this platform before Windows Update started
offering the service pack for it, and many of you wanted to know
whether it was okay to go ahead and install this thing. Having earlier
checked to see whether the service pack had caused any widespread
problems or interfered with third-party programs — and not finding any
that warranted waving readers away from this update — I told readers
not to worry and to go ahead and install it.

I’m here to report a small side effect from installing this service pack that I was not aware of until just a few days ago: Apparently, the .NET update automatically installs its own Firefox add-on that is difficult — if not dangerous — to remove, once installed.– Brian Krebs, Washington Post

EMR