Did Google break today?

January 31, 2009 7:05 AM

Did Google break today? Please reassure me that this is a mistake.

Can you tell me why Google is blocking me from clicking through to virtually all websites (including MetaFilter)? Try to click through to a search result and you get this malware warning. Google has been employing this feature for a while, but only attaching it to a small number of sites. Now it's everywhere. Is this a mistake that will be fixed later today?

posted by kellygreen to computers & internet (13 comments total)

FWIW, this started happening to me today, too. (OSX 10.5.6, Firefox 3.0.5, Comcast Internet)
posted by nitsuj at 7:06 AM on January 31

I tried to find an answer from Google itself, but to no avail.
posted by kellygreen at 7:06 AM on January 31

Dupe.

(Thank God it's not just me!)
posted by stepheno at 7:07 AM on January 31

There's something wrong/broken with the Google malware detection system, apparently. The Internet Storm Center's diary report is here.
posted by vers at 7:07 AM on January 31

I had the same experience today.vv(OSX 10.5.6, Firefox 3.0.5, Charter Internet)
posted by Andy's Gross Wart at 7:08 AM on January 31

FWIW, it's happening to me as well.
posted by NoraCharles at 7:08 AM on January 31

Holy crap. I was about to reinstall windows because I thought I fucked up something with my net settings.


Thanks for the heads up.
posted by Lord_Pall at 7:09 AM on January 31

HA! I wanted to ask the same question, but I would have had to have waited until tomorrow because of the question limit.

And I thought I had malware. It's good to know it's not just me.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:11 AM on January 31

Looks like they've already fixed it.
posted by vers at 7:14 AM on January 31

I googled for google and it told me that it may harm my computer!
posted by advicepig at 7:21 AM on January 31 [1 favorite]

If you use Firefox, the Redirect Remover extension skips google's malware warning interstitial page. As I have RR on by default, I saw the warning line on the google search results, but was able to click throuh without even realizing an interstitial page existed.
posted by orthogonality at 7:52 AM on January 31 [1 favorite]

Explanation from Google.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 9:57 AM on January 31 [1 favorite]

Yes, apparently Google flagged the entire Internet as malware, albeit only temporarily.

Nice going Google!
posted by dyslexictraveler at 8:07 AM on February 1