14 DAY TRIAL // Chinese company Qihoo recommended users to download and install a Microsoft security update labeled as KB360018, claiming that it comprised important patches for their Windows computers.
Instead, Qihoo used the fake update to deploy its own 360 Browser software on consumers’ systems, according to a report by TechInAsia.
This isn’t the first time when Qihoo reportedly tries to make users install its software products with unfair practices. The same story points to a different 2012 case when the Chinese company’s applications displayed notification warnings on users’ computers, claiming their browsers were unsafe.
This way, Qihoo attempted to convince users to deploy its own browser or to download and install the aforementioned security update which, in the end, comprised the same application and no security patch.
The company has apparently escaped unpunished, with Chinese authorities deciding that a warning is enough for these unfair practices.