Google barks back at Microsoft over Chrome Frame security
Defends plug-in, says it makes IE more secure, not less — Computerworld - Google hit back at Microsoft today, defending the security of its new Chrome Frame plug-in and claiming that the software actually makes Internet Explorer (IE) safer and more secure.
Context & Ripple Effects
The spat is four days old. On September 22 Google unveiled Chrome Frame as a way to turn IE itself into Chrome, and by September 24 Techworld benchmarks showed IE 8 running ten times faster under the plug-in. That speed story is exactly what Microsoft is now attacking: with Windows 7 due in stores October 22, Microsoft has confirmed the plug-in is a security risk for Internet Explorer, and Google's public counter-defense lands squarely inside Redmond's upgrade-selling window.
The exchange matters because both sides are arguing about the same artifact — an engine swap installed inside a rival's shell. Whoever wins the security framing decides whether IT departments treat Chrome Frame as a patch or a liability.
First-order effects
- Enterprises standardizing on IE face a new decision point before Windows 7 arrives: whether to bless a third-party rendering engine inside the browser their security policies are built around.
- Microsoft gains a talking point for its October 22 Windows 7 push — the incumbent browser as the trusted surface, Google's plug-in as unvetted attack area.
Second-order effects
- Web developers now weigh coding against Chrome Frame's HTML5 capabilities versus IE-native behavior, splitting the 'works in Internet Explorer' compatibility target that Microsoft has long controlled.
- If Google's security defense holds up in independent testing, the plug-in gives CIOs a low-cost way to modernize legacy IE deployments without waiting on Microsoft's release cadence — undercutting one of the upgrade-cycle arguments.
Third-order effects
- The dispute sets a template for engine-level competition: if plug-ins can replace a rival's renderer, browser control shifts from whoever owns the shell to whoever controls the engine and its update pipeline.
- Security claims become the battleground for distribution tactics that sidestep the OS vendor — a fight regulators and enterprise buyers will increasingly be asked to adjudicate as browsers become application platforms.
The trend: Browser competition is moving from shipping whole browsers to injecting engines into rivals' shells, with security authority — not just performance — becoming the deciding battleground between Microsoft and Google.