Reports: Microsoft Anti-Virus Erasing Google Chrome

Mighty funny timing, Microsoft. Reports say that Google’s Chrome browser was threatening to overtake Firefox in the coming months thanks to soaring usage rates caused, in large part, by FF and IE defectors. Then, this morning, Internet forums are awash with rage because a new update to Microsoft’s Security Essentials and ForeFront AV software began calling Chrome a Trojan and erasing it from users machines. Coincidence? Yeah, it probably is. But that still doesn’t change the fact that users are pissed.

Both ZDNet and The Register are reporting that they’ve received numerous complaints about the critical false positive. The AV programs are identifying Chrome as part of the ZeuS Trojan, and users who try to reinstall the browser are finding that the antivirus program won’t let them, citing “PWS:Win32/Zbot” as a severe threat. Register readers are reporting that the beta version of Chrome isn’t affected, nor are browsers that are configured to not send Google any information. Nobody’s saying anything official at the moment – both Google and Microsoft have been mum on the matter.

So, has any of you been affected by the bug? Chime in with your experiences in the comments! I've got Chrome and MSE installed on my laptop, and nothing fishy has gone on yet.