Samsung halts rumoured plans to switch to Bing on its mobile browser

Samsung has reportedly put on hold its plans to replace Google with Bing as the default search engine on its Internet Browser app. The Wall Street Journal claims that Samsung was considering the switch. But it decided to pause the review due to potential backlash from Google and the market. Samsung’s Internet Browser app, which comes pre-loaded on its phones, has always used Google as its default search engine. And this move could risk the USD 3 billion in annual revenue that the search giant gets out of the deal.

The reason behind Samsung’s interest in Bing is unclear, but it could be related to Microsoft’s advances in AI technology. However, Google has also been investing heavily in AI features for its search engine and has recently launched its Bard chatbot to the public. Samsung may still revisit the idea of using Bing as its default search engine. But for now, it seems to have shelved the proposal. 

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Microsoft limits Bing AI chats to five replies

Screenshot: Microsoft

Microsoft imposes limits to Bing AI chat days after the chatbot seemed to have gone off the rails for multiple users testing the software. Bing chats will now be capped at 50 questions per day and five per session, after the search engine was seen insulting users, emotionally manipulating, or lying to them.

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Microsoft's Tuesday event could detail ChatGPT plans for Bing

What Microsoft Bing could look like (Source: Owen_Yin/Twitter)

It looks like Microsoft wants to get a leg up on Google's artificial intelligence chatbot plans with an event it's hosting on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. Microsoft is hosting the event at its campus in Redmond, Washington, with ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman attending the event. Microsoft is expected to talk about how ChatGPT will integrate with Bing. 

There were leaks about the social experience last week, showing a new interface for Bing that includes a larger search box for chatting instead of for submitting search queries. This new Bing could do research and handle tasks for people. But since these are rumours, we're still taking them with a grain of salt. We don't have to wait too long to hear more from the two companies, anyway.

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Malware disguises as Google Chrome download link on Microsoft Edge

We already know about the running joke of Microsoft Edge existing so you can download Google Chrome. But apparently Bing is causing a bit of trouble as it is supposedly returning search results that have malware and adware. Twitter user Gabriel Landau discovered this when he was searched “download chrome” on Bing, using the Microsoft Edge browser. He clicked on the first link that was marked as being from “google.com” and leads to a page that looks like the legitimate Google Chrome download page. But upon closer inspection, the URL of the page says “googleonline2018.com.” And if you don’t pay attention, you would think you were downloading the browser’s installer from the legitimate site. It even says you’re downloading “ChromeSetup.exe” when you press on the Download Chrome button. But when checking the file’s properties, it shows that it’s digitally signed by a company named Alpha Criteria, which isn’t Google.

How To Geek investigated the matter and found that the site is marked as a “deceptive site” by Chrome but it isn’t flagged as such by Microsoft Edge and Bing. The big problem here is it seems Bing isn’t checking the URL off the search result, which could make this deception easier to pull off. And it seems an issue like this has happened earlier in the year. Microsoft told How To Geek the fake ad has been taken down and accounts associated with the malicious content have been banned. However, they didn’t give an explanation on why the ad was marked as from “google.com” or that there will be an assurance that this won’t happen again.

Source: Digital Trends