All Google sites, including YouTube, Gmail or the Play Store, were temporarily inaccessible on September 21. Apparently a very popular antivirus has blocked Google services on Windows computers.
This Wednesday, September 21, 2022, many Internet users were no longer able to connect to Google websites. Around 4 pm, services like Youtube, gmailthe Play store Where google search engine, were inaccessible to a plethora of users. Google’s ReCaptcha service also became unusable.
For an hour, his computer refused to open a Google website. As always, many Internet users have shared his dismay on social media, especially on Twitter. According to testimonials visible on the microblogging platform, the sites simply wouldn’t load.
Also read: Google is shelling out billions to illegally buy your domain, says the US Department of Justice.
On Windows, MalwareBytes blocked Google by mistake
Apparently the problem was caused by a very popular antivirus, MalwareBytes. On his Twitter account, the antivirus quickly recognized ” a temporary issue with the web filtering component of our product that may block certain domains”. MalwareBytes is committed to implement a patch in the shortest possible time. Meanwhile, the antivirus advised its users to ” temporarily disable web protection ».
We are aware of a temporary issue with our product’s web filtering component that may be blocking certain domains, including https://t.co/LnURsrOUW1. We are actively working on a fix and will update Twitter as soon as we have more information.
—Malwarebytes (@Malwarebytes) September 21, 2022
Contacted by our colleagues at Motherboard, Marcin Kleczynski, CEO and co-founder of Malwarebytes, specified that only Windows computer users they were affected. The manager points his finger. ” an accidental false positive.
“Unfortunately, it’s always a noisy event when you have millions of users”tempers Marcin Kleczynski.
Before MalwareBytes’ announcement, many Internet users had made the connection between their antivirus and Google’s blocking of sites. On the other hand, some users thought that the Mountain View giant had been hacking victim.
An update fixes the bug.
An hour after speaking, MalwareBytes fixed the problem. The antivirus reveals that a “routine update » introduced an error in ” the web filtering database ». In fact, the antivirus has blocked certain domain names for no reason.
More about today… pic.twitter.com/fuKV9B8QZZ
—Malwarebytes (@Malwarebytes) September 21, 2022
After an urgently implemented update, everything should be back to normal. If you’re still having trouble signing in to Google sites, MalwareBytes recommends checking that you have the latest version of antivirus installed.
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