Google is flagging legitimate software as malicious

[harlan4096]

On November 29, 2018, some software developers started to notice that Google Safe Browsing was flagging their programs and sites as malicious.

Google Safe Browsing is implemented natively in Google Chrome and used in other web browsers such as Firefox or Safari. Safe Browsing is used by the vast majority of desktop browsers at the time of writing.

Long standing and respected software companies such as Greatis, Antibody Software, Scooter Software, or IBE Software had some of their programs flagged by Google Safe Browsing on December 1, 2018. The companies produce programs such as the excellent Bulk Image Downloader, Beyond Compare, Spambully, HelpNDoc, Rename Expert, or Unhackme.

Google flagged the programs or pages and notified webmasters that malware was detected on project websites via the company's Search Console provided that webmasters had added their sites to it.

Developers who tested their programs on Google owned Virustotal noticed, however, that their programs came up clean.

The main issues that each faced were the following ones:

• Google was not specific. While the company stated that malware was found, it did not provide any details.
  
• Virustotal scans returned that the programs or sites were clean.
  
• Programs were signed by the companies.
  
• The only option to contact Google was by mail. No direct contact option was provided. Google replied to some, at least, that the issue was not resolved but did not provide any actionable information.
  
• Companies lost most of their traffic in the period in which their programs and sites were flagged.
  

Full reading: https://www.ghacks.net/2018/12/08/google...malicious/