GOOGLE HAS HIT BACK after Microsoft suggested that one of its plug-ins would render IE8 less secure, or more insecure, depending on how you look at these things.
We covered Microsoft's allegation only about an hour ago but Google has already released a statement that takes umbrage at the Vole's suggestion and hits back at Microsoft, calling its web browsers out of date and unstable.
Google said that Chrome Frame is still an early version but is designed to tackle both speed and security issues inherent in out-of-date and non-standards-compliant browsers like Internet Explorer.
It said, "While we encourage users to use a more modern and standards compliant browser such as Firefox, Safari, Opera or Google Chrome rather than a plug-in, for those who don't, Google Chrome Frame is designed to provide better performance, strong security features, and more choice to both developers and users, across all versions of Internet Explorer." So there, Microsoft.
Just in case Microsoft and its users didn't get the message, Google continued to take the security high ground, adding, "Accessing sites using Google Chrome Frame brings Google Chrome's security features to Internet Explorer users, providing strong phishing and malware protection (absent in IE6), robust sandboxing technology, and defenses from emerging online threats that are available in days rather than months."