By Ed Bott | September 30, 2011, 9:14am PDT

Summary: Hundreds of users on Google Chrome Help forum this morning reported that Microsoft security products were identifying Chrome as a password-stealing Trojan and removing it. Update: Microsoft acknowledged the issue, posted a fix.

UPDATE, 1:40 PM PDT: Microsoft has identified the problem as being caused by a faulty definition file. This text has been added to the relevant page at the company’s Malware Protection Center:

Information about incorrect detection of Google Chrome as PWS:Win32Zbot

On September 30th, 2011, an incorrect detection for PWS:Win32/Zbot was identified and as a result, Google Chrome was inadvertently blocked and in some cases removed. Within a few hours, Microsoft released an update that addresses the issue. Signature versions 1.113.672.0 and higher include this update. Affected customers should manually update Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) with the latest signatures. After updating the definitions, reinstall Google Chrome. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused our customers.

To get the latest definitions, simply launch MSE, go to the update tab and click the Update button. The definitions can be updated manually by visiting the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: »support.microsoft.com/kb/971606

PWS:Win32/Zbot is a password-stealing trojan that monitors for visits to certain websites. It allows limited backdoor access and control and may terminate certain security-related processes.

»www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/users-re···ome/4006