Late last week, I posted here on PCMech that Apple was using the software updater to recommend Safari to users who do not have it installed. As I checked the headlines, the CEO of Mozilla has responded by saying that it is “wrong”.

John Lilly, the Mozilla CEO, posted on his blog:

There’s an implicit trust relationship between software makers and customers in this regard: as a software maker we promise to do our very best to keep users safe and will provide the quickest updates possible, with absolutely no other agenda. And when the user trusts the software maker, they’ll generally go ahead and install the patch, keeping themselves and everyone else safe.

Is it actually wrong?

Personally, I don’t think so. A little on the shady side? Sure. However, I really don’t see it being much different than Microsoft using Windows Update to push IE7. The one difference, of course, is that Windows Update does not push unrelated software while that is exactly what Apple is doing.

Personally, I think it is a bonehead move. Windows users, just uncheck the Safari update and skip it. Safari on Windows isn’t that good anyway. Just use Firefox - you’re a lot better off.