Users face decision in cyber fight
By Rich Zhu |
November 6, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HUNDREDS of millions of China's web users must decide whether they want to keep the country's most popular chatting tool or its top Internet security tool, and they have a choice of firms to choose from.
The alternatives range from China's biggest online search firm to Internet browser providers and anti-virus firms.
Five Chinese dot-com firms, including Baidu.com Inc, yesterday announced their services would be no longer compatible with Qihoo's 360 Internet security which has 300 million users, because of Qihoo's "unfair" moves, joining the battle between Tencent and Qihoo.
The other four firms are Internet security firms Kingsoft Corp and Keniu.com as well as Internet browser providers Maxthon.com and Sogou, a subsidiary of Sohu.com Inc.
"We will never stop fighting against Qihoo if it continues to cheat users and compete in an unfair way," the five firms said in a joint statement yesterday. The five listed "eight crimes" that Qihoo was alleged to have committed, including blocking rivals' applications and cheating users, such as defining Baidu's search bar as "malicious software."
Shenzhen-based Tencent, the country's No. 1 Internet firm by market value and has about 1 billion registered users, on Thursday said it would stop providing QQ services on computers with 360 tools. But Qihoo is supported by some Internet giants which compete with Tencent in the game business and social functions such as providers of microblog, a Chinese service similar to Twitter, industry insiders said.
"There will be no winner in the bitter battle," said Yu Yang, president of Analysys Internation, a Beijing-based IT consulting firm. "All sides should consider interests of users more than just their own interests."
In September, Qihoo claimed that Tencent was scanning users' documents through QQ and last week launched a tool to block QQ plug-ins called 360 Koukou Guard, whose name sounds like QQ in Chinese. In response, Tencent alleged that Qihoo's software had "damaged the security setup of QQ and threatened the account safety of QQ users." Tencent then blocked QQ functions on computers with Qihoo 360.
The alternatives range from China's biggest online search firm to Internet browser providers and anti-virus firms.
Five Chinese dot-com firms, including Baidu.com Inc, yesterday announced their services would be no longer compatible with Qihoo's 360 Internet security which has 300 million users, because of Qihoo's "unfair" moves, joining the battle between Tencent and Qihoo.
The other four firms are Internet security firms Kingsoft Corp and Keniu.com as well as Internet browser providers Maxthon.com and Sogou, a subsidiary of Sohu.com Inc.
"We will never stop fighting against Qihoo if it continues to cheat users and compete in an unfair way," the five firms said in a joint statement yesterday. The five listed "eight crimes" that Qihoo was alleged to have committed, including blocking rivals' applications and cheating users, such as defining Baidu's search bar as "malicious software."
Shenzhen-based Tencent, the country's No. 1 Internet firm by market value and has about 1 billion registered users, on Thursday said it would stop providing QQ services on computers with 360 tools. But Qihoo is supported by some Internet giants which compete with Tencent in the game business and social functions such as providers of microblog, a Chinese service similar to Twitter, industry insiders said.
"There will be no winner in the bitter battle," said Yu Yang, president of Analysys Internation, a Beijing-based IT consulting firm. "All sides should consider interests of users more than just their own interests."
In September, Qihoo claimed that Tencent was scanning users' documents through QQ and last week launched a tool to block QQ plug-ins called 360 Koukou Guard, whose name sounds like QQ in Chinese. In response, Tencent alleged that Qihoo's software had "damaged the security setup of QQ and threatened the account safety of QQ users." Tencent then blocked QQ functions on computers with Qihoo 360.
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