Microsoft Disables Fake Referral "Feature" Temporarily

Apr 29, 2009 - 8:17 am 1 by
Filed Under Bing Search

The ongoing saga of Live Search's fake referral data to possibly conduct cloaking experiments has been shut down temporarily.

The official Microsoft representative has told us in a WebmasterWorld thread that it has been shut down. He said:

I just spoke with the team. They said they are working on a fix for this, but the feature causing the problem is turned off currently, so you shouldn't be seeing any fake referrals from us.

Exactly what type of "feature" is causing this to be a problem is not clear. In the past, we know Microsoft had a bot that tested for detecting cloaking. But this time, the Microsoft representative did not mention cloaking. Is this some new type of feature or just issues with the old cloaking detection algorithm?

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: October 31, 2025

Oct 31, 2025 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google & Microsoft Earnings, Query Group Report, Disney Sitelink Hack, Reviews Disappearing & Ranking Volatility

Oct 31, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google Ads

Google: Google Ads Not Going Away With AI Mode As The Future

Oct 31, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

Cross Campaign Metrics In Google Ads Overview Tab

Oct 31, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Merchant Center Promotions Adds Download Option

Oct 31, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google's Robby Stein On SEO For AI Mode & AI Overviews

Oct 31, 2025 - 7:21 am
 
Previous Story: Google Updates AdSense Program Policies Again: Guidelines Broaden