Each week I check our keywords and search results from Australia and USA. I have a dedicated Windows server in the US for testing from there.

The other day I ran Chrome and was just about to clear cache when I noticed that both RAM and CPU usage was maxed out. Upon closer inspection, the cause was software_reporter_tool.exe which is part of the Chrome web browser. Only problem is that without memory and CPU resources, web pages do not get delivered and usually result in a Server Error.

Did some research to discover that software_reporter_tool.exe could be uninstalled once upon a time, but now it is part of the Chrome browser and rears its head whenever it likes. What is its purpose? To scan and disable/remove any software that may conflict with the Chrome browser. That being said, it really means that it enables them to remove and disable anything that they like or that which may be in competition. I would not be surprised that it calls home and updates its hit list every time it runs.

How's that for invasion of privacy? How's that for a huge backdoor into everyone's business? Anyways, that rubbish is no longer on my server!