Google Toolbar Beta for Enterprise a "Trojan horse" MSI package.

Wow, I started this morning off really excited. I saw the announcement that Google has a toolbar for the enterprise and it supposedly came with a Windows Installer package. So, I skimmed through the feature list and saw the statement:

Simple and safe to deploy

Google Toolbar Beta for Enterprise includes a Microsoft Windows Installer package that makes organization-wide distribution a snap.

Cool. So, I downloaded the .zip file and popped open the GoogleToolbarInstaller.msi and what should I find? Yep, you guessed it. The GoogleToolbarInstaller.msi file was created by the WiX toolset. Woohoo! How cool is that? Google uses the WiX toolset.

After calming down, I decided to look around and see how well the MSI was actually put together. Then my excitement dropped. The GoogleToolbarInstaller MSI package is a total fake. Their MSI file is nothing more than a wrapper around the old GoogleToolbarInstaller.exe. The Google Toolbar Beta for Enterprise does not use the Windows Installer to actually install the files (I'm not sure what install technology they are using). That means the Google Toolbar Beta for Enterprise does not get all of the transaction guarantees and other administrative/repair features that a true Windows Installer package would provide.

If you are an administrator looking to deploy this package, don't be surprised when you find that this MSI package doesn't behave exactly like real Windows Installer packages. The Google Toolbar Beta for Enterprise MSI package is really just a "Trojan horse" carrying their custom installation system. I really wish Google had used the Windows Installer technology more appropriately.