You’ll remember July 7th for many years to come as the day Google declared war on Microsoft.

Ok, so maybe the two companies have been battling it out for years already, testing each other’s defences. Some quick examples – Google ‘owns’ web search so Microsoft invents Bing. Microsoft has a big share of the handheld PDA market so Google comes up with Android to appeal to smartphone users. Microsoft is office productivity software for the masses but Google goes the software as a service route and launches Google Docs.

Yesterday things moved up a notch with the announcement by Google that they’re working on the Chrome Operating System. This is big news – maybe not on the scale of the death of Michael Jackson – but it had the bloggers and tweeters of the world reaching for the hyperboles.

Take the TechCrunch headline: Google Drops A Nuclear Bomb On Microsoft. And It’s Made of Chrome. MG Siegler describes how Google is going to be seeking help from the open source community and writes “They might as well set up enlistment booths on college campuses for their war against Microsoft.”

But how does this affect the world of cybersafety? It might just be a dig at the company famous for the blue screen of death but one paragraph in the news release stands out by a mile to me:

…we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

How about that for bold? Once I have my netbook running Google Chrome I won’t have to worry about anti-virus software, keyloggers and trojans. The machine will be safe and secure and I can do my online banking, email my friends and family and carry on as a good cyber citizen safe in the knowledge my OS is insulating me from all those net nasties. Or can I?

NetSafe’s NetBasics project last year was designed purely to educate New Zealanders about the need to keep up to date with computer security issues. The key messages:

• run anti-virus and anti-spyware software
• update your OS and software applications regularly
• use a firewall to protect yourself from port scanning

So if Chrome OS solves the most common Windows security issues – it just works – does that mean NetSafe can rest easy? If only that were true.

The financial community certainly reacted to the announcement:

Investors seemed to be betting on Google Wednesday as its shares rose $5.86, or 1.5 percent, to close at $402.49. Shares in Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft inched up 3 cents to $22.56.

Whilst I admire Google’s efforts to tackle the obvious point that “computers need to get better”, it faces several major hurdles before cybersafety experts can retire.

Firstly, Google may have armies of engineers ready to crank out code, but even they can still make mistakes when it comes to writing operating systems as was witnessed when security expert Charlie Miller exposed an Android flaw that let hackers hijack the Web browser on the just released G1 phone. (My NetSafe colleague Lee Chisholm attended the latest New Zealand Information Security Forum breakfast briefing yesterday where the lack of smartphone security was highlighted).

Secondly, when the company speaks the world certainly listens. But that doesn’t always convert into the world getting up and embracing the new technology on offer. Just look at the uptake of the Chrome browser – trumpeted in September last year it has only managed to claim a tiny share of the web browser market, precisely 2.3% of NetSafe website visitors.

Most importantly though, Google will never be able to fully solve the biggest problem of all – the human user. No matter how safe your operating system is, cyber criminals and scammers in general will always be trying to stay one step ahead. Curiousity and a general desire to keep up with current events are just one human trait exploited by those looking to steal passwords.

NetSafe and other organisations around the world will continue to educate internet users on the need to keep passwords secure, avoid dangerous downloads and delete phishing emails. And we haven’t even started on digital footprints and securing your workplace IT.