It was a decidedly underhanded move – Apple's slipping that copy of Safari 3.1 in with the latest version of its Windows-software update. But beyond annoying and alienating a sizable portion of users, it also appears it was rather effective.

According to Net Applications, the sneaky update, which included a copy of the new (non-beta) web browser, actually increased Safari's Windows market share threefold over the course of one month.

"Safari 3.0 on Windows never gained much market share, peaking at 0.07 percent," the company notes. "However, Safari 3.1 on Windows is rapidly gaining market share, already tripling Safari 3.0's peak."

Anyway, Windows users needn't worry about any more covert updates. Apple revised its software-update protocol last month and said it will clearly mark new software from "updates" from now on. Furthermore, the box to accept these programs will be unchecked by default.

It'll be interesting to see whether this uptick in Safari usage among Windows users was simply a fluke (and truly the result of Apple's sneakiness) or whether it could have something to do with users actually liking Safari.

Graph: Net Applications