BROWSER EXTENSIONS - THE ESPIONAGE AGENTS

Extensions in browsers such as Chrome loot users of data and, thus, compromise privacy and security

Do you find yourself ransacking web pages in order to escape the circle of unwanted chrome alerts or add-ons which you do not remember installing? It is vehemently the most annoying aspect of web browsing. Chrome extension, basically small (optional) programs help users customize, and enhance their experience while web browsing. Chrome, which has become synonymous with the internet and enjoys the largest league of followers, also hosts, or supports, an alarming number of extensions that pose threat to your personal data.

We are not endorsing any other browser such as Microsoft Edge/Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, as each may be equally vulnerable to threats from extensions. But Chrome being the most popular web browser is our focus.

Extension hawk on your browsing data

When users install a browser extension, it is intrinsically installing a piece of – code which runs inside the browser. It is also capable of updating at a later stage and turning into an adware or malware without users’ knowledge. Traditionally Chrome, unlike other browsers left behind, asks users for permissions to access your data on all websites and sometimes even system storage. We often overlook the security aspect while allowing Chrome Extensions to tap into our personal data and web usage habits. This makes Chrome extensions a tasty soup for hackers to intrusively push adware and malware into your system. Chrome Extensions require permissions such as “access your tab and browsing history” for functioning properly, and while a significant bunch of helpful ones dutifully make your Chrome experience shinier (pun intended), this allows Chrome extensions to read the background scripts, access critical information like passwords, and