Get alerts when extensions change owners

Google supposedly vets all extensions in the Chrome Web Store to ensure they don’t steal your data, infect your PC with malware and bombard you with ads. Last year, it also updated Chrome’s ‘Safety check’ to warn you when add-ons you’ve installed have been removed from the store for security reasons.

However, the biggest threat to browser security comes from popular extensions that have been sold to dubious developers, who then inject them with malicious code. Users aren’t usually aware that these tools have changed hands and been altered, which puts their browsers and data at serious risk.

A new extension called Under New Management (www.snipca.com/49737) addresses this problem by detecting when other extensions have new owners. It intermittently checks your installed add-ons to see if the developer information listed on the Chrome Web Store has changed. When it detects changes, its icon will show you how many extensions are affected (see screenshot above), alerting you to the potential danger.

Under New Management doesn’t scan add-ons for malicious code, and some extensions may have been bought by reputable developers, so it may throw up a few false positives. Nevertheless, it lets you make an informed decision about the browser tools you use.