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Popular Chrome Extension Sold To New Dev Who Immediately Turns It Into Adware (bleepingcomputer.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A company is going around buying abandoned Chrome extensions from their original developers and converting these add-ons into adware. The latest case is the Particle for YouTube Chrome extension, a simple tool that allows users to change the UI and behavior of some of YouTube's standard features. Because Google was planning major changes to YouTube's UI, the extension's original author decided to retire it and create a new one. This is when the a mysterious company approached the original author and offered to buy the extension from him for a price of his choosing. The original dev says he gave them a high price, but the company agreed to pay right away, but only after the dev signed an non-disclosure agreement preventing him from talking about the company or the transaction. Soon after the sale, the company issued an update that included code for injecting rogue ads on websites such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, Amazon, eBay, and Booking.com. Users also found other Chrome extensions that were also bought by the same company and had also been turned into adware, such as "Typewriter Sounds" and "Twitch Mini Player." According to some other Chrome extension devs, there are many companies willing to pay large sums of money for taking over legitimate Chrome extensions.
Popular website gets sold to new owners, who proceed to add even more ads to the website while decreasing the quality of stories that are posted.
Crap. Something told me I should have written some stupid, pointless yet viral Chrome extension a year ago.
Better known as 318230.
As devious and underhanded as this might be, it's actually pretty smart.
Is there a Chrome extension to track shitty adware Chrome extensions?
"Users also found other Chrome extensions that were also bought by the same company..."
Or perhaps there's a way we can simply put in a filter and block this particular company...
And this is the 21st century version of this movie...
I wonder if Robert Redford would do a remake.
And as a dev, would I do it for a million dollars? Hmmm...
With the NDA, the adware will be blamed on the original developer (who's name would be on the Chrome App Store). I imagine that this could result in some cursing in various forums as well as hurtful ratings on the App Store. The biggest issue that I can see is when the developer is looking for a job; a simple Google search will identify the developer as scum-sucking vermin (or something worse) - with no way of (legally) explaining the situation to the prospective employer.
So, I would think that the payment must be enough for the developer to live comfortably for the rest of their lives under a new name.
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
and break his fingers and his knees, and break his nose with a horse shoe
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
I don't use any except uBlock Origin and no script.
If either of them go end of life I will be looking for a replacement the same day.
First law of people: People are generally stupid.
1) Before signing, talk about the agreement with someone else.
2) Sign the agreement, collect the $$$.
3) Now the other person can blab the details, because they never signed anything.
I don't think you understand how trolling works. Your response only encourages more nonsense like OP.
I think this bro is indeed mad.
There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
Pale moon... not sure what you're talking about there. Home page defaults to 'start.palemoon.com' (redirects to palemoon.start.me) ... it's easy to change it. It even still has the ability to start with a truly blank page.
There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
You're a fucking appshole.
We have known this has been happening for over a year.
Still, this is approved, accepted and endorsed behavior, while AdNauseam is not.
Do no evil - not.
Unless the two posts are by the same AC. (Probably BeauHD and msmash trying to drive up the comment count to pretend to stay relevant.)
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
There is a certain amount of irony in bleepingcomputer writing about advertising snuck into products when their articles are continually submitted to Slashdot by anonymous users. Coincidence? Pretty unlikely.
Says the website giving me all kinds of shitty ads, since selling out, despite paying years ago for the "Disable Advertising" button.
I Ghostery'd the fucker years ago, but just checked and - yep - ads over all the fucking Slashdot pages.
and it didn't take me long to figure out what the guys offering to 'buy' it were planning. They've been doing this for at least the 4 years I've been writing an extension.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
The parents punish the children for their hunger. I'm happy to feed all the poor children, if we take them from their parents who decide to have kids when they don't have the money to support them. Follow that up with spay-n-neuter of the parents, and the situation will be under control very soon.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
SNAP aka Food Stamps. But the drugged out shitbags you're referring to won't even bother signing up for this. They'd rather have their unwanted spawn starve.
Proving conclusively that they are in fact shitbags unworthy of life.
Look motherapper, last appnight I appyou to appying app the app up and app the app off this appy site. You're a apping appwipe who apps the same apping apping appshit in every apping appy. There's not one appying appy app in your apping app apps. Yet you keep apping the same appy appying app in app after app. You're a appying app app of app, and this app has far too many appstains, you stupid apping sone of an app. App up with appthing apping app and maybe I won't apping app your app app, you apping app apptard. Go app app and take the appy apping appstain apperators with you, appwipe.
Out of nowhere, any site I went to and clicked anywhere on the page would open popups and other webpages.. I narrowed it down to my video downloader extension. Seems these guys are on a crusade to buy up a lot of them.
Now we just need Google to update the Chrome extension policy to require
The Developer MUST notify Google prior to any sale or acquiring, disposing, or changing beneficial ownership regarding any app software
Better: Whether a program changes hands or not, impose a requirement that new versions which are "substantially different" from previous versions with respect to feature-removal or the addition of revenue- or marketing-components will require a big bold warning and will not be eligible for any kind of automated updates from prior versions.
Furthermore, reviews based on previous versions will be segregated from reviews of new versions. In such cases, developers will be encouraged to keep the "old" version available for download.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Let us say his computer gets hacked and some unknown thirdparty finds all the dirty laundry. And this hacker blabs all over the media about the deal. Now the original developer is not responsible for the behavior of the hacker right? She/He is also a victim of the hacker. If the original developer is able to show that she/he was not negligent then she/he is off the hook.
I am not suggesting the original hacker to leak all information and blame it on Russian hackers ... before making sure he/she can make the blame stick.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
This is why you turn auto update OFF for apps and plugins.
Let shit notify you that updates are available. But don't let shit automatically apply them.
I suddenly saw that my favorite simple calculator app was bought by some (Austrian I think) company who added some caller ID spyware in it. Fortunately I kept the apk of an older version around. When I reaearched I found out this shit company (Appsbuyout) does this with more apps.
The links to the Chrome Store mentioned in the summary seem to be dead now.
Here's a story from 2014 about the same thing. I got bit by this bogus behavior around this time, too. I can't remember what the extension was, but whatever it was was something very useful that I probably don't miss now that I can't remember it.
--Jim (me)
Been happening for a while now, which is why I went plugin agnostic with only big names not expected to sellout anytime soon.
When I was a child my father worked in a App factory, he used to bring them home and that's what we ate for dinner!
love is just extroverted narcissism
Disclose in court. Go in on a "small claims" case, and have your attorney grill you about it. Now it is public record.
Maybe I am just too old?
Appsolutely.
1. accepting payment without doing working.
2. using deception to manipulate people to your own personal gain instead of speaking the truth.
I hope future generations take pity on us, and mercifully judge our sins understanding that we did not know any better.
"The original dev says he gave them a high price, but the company agreed to pay right away, but only after the dev signed an non-disclosure agreement preventing him from talking about the company or the transaction. "
Trouble?
4wdloop
Even Apple has started shilling for these greedy bastards. Here is one recent example: there was a fairly good yoga app (Yoga Studio) available in Apple's App Store for a one-time purchase price in the range of several dollars.
The original developers sold out to a bottom feeding company that decided to update it to remove paid users access to the yoga content and move it behind a monthly subscription paywall. The App Store rules say that when you convert an app from paid to subscription you can't remove non-consumable content from users who bought it under the purchase model.
Not only did Apple not reject the app update that violated the App Store rules, but they went as far as giving the new app version the equivalent of an Apple Editor's Choice!!
I agree with your view that such actions are fraud, but when the Apple walled garden not only permits such fraud but goes as far as endorsing it then there's nobody left to protect consumers.
No you shut the fuck up, the APPS! Guy brightens my day every time I see a post from him.
Has anyone contacted APK to see if he's ok? I worry harm may have come to him. All these mentions of hosts files and ad lockers, and not a peep in 6 hours?!
Same sort of thing happened to Lavasoft AdAware which was once trusted anti-malware anti-adware software. AVOID IT! https://malwaretips.com/threads/lavasofts-new-scam-artist-owners.3279/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavasoft#Controversies
Little? I've a FF extension with about six thousand users, and I regularly get these offers as well.
Sometimes I'll reply to my own AC comments just to give myself a pat on the shoulder especially when people are being ugly. Comment counts be damned. - "Everything is going to be alright." https://youtu.be/UVNZvZvzWak
At lease automatic updates -- something which used to be useful might just become adware.
See WinZip, which used to be one of the most useful tools (I've even paid for it) which now relies on name recognition (or rememberence) to get people to install a sad, advare-laden and redundant version of itself
Myself I gave up on using extensions, mainly because many developers never saw the rewards and sold out like this or they caved to allowing ads to subsidies their app. Others simply don't keep up with development and the extensions fail to work properly as browser updates come out. Some I finally realized were simply the cause of browser crashes and ridiculous RAM consumption.
Chrome does not allow to disable updates, it doesn't even notify you of extension updates.
Then it is clear, why people buy addons to buy userbases. You can push whatever code you want to the users. Be glad, they didn't replace your banking site with some phishing website.
See subject & you're welcome to do better than APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-7 32/64-bit https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=%22APK+Hosts+File+Engine%22+and+%22start64%22&btnG=Google+Search&gbv=1/
Ads/script & malware rob speed/security/privacy
Hosts add speed (via hardcodes/adblocks), security (vs. bad sites/malware/poisoned dns), reliability (vs. dns down), & anonymity (vs. dns requestlogs/trackers).
Less power/cpu/ram + IO use vs. DNS/routers/addons/antivirus + less security bugs/complexity & faster vs. addons/routers/remote dns!
Avoids DNSChangers in routers/IP settings & dns redirects (99.999% of ISP DNS != patched vs. it) + lightens DNS load & resolves faster from local system RAM!
* Via what u NATIVELY have in the IP stack in FASTER kernelmode!
APK
P.S. - Safe https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/e01211ca36aa02e923f20adee0a3c4f5d5187dc65bdf1c997b3da3c2b0745425/analysis/1433430542/
I'm going to continue using the Host File Engine. Your software is well written, functional. The Host File Engine performs exactly as promised by mmell
his hosts program is actually pretty good by xenotransplant
his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources by alexgieg
I've never tried to belittle (APK's) work, I've flat out said it's good by BronsCon
I've tried his hosts file generating software. It works by bmo
APK your posts on this and the hosts file posts, and more, have never been in error and/or bad advice by BlueStrat
* My code's recommended & hosted by Malwarebytes' hpHosts!
APK
P.S.=> See subject, /. peers quoted above & APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-7 32/64-bit https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=%22APK+Hosts+File+Engine%22+and+%22start64%22&btnG=Google+Search&gbv=1/ imo you're not capable of it skills-wise... apk
Using DNS (especially remote) is slower vs. hosts cached into RAM (for starters) due to network traversal & DNS = loaded w/ security issues (kaminsky redirect & 99++% of ISP dns aren't patched vs. it - OpenDNS however, is (what I use in combination w/ hosts)) + DNS has move "moving parts" inefficiencies vs. a SINGLE FILE in hosts.
* Nicest part about using hosts WITH DNS (especially OpenDNS which filters vs. known threats (ones I may miss in hosts))? It lightens DNS loads & DNS goes down a LOT.
APK
P.S.=> Something to consider - combining BOTH (I go faster to favorites I 'hardcode' @ TOP of hosts, resolving far faster from local RAM that way vs. network traversal of DNS callout & callback return of resolution data - again, especially vs. REMOTE DNS but also vs. locally installed DNS))... apk
See subject: In addition to my other post to you (combining BOTH hosts & DNS for gains in speed) https://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10865087&cid=54814763/ hosts hardcodes avoid DNS requestlogs.
APK
P.S.=> The methods I extoll were GOOD ENOUGH FOR CHINA TO IMITATE in fact (imitation = sincerest form of flattery) http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/04/26/boffins_supercharge_the_hosts_file_to_save_users_plagued_by_dns_outages/ ... apk
Who are those people, and why should anyone care what they have to say? How do we know they're not sockpuppet accounts? I can find 5 random strangers to say how great they think homeopathy is, but that doesn't mean it really works.
"that APK guy, I use his host file" by rogoshen1 (2922505) on Tuesday March 03, 2015 @01:44AM (#49169453)
FROM https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=7042085&cid=49169453/
That's you quoted saying so (where you admit you troll me anyhow) so WHAT IS YOUR MALFUNCTION fool?
* Do you always "bite the hand that feeds you?"
APK
P.S.=> I've also read your SELF-PROCLAIMED "I am an AMATEUR sociologist/economist" & based on YOU championing nationalized healthcare & "lower costs", you sure ARE an amateur (@ a lot) - SEE? I can give you GUFF too fool - but then, YOU DON'T PROVIDE ME ANYTHING OF VALUE but I certainly do you... apk
https://slashdot.org/comments....
https://slashdot.org/comments....
https://slashdot.org/comments....
https://slashdot.org/comments....
https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...
& here in this thread too... WTF? That's not even NEAR all of them...
QUESTION - WHY do you do that to someone whose work helps you, for NOTHING (zero cost)?
(Point-blank: What you've been doing is uncool & you've done a lot of it. That's no joke to me. I doubt it is to anyone else that's sane also...)
APK
P.S.=> - & I only post on hosts or my program where hosts ARE effective (not spam) ... & they are for more speed, security, reliability & anonymity online SO I created a tool to make the best possible one & yes my program does it better + more than ANY like it minus dependence on buggy SQLite just found w/ a 17++ yr. long BUG in it recently (written in C, buffer overflow galore due to null terminated strings)) such as adding your FAVORITE SITES where you spend most time online for more speed & security (China even imitated ME there) by using what you already have NATIVELY that runs in KERNELMODE SPEED via population by my SINGLE .exe (non-interpreted TRUE exe) multithreaded bulletproof & bugfree excellence (perfect results everytime) that even the likes of MALWAREBYTES' people host + recommend - you give ME guff over that? Come on ... apk
As you can see see here.
I'm going to continue using the Host File Engine. Your software is well written, functional. The Host File Engine performs exactly as promised by mmell
his hosts program is actually pretty good by xenotransplant
his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources by alexgieg
I've never tried to belittle (APK's) work, I've flat out said it's good by BronsCon
APK is kinda right. I've tried his hosts file generating software. It works by bmo
APK your posts on this and the hosts file posts, and more, have never been in error and/or bad advice by BlueStrat
* My code's recommended & hosted by Malwarebytes' hpHosts!
APK
P.S.=> See subject, /. peers quoted above & APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-7 32/64-bit https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=%22APK+Hosts+File+Engine%22+and+%22start64%22&btnG=Google+Search&gbv=1/
See subject & supermidgetbob tried that on me & ATE HIS WORDS just like you now https://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10458715&threshold=-1&commentsort=0&mode=thread&pid=54192877/
&
I don't even DO accounts @ all (I had one I used once in 2002, haven't since (to ask John Carmack a technical question)).
* WHO ARE THEY? OUR /. PEERS - you have ANYONE saying that about YOUR NON-EXISTENT WORK "ne'er-do-well" UNIDENTIFIABLE little JEALOUS do nothing? No?? I thought (knew) not, lol...
You WISH you were ME chump!
APK
P.S.=> Want MORE /. PEERS (you come here too, don't put them down) saying things that PRAISE my program? Ask & "ye shall receive" - I have DOZENS more of the same (& IF I have to? I can put when & WHERE they posted as I did do that other chump that tried the crap YOU have (from behind a FAKE NAME for a FAKE LIFE of a "ne'er-do-well" DO NOTHING like you (except you're EVEN WORSE using UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous trolling - weak))... apk
The parents punish the children for their hunger. I'm happy to feed all the poor children, if we take them from their parents who decide to have kids when they don't have the money to support them. Follow that up with spay-n-neuter of the parents, and the situation will be under control very soon.
You have honestly never thought of the situations where a) the parents started off rich enough but then lost their jobs and ended up not rich enough or b) they had a child that they didn't plan because access to sex education is limited by a right wing government? I mean, apart from that, I'm with you all the way ;-)