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Millions of Chrome Users Have Installed Malware Posing as Ad Blockers (vice.com)
Kaleigh Rogers, writing for Motherboard: Andrey Meshkov, the cofounder of ad-blocker AdGuard, recently got curious about the number of knock-off ad blocking extensions available for Google's popular browser Chrome. These extensions were deliberately styled to look like legitimate, well-known ad blockers, but Meshkov wondered why they existed at all, so he downloaded one and took a look at the code. "Basically I downloaded it and checked what requests the extension was making," Meshkov told me over the phone. "Some strange requests caught my attention."
Meshkov discovered that the AdRemover extension for Chrome -- which had over 10 million users -- had code hidden inside an image that was loaded from the remote command server, giving the extension creator the ability to change its functions without updating. This alone is against Google's policy, and after Meshkov wrote about a few examples on AdGuard's blog, many of which had millions of downloads, Chrome removed the extensions from the store. I reached out to Google, and a spokesperson confirmed that these extensions had been removed.
Meshkov discovered that the AdRemover extension for Chrome -- which had over 10 million users -- had code hidden inside an image that was loaded from the remote command server, giving the extension creator the ability to change its functions without updating. This alone is against Google's policy, and after Meshkov wrote about a few examples on AdGuard's blog, many of which had millions of downloads, Chrome removed the extensions from the store. I reached out to Google, and a spokesperson confirmed that these extensions had been removed.
...verify the legitimacy of the source.
The sort of logical mindset that one needs to keep one's self safe on the Internet is not universal. Many people are born without it. They may have other skills that are valuable, but the days in which they could thrive without logical clarity are vanishing into the past.
There will be pain....but ultimately those with keen minds will have enough of a survival advantage over the rest, that natural selection will get us where we need to be.
Eventually.
Most of these extensions have nothing but an anonymous internet email behind them and yet people and computer geeks install them and literally give admin access to their computer to strangers
So people get Chrome because its "fast and safe". They trust this company who loves to siphon all the public's data. That same public then wants to avoid the obnoxious advertisements pushed by Google, and get malware... from a site managed by Google.
You'd think Google would get the picture and provide some sort of built-in ad management/protection in Chrome. With millions of downloads it's pretty obvious what people want. So why haven't they done a built-in ad-block?
they should keep a close eye on all the extensions and plugins and themes and whatever else third party things go in to not only chrome, but also google play store, they should all be audited as they are upload and before allowed downloading by the general public, things like this malicious extension is a BIG BLACK EYE for google and it causes me to lose a little trust in google, if this sort of thing keeps happening i will take a hammer to my phone and tablet and buy a dumb phone that is incapable of getting software from anywhere, and go back to using a browser without any addons because i cant trust them anymore
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Nothing to see here, everything is OK now....they removed it from the store.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
This kind of corporate jargon gets right up my nose. She didn't reach out to google, she contacted them. Reached out is such an over emotively laden phrase for "Emailed" or "Phoned" or "Visited reception and was escorted out the building".
Stop using it!