Why you should be careful with browser extensions
Browser extensions, which most of us use on a regular basis, are presumably something you are already aware of. They enhance browser functionality significantly, but they also put users' security and privacy at risk. Let's talk about what's wrong with browser extensions and how you may lessen the likelihood that one of them will go rogue on you. However, let's first go over what a browser extension is specifically.
Why do you need to be careful with the extensions?
1) Destructive extensions
To begin with, extensions sometimes even contain dangerous code. Malware occasionally infiltrates official markets, like in the situations of Android and Google Play, although it typically occurs through extensions that originate from third-party websites.
For instance, security experts recently discovered four extensions in the Google Chrome Web Store that pretended to be harmless sticky notes apps but were actually found making money for their developers by covertly clicking on pay-perclick advertisements.
What kind of power does that extension have? An extension needs the authorization to perform a task, after all.
2) Hijacking
Due to the large user bases of many browser extensions, they make an appealing target for thieves. Additionally, since they are updated automatically if a user downloaded a benign extension, it might later be updated to become malicious. In this case, the user wouldn't even be aware of the update because it would be pushed to them right away.
A good developer wouldn't act in such a manner, but their account could be taken over and a malicious update could be uploaded to the official store on their behalf.
There are times when businesses approach developers and make an attractive offer to buy their extensions. Due to the difficulty in commercializing extensions, developers are frequently happy to accept such agreements. The extension can be updated by the business with malicious functionality once it has purchased it, and users will be notified of this change.
3) Dangerous
Even benign expansions have the potential to be harmful. The risk derives from the fact that the majority of extensions can gather a lot of information about users (remember that "read and update all your data on the websites you visit" permission). Some developers sell the anonymized data they've gathered to outside parties in order to make a living. This is typically covered in the EULA for the extension and is generally acceptable.
The issue is that the data is occasionally not sufficiently anonymized, which causes some major privacy problems: The parties who purchase the data are able to identify the users of the plugin. Web of Trust, a formerly well-liked browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, and other browsers, experienced this. Utilizing user feedback, the plugin was used to rate websites. In addition, the extension recorded all of its users' previous browsing activity.
Conclusion
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