🚫🔍 Da 32 No Good Chrome Extensions Wit 75 Million Installs, Google Junk ‘Em from Web Store
Google nevah only get issues wit bad stuffs on da Play Store, but now dey had to deal wit some not-so-nice software on da Chrome Web Store too. Da company wen jus’ take down 32 shady extensions from da Chrome Web Store, and it look like dese kine tings wen get installed about 75 million times! 😱🔒
Like always, dese extensions wen figgah out how fo’ hide dey sneaky code from da users by doing da stuff dey supposed to do. BleepingComputer wen report dat. 🖥️🤫
One cybersecurity researcher by da name of Wladimir Palant wen find out dat da PDF Toolbox extension fo’ Google Chrome had some hidden code inside. Dis extension wen get one rating of 4.2 on da Chrome Web Store and mo’ than 2 million people wen install ’em. 😮🔍💻
Palant wen explain dat da code let one website called “serasearchtop[.]com” put oddah code inside every website dat people who use da extension go to. He wen say dat dis code goin’ kick in 24 hours aftah da extension wen install, and da main purpose of da code probably fo’ show mo’ ads. 😈💣
Few weeks aftah Palant wen find da code in da PDF Toolbox extension, he wen write ‘nother article sayin’ dat he wen find 18 oddah shady extensions dat use da same kine code. All togeddah, dese extensions wen get 55 million users, and some popular ones wen include Autoskip fo’ YouTube (9 million active users), Soundboost (6.9 million), and Crystal Ad block (6.8 million). 😬🚀💻
Avast wen report da shady extensions to Google aftah dey wen confirm dat da code inside was not good. Da cybersecurity guys wen find oddah similar extensions too, so all togeddah had 32 extensions wit 75 million installs. 😱🔒
But Avast wen say, even though da number stay real high, da actual installs might not be dat big. Dey wen say dis cuz wen dey wen look at da Chrome Web Store, no had too many reviews for da extensions, and da number of people who wen come across da bad stuffs no match up wit da number of installs. So maybe some installs was inflated. 🤔📉
Avast wen find out dat da final payload fo’ dese extensions is adware, meanin’ dey goin’ spam people wit ads dey no even like, plus some kine search results hijacker dat goin’ show sponsored links, paid search results, and maybe some not-so-nice links. Google wen say dey wen remove all da shady extensions from da Chrome Store. If you still get ’em, bettah deactivate or uninstall. No take chances, braddah. 🚫🔍📵
Stay safe out deah, folks! Make sure fo’ check your extensions and keep your browsers secure. Nobody like get spammed wit ads all day long. 🛡️💻🔒
NOW IN ENGLISH
🚫🔍 The 32 Not Good Chrome Extensions with 75 Million Installs, Google Removes Them from Web Store
Google doesn’t only have issues with bad stuff on the Play Store, but now they had to deal with some not-so-nice software on the Chrome Web Store too. The company just took down 32 shady extensions from the Chrome Web Store, and it looks like these kinds of things were installed about 75 million times! 😱🔒
As usual, these extensions figured out how to hide their sneaky code from the users by doing the things they are supposed to do. BleepingComputer reported that. 🖥️🤫
A cybersecurity researcher by the name of Wladimir Palant found out that the PDF Toolbox extension for Google Chrome had some hidden code inside. This extension got a rating of 4.2 on the Chrome Web Store, and more than 2 million people installed them. 😮🔍💻
Palant explained that the code allows a website called “serasearchtop[.]com” to put other code inside every website that people who use the extension go to. He said that this code kicks in 24 hours after the extension is installed, and the main purpose of the code is probably to show more ads. 😈💣
A few weeks after Palant found the code in the PDF Toolbox extension, he wrote another article saying that he found 18 other shady extensions that use the same kind of code. Altogether, these extensions had 55 million users, and some popular ones included Autoskip for YouTube (9 million active users), Soundboost (6.9 million), and Crystal Ad block (6.8 million). 😬🚀💻
Avast reported the shady extensions to Google after they confirmed that the code inside was not good. The cybersecurity guys found other similar extensions too, so altogether there were 32 extensions with 75 million installs. 😱🔒
But Avast said, even though the number is really high, the actual installs might not be that big. They said this because when they looked at the Chrome Web Store, there weren’t too many reviews for the extensions, and the number of people who came across the bad stuff didn’t match up with the number of installs. So maybe some installs were inflated. 🤔📉
Avast found out that the final payload for these extensions is adware, meaning they’re going to spam people with ads they don’t even like, plus a kind of search results hijacker that shows sponsored links, paid search results, and maybe some not-so-nice links. Google said they removed all the shady extensions from the Chrome Store. If you still have them, it’s better to deactivate or uninstall them. Don’t take chances, braddah. 🚫🔍📵
Stay safe out there, folks! Make sure to check your extensions and keep your browsers secure. Nobody likes getting spammed with ads all day long. 🛡️💻🔒
