Google Chrome To Warn When Installed Extensions Are Malware

Google is testing a new feature in the Chrome browser that will warn users when an installed extension has been removed from the Chrome Web Store, usually indicative of it being malware. BleepingComputer reports: An unending supply of unwanted browser extensions is published on the Chrome Web Store and promoted through popup and redirect ads. These extensions are made by scam companies and threat actors who use them to inject advertisements, track your search history, redirect you to affiliate pages, or in more severe cases, steal your Gmail emails and Facebook accounts. The problem is that these extensions are churned out quickly, with the developers releasing new ones just as Google removes old ones from the Chrome Web Store. Unfortunately, if you installed one of these extensions, they will still be installed in your browser, even after Google detects them as malware and removes them from the store. Due to this, Google is now bringing its Safety Check feature to browser extensions, warning Chrome users when an extension has been detected as malware or removed from the store and that they should be uninstalled from the browser. This feature will go live in Chrome 117, but you can now test it in Chrome 116 by enabling the browser's experimental 'Extensions Module in Safety Check' feature. [...] Google says that extensions can be removed from the Chrome Web Store because they were unpublished by the developer, violated policies, or were detected as malware.

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