02 October 18, 06:11
Quote:Extensions can be really useful for a huge number of things. From blocking unwanted content to changing websites, improving the usability of the browser or improving your shopping experience.Full reading: https://www.ghacks.net/2018/10/01/chrome...on-access/
Chrome extensions are limited in what they are allowed to do. Chrome supports a permission system that requires that extensions request certain permissions, e.g. access to data on all sites, and that users need to grant extensions the requested permissions.
Criminals and some extension developers have found loopholes in the automated system that Google uses to vet extensions. Security firms identified malicious or privacy invading extensions in the Chrome Web Store multiple times in 2018 alone.
If you installed extensions in Chrome before, you may have encountered extensions that request wide-reaching permissions (access data on all sites) even though they are supposed to run only on some or a single site. Not all extensions that do request this permission are malicious but some are that or at least problematic from a privacy point of view.
While users can verify extensions for Chrome before they install them to make sure they are legitimate, it is just a minority that does so as it requires knowledge of JavaScript and how Chrome extensions work.
Google revealed plans today to improve the situation with the release of Chrome 70 in mid-October 2018.