‘Netflix Party’ and 4 other Chrome extensions that are actually malware

Chrome extension Should make your browser even better —but not all of them Reliable. No matter how hard Google tries, the Chrome Web Store is not a marketplace for harmless utilities. Most are properly scrutinized, but some slip through the cracks. on Play Store and even Apple’s App StoreWe are now aware of another malware group disguised as legitimate extensions, including two ‘Netflix’ options unrelated to the company.

McAfee Security Analyst discovered the latest batch of five malicious Chrome extensions. Together they are over 1.4m.Ilion Download. Although these extensions are different from each other, their design goals are the same. Once you have one of these extensions installed on your browser, wait to visit e-commerce sites such as: Best Buy or Amazon. The extension then sends browsing data to its own domain and, if the site matches one of our affiliates, either inserts the affiliate link into the page’s URL or hijacks your cookie with its own cookie. Either way, the goal is to earn a commission on your purchases.

In this way, these extensions are different from common scams. They don’t want your personal information or try to break into your account. Rather, they treat you and 1.4 million others as intermediaries for their fees.it doesn’t make them Better However, it is better than other malware and should be stopped whenever possible.

To make matters worse, each malicious extension works surprisingly well as advertised. FlipShop is actually a price tracker and Full Page Screenshot Capture captures screenshots of your browser. Apps and utilities that contain malware are usually just a cover to trick users into installing them.developers behind these are However, the longer you keep the utility installed in Chrome, the more money your extension will make, so there’s no doubt about that.

Below are the malicious apps spotted by McAfee analysts, sorted by number of downloads.

• netflix party: 800,000 downloads
• netflix party 2: 300,000 downloads
• Full Page Screenshot Capture – Screenshot: 200,000 Downloads
• FlipShop – Price Tracker Extension: 80,000 downloads
• AutoBuy Flash Sale: 20,000 downloads

As of this article, AutoBuy Flash Sale When FlipShop – Price Tracker Extension It’s still available in the Chrome Web Store, but Google has since removed the other three. However, even if all five were removed from the web store, Google would not be able to remove them from the browser. If you installed any of these extensions on Chrome, remove them now.

How to protect yourself from malicious Chrome extensions

This problem is nothing new.In fact we covered How to avoid malicious extensions In the past. So this advice is akin to protecting yourself from malicious apps in the App Store.

• Make sure you’re downloading the correct extension you’re looking for. Malicious extensions thrive by confusing users with similar names with another popular extension.
• Pay close attention to the extension’s web store listing. Are all the spellings correct? Do the images match the features advertised?
• See our extension review. Do the reviewers look legit? Are they considering the right extensions?
• Please do external research on extensions before downloading. What does Google pick up when I search?

Google can’t block all malicious extensions, but you can use good judgment to prevent them from being installed in your browser.