Anyone who uses Google’s Chrome must check their PC without delay and delete some very worrying extensions from their browser. The new alert has been raised after experts at Koi Security discovered that millions of browsers may have been infected with malware that could allow hackers to eavesdrop during web surfing sessions.
A total of 18 Chrome extensions have been named and shamed, including emoji keyboards, weather and gaming add-ons.
To make matters worse, many of the offending extensions were verified, had plenty of positive reviews, and even featured on the official Chrome Web Store.
The way cyber crooks have beaten the usual security system seems pretty simple. The original software appears to have been added without any bugs to help them slip through the net. The malware is then added – via an update – at a much later date.
With that in mind, it’s now vital that users check what they have installed and delete any of the extensions listed below.
Here are the dangerous extensions.
Emoji keyboard online (Chrome)
Free Weather Forecast (Chrome)
Unlock Discord (Chrome)
Dark Theme (Chrome)
Volume Max (Chrome)
Unblock TikTok (Chrome)
Unlock YouTube VPN (Chrome)
Geco colorpick (Chrome)
Weather (Chrome)
Unlock TikTok (Edge)
Volume Booster (Edge)
Web Sound Equalizer (Edge)
Header Value (Edge)
Flash Player (Edge)
Youtube Unblocked (Edge)
SearchGPT (Edge)
Unlock Discord (Edge)
If you think any of these extensions have been installed on your PC then you must act now.
Along with deleting them, the team at Malwarebytes also says users should clear all browsing data, monitor accounts for suspicious activity and rest Chrome its default settings.
“Researchers have discovered a campaign that tracked users’ online behaviour using 18 browser extensions available in the official Chrome and Edge webstores. The total number of installs is estimated to be over two million.
“These extensions offered functionality, received good reviews, touted verification badges, and some even enjoyed featured placement.
But when an extension has been available in the web store for a while, cybercriminals can insert malicious code through updates to the extension.”
Since the extensions were exposed by Koi Security, Google says it has now removed them from the store.
That means no new users will be infected, but those who have already installed are at risk.