Threats Associated With Bad Online Browser Extensions Or Addons

Hello friends, welcome back to HkGoodKh. Hope, you must be eagerly waiting for this new post. As promised, we would 

teach you about the dangers of fake or bad extensions. After reading this, we are sure readers would think twice think twice before installing the addon. You would go for the good and trusted ones only! 

We would also discuss the fake version of Adblock plus, recently removed by Google from its store to protect the online security of the users.

So friends, let's get started! 

THREATS ASSOCIATED WITH FAKE OR BAD OR UNTRUSTED BROWSER EXTENSIONS

Friends, the fake Adblock plus discovered by Google opened new tabs in the browser. Also, it caused an increase in the number of browser ads. As per reports, users discussed this in the add-on review section. Just imagine how much it annoyed the users! Contrary to its name, the fake Adblock plus increased the number of ads.

Who would like to surf on a browser loaded with tabs and ads!?!? It must have crashed several times, after-all. 

Browsing must have become painfully slow.

Based on the above observation, we can safely conclude about the dangers of fake Adblock plus.

• Opens new and unwanted tabs
• Bombards web pages with advertisements
• Causes browser to crash frequently
• Browsing becomes extremely slow
• The browser becomes unresponsive or hangs a lot

Ok friends, by now you must have got a big clue what the likes of fake add-ons like Adblock plus can do.

But the threats are not limited to these alone. Let's see, what more harm it causes. 

• If a bad addon requests for complete data and activity, it can read the passwords. Thus, a bad addon is truly a malware which compromises your online safety.
• A bad addon with complete permission has full access to the response sent by the site. Thus, it knows all about your online details. Though, they claim to be just tiny.
• Even https cannot save you from the dangers of the bad addon with complete permission. Though they would not have access to cookies, if they can read passwords, it doesn't make much difference.
• Even pop-ups which do not have navigation bar are loaded with extensions. As users, you can test this.
• Add-ons also send the request and trap you to believe that webpage sends it. Like, if you are on Single Click Purchase site, you can get purchase requests from extensions. So beware!!! 
• Friends, bad and untrusted add-ons are privacy nightmare. They could access all your browsing history. They could track information about the sites you visit. Additionally, these also know about your current tab and the number of opened tabs.
• Add-ons could easily doctor Facebook, Gmail, and other social media messages. These can inject their own stuff into them. So, even your messages are not really yours.
• A notorious extension can also redirect your search to a suspicious site. Thus, you can probably become a victim of clever phishing and spamming leading to a privacy breach. 
• Even the popular addon could be sold to an untrusted company or hijacked. The sold or hijacked extension could get automatic updates resulting in a malware.

So, friends, HkGoodKh says - beware of all bad and fake extensions. We do hope by now you must have grasped what harm the cute and tiny looking programs can cause.

So, now a question may pop in your head " What as the responsible online user can I do to stay safe?"

Friends, do not worry. HkGoodKh would provide the solution for this. So, in our next post, you would find the answer to this query. We would teach you about the precaution tips.

We hope friends, you would like our post. Do share your views with us in the comments. Thanks for reading this  article!