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Fake Chrome Web Browser Extension Unwittingly Installed by 37,000 Users

I regularly see 1-2 websites a day that don't render correctly in Safari. The number has risen lately and I have to keep Chrome around for them.

The Chrome web developer tools can't be beat.

These two data points are related: Google has made a wise investment in these tools and is courting the very developers who can indirectly drive Chrome adoption.
 
69Mustang said:
I'm very happy you phrased your quote that way. It illustrates my point perfectly. "Personal data" is the key phrase. It's the key phrase that's most often conflated to mean something it doesn't. Note that I never said in any quote that Apple uses your personal data to sell to advertisers. I said that Apple uses your data. According to Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc., you DNichter and me 69 Mustang have two types of data. Personal and non-personal. Personal data can identify us as individuals. Personal data includes name, mailing address, phone number, email address, contact preferences, and credit card information. So when Apple says they don't sell your personal data, they're being truthful. They're also being contextually deceitful. We don't sell your personal data, but... others?
What they do use to, among other things, sell to advertisers? Your non-personal data. What's non-personal? Stuff like occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, referrer URL, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used. Question is, do you consider any of that personal? I don't want to bog you down with data. ust go here and see for yourself what Apple actually does
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Fair enough, appreciate the information. Non personal data, I do not mind actually. I do understand that probably all companies will use my personal data in some ways, but I feel more comfortable putting my data in the hands of a company who doesn't make money primarily from advertising.
 
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PhillyGuy72 said:
I have used Chrome and this extension issue happened to me a few years ago. No idea what was happening at the time. I'd open regular news sites like usual. click on a link and and a new tab would open about "Flash Player out of Date" and it would download some DMG file automatically. Or I'd have to completely shut down the browser. Quite a few others had the problem and NO ONE on Google forums knew what was happening, no admins chimed in.

It was a random post on Reedit that narrowed it down and it was a plug in named "AdBlockSuper" Some junk rogue extension that reeked havoc. Extension that appeared legit but it was far from safe. I figured Google would have learned from that, but guess not. I still have the regular AdBlock on Chrome, it works! I simply do not add any more extensions to the browser.
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I use Chrome so I don’t have to download Flash. Anybody else use Chrome mainly for Flash?
 
I use chrome on my Mac mini and I also use the extension ad block plus but I installed that extension years ago, never had any tabs open auto. How do I know if I have this?
 
I love Chrome. It uses a lot of CPU and RAM because it’s a POWERFUL browser that DESTROYS Safari. Also, it’s not Apple crapware so I feel hip and cool when I fire up Chrome in public.
 
johannnn said:
Who used flash in 2017? Are there still sites that use flash (without a html5 version)?
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finance.google.com for interactive charts, just checked
facebook.com for live streams, but it could have changed since I last checked
online textbooks for college classes, many sketchy video streaming sites

To be fair, every HTML5 replacement I've encountered has used more resources (e.g. CPU) than the Flash version. I agree that Flash totally needs to die, but I was hoping the replacement wouldn't be so slow and that the PC experience would get faster over time instead of software getting crappier as quickly as the hardware progresses.
 
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Well, I have chrome as a secondary browser, as I use Safari 99% of the time. Safari is so much faster these days, and all the security etc makes it preferable. I Installed Chrome back in mid 2014 when I got this MBp. I do have Adblock installed, not the one they speak of tho. Believe I am safe. Fingers crossed.
 
jezbd1997 said:
I'd say the opposite, most people do use chrome. I've switched from Safari about a year ago and I wouldn't dare touch anything else but found chrome works with many, many more sites without issue.
Sometimes Safari has had trouble even loading some websites
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1. Safari is 55%.

2. I am a heavy browser and I have no problem with sites loading so there you go.

3. Chrome uses more resources (battery).

4. Safari is faster.
 
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Aetles said:
I am a pragmatic person when it comes to browsers. I use all three (Chrome, Safari and Firefox) all day. It's very convenient to use all of them as a web developer and as an ordinary user for multiple reasons.

No single browser is best all the time, they have different strengths, but I do prefer Chrome over the others by a margin and it's my main browser and has been for a while. Safari comes second and Firefox last.
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Mostly this. I tend to use safari a little more and firefox is getting better on osx than it used to be but I use all three. No way can I get by with just using safari.

I have had far more problems with safari pertaining to compatibility problems.
 
johannnn said:
Relevant rant. I really wish Apple drops the $99 developer price. There are so many small nifty apps and Safari extensions that are not hosted by Apple because the developer don't want to pay $99 per year. Which means I have to trust 1) their code, and 2) their servers. Would be much better if Apple vetted everything (stuff can sneak through, as seen in this article, but at least there is a vetting process).
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If $99 a year is too big a barrier to entry, I'm probably good with not seeing that developer in the App store. And yeah, things need to be vetted, which is another reason to have a paid developer program.
 
MacRumors said:



Google_Chrome_Material_Icon-450x450-250x250.jpg
A fraudulent browser extension was downloaded by 37,000 Chrome users after it sneaked past Google's Web Store vetting processes, it emerged on Tuesday.

The fake extension was listed on the official Web Store until today and masqueraded as popular legitimate extension AdBlock Plus, which has over 10 million users. Once installed, the fake reportedly swamps infected computers with adverts and opens up tabs without the user's permission.

The existence of the fake extension was revealed by anonymous cyber security personality @SwiftOnSecurity, but it's still not entirely clear if the fake compromised the data of the 37,000-odd users who inadvertently installed it on their browsers.

Back in 2015, Google officially blocked Mac users from downloading Chrome extensions not hosted in its official Web Store, over concerns that malicious extensions were becoming rife.

Given this latest breach of Google's vetting system, Chrome users are advised to carefully check the developer information of extensions before downloading them to ensure they are legitimate and not spoofing popular browser add-ons. We'll update this article if Google provides clarity on what went wrong this time around.

Article Link: Fake Chrome Web Browser Extension Unwittingly Installed by 37,000 Users
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Yeah. I saw this and looked it up on safari before installing it. Good thing I didn't.
 
It sounds like from the article that this fraudulent add on was added on Tuesday, in that case I don't have it since I downloaded this add on years ago and was from the original author.
 
johannnn said:
Relevant rant. I really wish Apple drops the $99 developer price. There are so many small nifty apps and Safari extensions that are not hosted by Apple because the developer don't want to pay $99 per year. Which means I have to trust 1) their code, and 2) their servers. Would be much better if Apple vetted everything (stuff can sneak through, as seen in this article, but at least there is a vetting process).
Click to expand...

Perhaps Google should start to charge more and hire staff to do a better job at vetting.
 
Hmm, I use Chrome, mainly because Safari has a weird performance glitch that i can't resolve. (A weird 2-3 second pause before loading web content) Not an issue on Chrome... Plus I have to use PC and like consistency/access to shared faves etc. Really not great about the plugin. But, probably not enough to put me off using it as my default browser.
 
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