Items tagged with extensions
Isn't it nice when malware authors make it easy to remove their dirty code? Sometimes all you have to do is open the Control Panel and uninstall the offending program, just like any other application. And for browsers, simply nuke the extension that is causing trouble. Unfortunately, some recent browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox are making things difficult on users by cleverly hiding their whereabouts. The extensions in question hijack Chrome and Firefox to redirect web searches and drive up click counts on YouTube videos, presumably to generate ad revenue. That in and of itself is not unusual, but what is frustrating is that you can't just load up the extensions page and delete them....
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Security researchers have uncovered malware hidden in four different extensions for Google's Chrome browser. Collectively, the four extensions have been downloaded and installed more than half a million times, including onto workstations within major organizations globally. While likely used to commit click fraud and search engine optimization (SEO), the number of installs could provide cyber criminals with a potent botnet. "While revenues are not known, a similar botnet uncovered in 2013 yielded $6 million per month before it was taken down," security researchers at Icebrg, a computer security firm based in Seattle, Washington, stated in a report outlining the technical details of the malware....
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We could have told Mozilla that installing an extension on its Firefox browser to promote a niche TV series would be a bad idea, but nobody from Mozilla asked us. Mozilla should have known this too. Now it does, on hindsight, following a backlash from angry Firefox users who discovered that an extension had been remotely installed on their machines, leading many to wonder if they had fallen victim to malware. Mozilla is now backpedaling from the bad business move. Image Source: Flickr via Johnathan Nighingale What happened is, Mozilla partnered with the team behind Mr. Robot, a television show that is known among some geek circles. Mozilla decided to push out a "Looking Glass" extension to Firefox...
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Microsoft seems to be getting close to turning on support for extensions in its Edge browser for Windows 10. Exactly when that will happen remains to be seen, but in the meantime, a Twitter user (@h0x0d) posted screen grabs of a website serving up a pair of extensions in Edge to Windows Insiders.The website has since been taken offline, but according to the screenshots, Microsoft and its partners have been fiddling with at least two extensions, one for Pinterest that adds a Pin-It button to Edge, and one for Reddit (Reddit Enhancement Suite) that provides a better browsing experiencing on the website. Both extensions were last updated on November 25, 2015.Had things gone to plan, Microsoft would...
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Microsoft’s Edge web browser is shaping up to be a formidable competitor to the likes of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Well, we should that is true in overall performance, but not exactly when it comes to user experience (or web standards). Edge currently doesn’t support browser extensions, which add tons of functionality to the aforementioned Chrome and Firefox browsers. For those that were expecting to see browser extension support added in the Threshold 2 update, which is tentatively called the Windows 10 Fall Update, we have some slightly disappointing news for you. Microsoft told The Verge that extension support has been delayed until next year. We're committed to providing customers...
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Google on Wednesday announced that it will actively block Windows and Mac users from installing extensions to the Chrome browser that are not found in the Chrome Web Store. It's the same policy that's been in place for Windows users since May of last year, though Google didn't enforce it for the developer version of Chrome. Now it will, as increasingly complex malware is becoming too big of a problem. "We originally did not enforce this policy on the Windows developer channel in order to allow developers to opt out. Unfortunately, we’ve since observed malicious software forcing users into the developer channel in order to install unwanted off-store extensions," Google said in a blog post. "Affected...
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One of our primary problems with Safari when we took an in-depth look at it last year was this: no wide-ranging plug-in support as there is with Firefox. For power users who love to browse the Web their own way, using third-party plug-ins to enhance their experience, Safari just never has lived up to Firefox. It's fast, passes the ACID test without issue and is available for both Mac and PC, but the inability to install extensions kept it from becoming one of the best browsers out. This week, Apple has finally updated Safari to a point where it may actually compete with Firefox in the eyes of power users, with version 5.0.1 enabling the Safari Extensions Gallery. The idea here was to give developers...
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Firefox is a great browser. One of its strengths is the ability to tinker with it to get it to do all sorts of additional neat things. Joe Kissell at Macworld has a terrific round-up of free add-ons for Firefox to help you raise your personal browser geek factor to stratospheric heights: And thanks to a growing number of free Firefox extensions, it's an especially good tool for people who want every possible ounce of browser power - and who are willing to tinker with their Mac to get it. I've dug up 10 of the best extensions for Firefox. Some of these are designed to make surfing easier or safer, while others are specifically geared toward Web developers. All are free, and you can easily configure...
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