Some internet browser extensions are spying on your every click and selling all of your data, from tax returns to corporate secrets, according to a Washington Post investigation.
As many as 4 million people were leaking personal and corporate data through Chrome and Firefox, and researchers say that’s just a fraction of the problem.
Browser extensions, also called add-ons or plug-ins, are programs used to make Web-surfing better or easier, such as finding coupons or remembering passwords.
Independent security researcher Sam Jadali and Washington Post technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler uncovered six suspicious browser extensions that were tracking and selling every click of data.
Those browser extensions have since been shut down by Google and Mozilla. If you had any of them installed, they should no longer work.
North Carolina State University researchers recently tested how many of the 180,000 available Chrome extensions leak privacy-sensitive data. They found 3,800 such extensions selling data. The 10 most popular alone have more than 60 million users, according to the Post.
The six browser extensions, Hover Zoom, SpeakIt!, SuperZoom, SaveFrom.net Helper, FairShare Unlock, and PanelMeasurement, have since been shut down by Google and Mozilla. If you had any of them installed, they should no longer work.
Read the full story at washingtonpost.com.
