Have you ever added an extension to your Chrome web browser? Extensions are available in the Chrome Web Store, and offer numerous helpful features, such spelling/grammar, finding deals, storing passwords, or blocking ads. But they may also come with security risks if you’re not careful. So always think twice before installing an extension.

Risks of Chrome Extensions

  • Privacy and Data Theft - When you add extensions to your Chrome browser, a warning that the extension might get access to your data may appear. Even if you don’t get a warning about data access, thousands of extensions have collected data they shouldn’t have collected over the years, and we’re only just learning about it.
  • Malicious Software - Some bad actors put malicious extensions in the Chrome Web Store. Recently, nearly 3 million devices were found to be infected by malware-laced Chrome extensions.

How to Protect Yourself

  1. Do your research. Search the web to see if there are any concerning reports about an extension before you hit “Add to Chrome.”
  2. Uninstall extensions you don’t need. Look at your Chrome Extension settings, and remove any extensions that you don’t use regularly.

Resources

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