Chrome extensions abuse millions with adware

[harlan4096]

It’s bad enough being assaulted by ads on TV. When I switch to my computer (for any reason) and still keep seeing tons of ads, I get really annoyed. I’ll bet you get annoyed too. But why does it happen?

Well, one thing that’ll get you ads is installing browser extensions that are actually adware — from the time you install them or somewhere down the line. One recent example is an extremely popular Google Chrome extension called Automatic 4K/HD for YouTube.

For users who really want to get their fill, YouTube doesn’t seem to be the easiest platform to deal with. Not surprisingly, demand is high for applications and browser extensions that facilitate managing its contents. Automatic 4K/HD for YouTube, for example, got its five-star ratings and 4.2 million downloads by enabling users to select a permanent video playback quality level and preventing the YouTube platform from selecting a lower quality setting on the user’s behalf, among other features.

Unfortunately, at some point the popular extension apparently opted to ditch its hard-won fame in favor of abusing its fan base, pestering users with unwanted popups. Ironically, it started showing ads (and automatically opening up the page) for a Chrome extension to block ads. The advertised extension is named Adblocker for Chrome – NoAds, and it has more than 6.5 million downloads as of this writing.

Full reading: https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/adware-in...ons/25668/