The NSA is watching your every move (not really) and malicious hackers are trying to steal your data at every turn (really), so the last thing you need is for your own Web browser to start working against you as well. Following recent revelations that some Chrome extensions were packed with adware, Google quickly responded and removed them from the Chrome Web Store. The problem apparently goes much further than the few extensions Google axed, however, and How-To Geek recently ran a post to help bring the issue to light.
The site compiled a list of eight Chrome extensions that spy on you, two Firefox extensions known to spy, and 26 additional Chrome extensions that include adware. How-To Geek also issued an important note alongside its lists: “It’s worth noting that a lot of these extensions will end up temporarily removing their ads as a result of all the press coverage. They should not be trusted going forward though.”
The full lists, which include some extensions that are wildly popular and in use by millions of people, can be found by following the link in the source section below.
