What do Chrome extensions really do?

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Rikkitic

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#215254 19-Jun-2017 13:11

I always seem to have a hard time finding the right forum for my questions. I hope this is close enough.

Every time I install a Chrome browser extension, there is a big notification that it can read and change everything my browser accesses. Naturally I don't let this stop me but I have finally started wondering what this actually means in practice. Is it a security threat? Can anyone enlighten?

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gzt

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#1804633 21-Jun-2017 14:04

Extensions have the ability to view and change webpages. They can also send data to servers under the control of the extension developer, or anywhere they choose really.

Google require that all extensions are installed from the chrome store now and they review those for security. It will never be 100% if the developer decides to do something malicious or silly later on.

Apart from the Google review it's mostly up to the user and trust, similar to selecting and installing programs.

Rikkitic

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#1804689 21-Jun-2017 15:20

Thanks for that. It is about what I thought but it doesn't hurt to have confirmation.

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