Google Chrome users have been given a serious warning because password-stealing criminals are exploiting a variety of apps.
Several programs that let you alter the colour and theme of websites have been found to be extensions used by dishonest people to steal personal information online. By careless online users, these extensions have been downloaded millions of times.
According to Nati Tal from Guardio Security, who discovered the “Dormant Colors” campaign, there were at least 30 different variations of this extension that were a part of the campaign for both Chrome and Edge. When you use Chrome to search for anything, the phoney extension hijacks your search page and brings you to a false Google search page.
Then hackers make money from any purchases you make as an affiliate.
Tal added that the fraudsters also collect login information including passwords and any personal details.
He said: “At the end of the day, it’s not only affiliation fees being collected on your back, this is your privacy as well as your internet experience being compromised here, in ways that can target organizations by harvesting credentials and hijacking accounts and financial data.”