If you have installed any of these Chrome and Edge extensions, remove them ASAP

According to Avast, the 28 malicious extensions found, designed for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, could “redirect user traffic to advertisements or phishing sites and steal users’ personal data, such as dates of birth, email addresses and active devices ”. These extensions have made their way onto devices masquerading as video downloaders for sites like Instagram, Vimeo, and others.

The bogus extensions clearly worked, as Avast suspects that more than 3 million people are affected by the malware. Those 3 million people probably made the attackers quite a bit of money, because Avast believes that is the purpose of the malware. The browser redirects the advertisements, which generate a profit for anyone behind the curtain of malware. Additionally, these expansions may have been operational since 2018, although Avast only captured them in November of this year. Jan Rubín, malware researcher at Avast, also reports that malware embedded in extensions is “well hidden and extensions only start showing malicious behavior a few days after installation, which makes the discovery of difficult security software ”.

As it is, malicious extensions are still up for grabs on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge extension stores, but they have been reported and are under investigation by each respective company. If you have installed any of the extensions listed above, it is recommended that you simply uninstall the extensions until further instructions are given by Avast, Google, or Microsoft. Perhaps downloading browser extensions willy-nilly is not a good idea, as it can easily compromise your device.