Google got duped by a fake ad blocker, and 37,000 people accidentally downloaded adware
Some 37,000 people downloaded a spam version of the "AdBlock Plus" extension from Google after a fraudulent ad blocking extension snuck through Google Chrome's verification process and appeared in the Chrome Web Store yesterday.
It's easy to see why Google (and some 37,000 people) were tricked — the developer who packaged the adware into an extension used the name of an already popular and legitimate extension, AdBlock Plus.
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Additionally, the bogus page in the Chrome store came with reviews. In short, the fraudulent extension looked pretty realistic. Twitter user SwiftOnSecurity, who regularly tweets about web security, posted an image of the devious extension:
Google allows 37,000 Chrome users to be tricked with a fake extension by fraudulent developer who clones popular name and spams keywords. pic.twitter.com/ZtY5WpSgLt
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 9, 2017
Google eventually caught wind of the breach and removed the deceitful adware, but it remains unclear just how harmful the malware is for those who already downloaded the extension. At least one unfortunate user says they're being hit with ads. In a screenshot of a review, posted by SwiftOnSecurity, the user states that the "instant this was added to Chrome started getting invasive ads with high volume levels opening new tabs."
Though Google took down the adware, SwiftOnSecurity was unimpressed by Google's failure to stop this malware from sneaking through and ending up conspicuously displayed in the Chrome store in the first place:
Legitimate developers just have to sit back and watch as Google smears them with fake extensions that steal their good name pic.twitter.com/3Tnv4NtY9t
— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 9, 2017
The 37,000 infected users probably hope this public shaming further motivates Google to buffer the Chrome store's verification process. After all, malicious developers will only get more inventive if the problem isn't fixed.
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