“Netflix Party” and “Netflix Party 2,” for example, allow you to watch Netflix content together, but have nothing to do with the streaming provider. “Full Page Screenshot Capture” does what the name suggests: screenshots of an entire page. And “Flipshope – Price Tracker Extension” is about coupons.
Now, in a blog post, McAfee against exactly these Chrome extensions, as well as “AutoBuy Flash Sales”.

In total, these extensions were downloaded almost 1.4 million times.

Browser activity under observation

The extensions do exactly what you downloaded them to do. But there's much more: In addition to their actual function, they also track user behavior. However, as a user you do not receive any information about where the data goes and what happens to it.

The purpose behind this is that the fraudsters want to get affiliate payments. And this applies to all items that users bought. This is possible by attaching their codes to the e-commerce sites they visit and the cash register rings.

What's particularly tricky is that some of the extensions only carry out their actual task after 15 days. In this way, you avoid identifying automated analysis environments. So before they start their actual task, they check whether 15 days have passed since the installation.

Be sure to remove extensions

The two Netflix extensions have already been removed from the Chrome Web Store. However, the other add-ons can still be found in the store.
McAfee recommends that you stop using the extensions and uninstall them immediately. The activities pose a privacy risk.

Source: McAfee , winfuture , t3n

You might also be interested in: PayPal phishing: payment to Netflix


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )