Microsoft has removed 18 Edge browser extensions from the sting Add-ons portal after the extensions were caught injecting ads into users’ web search results pages.
The extensions ought to be removed between November 20 and November 25 after Microsoft received multiple complaints from users via Reddit.
In an investigation it was found that multiple abusive extensions that had been uploaded on Microsoft’s new fledgling Edge Add-ons portal.
According to a list shared by a Microsoft community manager, the 18 extensions can be grouped into two categories.
The first list contained extensions that tried to go on as the official apps, even if those apps didn’t have any official versions for Edge. This included:
- NordVPN
- Adguard VPN
- TunnelBear VPN
- Ublock Adblock Plus
- Greasemonkey
- Wayback Machine
The second list contained extensions that were the copies of authentic Chrome extensions, ported to Edge, then had malicious code inserted. This included:
- The Great Suspender
- Floating Player – Picture-in-Picture Mode
- Go Back With Backspace
- friGate CDN – smooth access to websites
- Full Page Screenshot
- One Click URL Shortener
- Guru Cleaner – cache and history cleaner
- Grammar and Spelling Checker
- Enable Right Click
- FNAF
- Night Shift Redux
- Old Layout for Facebook
If you were using any of those ad injecting extensions installed directly from the Microsoft Edge Addons store, we suggest removing them from edge://extensions, Microsoft stated last month.
The findings highlighted that even with a small user base, Edge has already a target or say interest of cybercrime groups that have been flooding the Chrome and Firefox extension stores with malicious add ons for the past decade.
As the browser continues to ascertain its usage numbers grow, these sorts of incidents are expected to become more common, as malware authors usually go where the users are.
