319 Chrome extensions secretly rerouted people's searches
Researchers at Socket found 319 Chrome extensions, installed 13.4 million times, that changed the default search engine and sent searches through their own servers.
What it means for you
If your searches suddenly open on an unfamiliar site or a different search engine, an extension may be behind it.
What to do
In Chrome, open the three-dot menu, then Extensions, then Manage Extensions, and remove anything you don't know or don't use. Don't install extensions from ads or other websites.
The details
The operators earned ad money from the searches and could send them anywhere, including phishing pages. Most of the extensions have been pulled; many were unlisted on the Chrome Web Store and pushed through ads. One named example is Predator Search.
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