You might have a dangerous browser extension monitoring your browser history and not even know it.
As the good folks at Lifehacker reported, cybersecurity researchers with LayerX identified 17 malicious browser extensions across Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, with some active for up to five years. (Disclosure: Lifehacker is owned by Ziff Davis, the same parent company as Mashable.) These malware-infected browser extensions are part of the GhostPoster campaign, first identified in December by Koi Security.
The Koi Security researchers originally identified 17 malicious browser add-ons, for a total of 34 dangerous extensions. The extensions are no longer available, but if you’ve already downloaded them, they remain active and must be manually deleted as soon as possible.
As Koi Security found, the extensions hide “a multi-stage malware payload that monitors everything you browse, strips away your browser’s security protections, and opens a backdoor for remote code execution.” LaxerX further reports that the malware can weaken websites’ security measures, hijack affiliate traffic, inject iframes and scripts that track users, and inject malicious scripts onto a user’s device.
Here’s the full list of extensions, via LayerX and Lifehacker:
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Google Translate in Right Click
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Translate Selected Text with Google
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Ads Block Ultimate
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Floating Player – PiP Mode
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Convert Everything
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Youtube Download
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One Key Translate
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AdBlocker
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Save Image to Pinterest on Right Click
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Instagram Downloader
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RSS Feed
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Cool Cursor
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Full Page Screenshot
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Amazon Price History
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Color Enhancer
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Translate Selected Text with Right Click
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Page Screenshot Clipper
Some of these were quite popular extensions. Google Translate in Right Click, for instance, had more than half a million installs, according to LayerX researchers.
The malware in the extensions is known as GhostPoster, which hides malicious code in the extension’s PNG logo. The researchers say the malware campaign relied on sophisticated methods that let it evade detection for years. So if you’ve downloaded any of these extensions, it’s best to delete them right away.
