I found your data. It’s for sale.

[Peter1469]

I found your data. It’s for sale.

Washington Post's Tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler investigated browser extensions and privacy. Or rather the lack of it. Interesting read.

I have several browsers installed. I do use a browser extension on Edge that looks for coupons for items I am considering purchasing, such as on Amazon. I have gotten some really good savings with it. But I only use Edge for that, email, and Facebook. I use other browsers for the rest.

I’ve watched you check in for a flight and seen your doctor refilling a prescription.

I’ve peeked inside corporate networks at reports on faulty rockets. If I wanted, I could’ve even opened a tax return you only shared with your accountant.


I found your data because it’s for sale online. Even more terrifying: It’s happening because of software you probably installed yourself.


My latest investigation into the secret life of our data is not a fire drill. Working with an independent security researcher, I found as many as 4 million people have been leaking personal and corporate secrets through Chrome and Firefox. Even a colleague in The Washington Post’s newsroom got caught up. When we told browser makers Google and Mozilla, they shut these leaks immediately — but we probably identified only a fraction of the problem.


The root of this privacy train wreck is browser extensions. Also known as add-ons and plug-ins, they’re little programs used by nearly half of all desktop Web surfers to make browsing better, such as finding coupons or remembering passwords. People install them assuming that any software offered in a store run by Chrome or Firefox has got to be legit.


Not. At. All. Some extensions have a side hustle in spying. From a privileged perch in your browser, they pass information about where you surf and what you view into a murky data economy. Think about everything you do in your browser at work and home — it’s a digital proxy for your brain. Now imagine those clicks beaming out of your computer to be harvested for marketers, data brokers or hackers.

[MMC]

I found your data. It’s for sale.....


Lets send this to every Democrat.....and sit back watch them connipt then hit panic mode.

[DGUtley]

Ok. So, how do you stop it all?

[Peter1469]

Ok. So, how do you stop it all?

Don't use extensions that could be problematic.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Don't use extensions that could be problematic.

I am not on Twitter or Facebook. I got off both. Was using twitter for a while but left because is it just leftist crap. I dont use the automatic settings on Amazon and am trying to use it less and less anyway.

As far a browsers go I am using Duck Duck Go.. a lesser known browser and I never accept cookies, or add on's. I would love to get the family off Netflix but they wont have it..

Dont have or never will have an Alexa in my house. That things is evil..

So that is a little better, I know they can still get to you.. but I try to win little battles..

You lose some conviences and functionally, but that is a small price to pay

[Peter1469]

I am not on Twitter or Facebook. I got off both. Was using twitter for a while but left because is it just leftist crap. I dont use the automatic settings on Amazon and am trying to use it less and less anyway.

As far a browsers go I am using Duck Duck Go.. a lesser known browser and I never accept cookies, or add on's. I would love to get the family off Netflix but they wont have it..

Dont have or never will have an Alexa in my house. That things is evil..

So that is a little better, I know they can still get to you.. but I try to win little battles..

You lose some conviences and functionally, but that is a small price to pay

Right. Nothing is free. You pay cash or with something else of value. Your data.

[stjames1_53]

I found your data. It’s for sale.....


Lets send this to every Democrat.....and sit back watch them connipt then hit panic mode.

Hell, man................they are already using it...................

[Captain Obvious]

The average drooling idiot readily and willingly gives up their privacy and liberties now anyway so...

[Captdon]

There is very little privacy left. I would't be surprised if no one had information that is private.

[Peter1469]

Lifehacker: Uninstall These Eight Browser Extensions That Stole Data from Millions

A massive data leak was recently discovered by cybersecurity researcher Sam Jidali, revealing private information for 45 major companies and millions of individuals. Dubbed “DataSpii” by Jidali and his team, the leak was perpetrated by innocent-looking Chrome and Firefox browser extensions that collected and distributed users’ browsing data—URLs that revealed private information about users and a long list of companies, including Apple, Walmart, Amazon, 23AndMe, SpaceX, Skype, and many more. (The full list is included in Jidali’s report.)

The eight extensions used to carry out the leak are:

• Branded Surveys (Chrome)
• FairShare Unlock (Chrome and Firefox)
• HoverZoom (Chrome)
• Panel Community Surveys (Chrome)
• PanelMeasurement (Chrome
• SaveFrom.net Helper (Firefox)
• SpeakIt! (Chrome)
• SuperZoom (Chrome and Firefox)

Jidali reported the tracking activity to Chrome and Mozilla, who responded by remotely disabling the add-ons and removing them from their marketplaces. However, Jidali continued to monitor the activity of these now-disabled browser add-ons, only to find that they were still tracking user data even though their main functionality was disabled.



In other words, uninstall any of the extensions listed above if you’re using any of them. While some of these extensions had fewer than 10 users, at least two had over a million, and the rest had tens-to-hundreds of thousands of users.