Malware

Google Chrome to block malicious policy-installed extensions

(Credit: MMollaretti – stock.adobe.com)

According to Bleeping Computer, Google is developing a new security feature for Chrome that will prevent policy-installed extensions from hijacking the New Tab page or altering the default search engine.

This new protection, currently in development and planned to be enabled by default, aims to combat malware abuse of Chrome's enterprise policy features on unmanaged consumer devices. Malicious programs have been exploiting these policies to force-install extensions that hijack search engines or New Tab pages, often displaying a misleading "Managed by your organization" message. The upcoming feature will block such attempts, canceling the installation and adding the extension ID to a blocked list to prevent future attempts.

Additionally, manually installed extensions will no longer be converted into locked, policy-controlled ones, and extensions on devices losing their management status will be automatically uninstalled. Legitimate administrators will have an option to disable this protection if necessary for specific enterprise extensions. This initiative addresses a significant security concern for everyday users whose devices are not managed by an organization.

Source: Bleeping Computer

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