Pirat_Nation 🔴(@Pirat_Nation):319 Chrome Extensions Caught Hijacking Searches, Affecting 13.4 Million Users Socketdev researchers uncovered 319 Chrome extensions redirecting users’ searches through servers controlled by their operators before sending them to Yahoo or Bing. The extensions were disguised as PDF converters, game search tools, manual finders and even AI assistants. >13.4 million users affected across the investigation. >264 newly discovered extensions accounted for 8.7 million users. >Activity dates back to 2016. >Operators earned money through search referral advertising programs. Some extensions needed no suspicious permissions or background scripts to hijack searches.

2026.11.02 09:01

319 Chrome Extensions Caught Hijacking Searches, Affecting 13.4 Million Users Socketdev researchers uncovered 319 Chrome extensions redirecting users’ searches through servers controlled by their operators before sending them to Yahoo or Bing. The extensions were disguised as PDF converters, game search tools, manual finders and even AI assistants. >13.4 million users affected across the investigation. >264 newly discovered extensions accounted for 8.7 million users. >Activity dates back to 2016. >Operators earned money through search referral advertising programs. Some extensions needed no suspicious permissions or background scripts to hijack searches.