More Google Chrome extensions hiding viruses have been discovered, and you should remove them now.
To prevent exposing themselves to security risks, Google Chrome users should look for new extensions that have been labeled as dangerous. The situation is complicated because these extensions have been installed more than 6 million times overall.
We informed you a few days ago that dozens of Chrome extensions were concealing malicious code, according to a security expert from Secure Annex. This case gained a lot of international attention and spread swiftly. After finding even more hidden extensions that we should remove from our browsers as soon as possible, the same expert has now updated the list.
It is definitely not good news that the list is getting longer. Since the first 35 add-ons were found, there have been 57 more, increasing the total number of installations to 6 million. In every instance, these are add-ons that contain malicious code and put you at risk of being remotely monitored, having your cookies stolen, or even having your computer taken over by hackers. Actually, one of the main dangers is that these add-ons give hackers the ability to remotely run code, which is something we should avoid.
The good news is that Google took notice of the situation and started cleaning up the Chrome Web Store after the warning was posted. Regretfully, these extensions could only be found within the Chrome Web Store. Luckily, they do not show up when you search inside the store, but that does not mean they can not be found there. This implies that hackers might, for instance, provide them on their own forums or websites. As we previously stated, Google is already eliminating these hidden extensions. The following image displays the names of these extensions:
UPDATE: 22 more malicious HIDDEN extensions with over 1.5 million users found As a result of my research last week, Obsidian Security reached out after finding more extensions matching the behaviors. We're now tracking 57 extensions used by almost 6 million users. pic.twitter.com/CuGapuGbLX
— tuckner (@tuckner) April 16, 2025
Currently, not all of them have been removed, and it's unknown when they might be completely eliminated. Furthermore, the possibility of more infected add-ons cannot be ruled out. In the image above, posted by John Tuckner at X, you can see the newly discovered infected add-ons that you should be wary of and delete.