Once we have seen how to install secure extensions, the question may arise as to what we can do to find out if the ones we already have installed are dangerous or not. This will help us to, as soon as possible, remove any add-ons that are a risk and may also affect the performance of the browser.
Check the origin
A very interesting method to see if that extension that we have installed and that we do not know if it is reliable or not, is to check its origin . We can easily see this. To do this we have to go to the menu, enter More tools and click on Extensions. In both Chrome and Firefox it is similar.
Once inside, it will show us the different add-ons that we have installed. We must open the one that interests us and, at the bottom, it will show us the origin. This will allow us to know if we have installed that extension from the official store or it has been by other means that could be a danger.
Check permissions
We can do something similar with the permissions of that extension . We have to follow the same procedure and, this time, look at the permissions that this add-on has requested. It may not require anything, but on other occasions you have been able to request access to certain information.
This is especially going to put our privacy at risk. If we install an extension that asks us for permission to read the browsing history, for example, it could be a danger. Not only if that plugin is insecure, but even a legitimate one that at any given time has some uncorrected vulnerability.
Find information for that extension
Of course, we will always have the option of looking for information about that complement on the Internet. We will only have to look up the full name and inform us if it really can be a danger or is it something legitimate that we can trust.
Normally we will find information from other users, ratings, etc. This will help us collect data in case we have questions about a specific extension.
Scan with an antivirus
On the other hand, an antivirus can also help us to know if an installed extension is safe or not. In case we have recently installed an add-on that raises questions, we can always use our antivirus and analyze to see if it detects something wrong.
These types of security programs are essential to prevent attacks, but also to analyze programs or files that we already have on our computer and that could be a threat.
Therefore, we can say that it is very important to install extensions safely. We have seen how it could affect us and what we can do in case of doubts. The objective is that our browser is not compromised at any time and that personal data is safe.
