Browsers such as Chrome , Firefox or Edge, over time have become key elements on any PC or even mobile device. They are the programs that give us access to the immense world of the Internet and that offer us so many functions and advantages as a general rule, something that increases if we install extensions.
Its developers, aware of the importance of their projects, do not stop improving and making them evolve. They do all of this largely thanks to the updates they release for their millions of users. But on many occasions, as in many other software sectors, these users we are referring to do not have enough. Thus, in the case of the web browsers that we are talking about in this case, we always have the possibility of adding extensions that increase their functionality.
These help many is a multitude of tasks, both related to the functionality, as with the appearance or security of the browsers. However, not everything is positive in this regard, since in many cases they consume many resources, while others collect information from users. That is why below we are going to talk about a series of well-known extensions in Chrome, Firefox or Edge , which you should uninstall as soon as possible.
Hello
Here we find an extension that works as a free VPN service. Thanks to this we have the possibility to easily access content blocked by region and avoid various restrictions. The problem is that this VPN is not the best option in this regard. And it is that back in 2015 it was discovered, after an attack, that Hola is essentially a gigantic botnet . That is, it is a network of computers controlled by a malicious entity. Thus, whoever controls it can use the computers on the network to distribute spam, carry out DDoS attacks , etc.
Hence it could be said that Hola is more of a P2P network, not a true VPN. If it were, it would encrypt your browsing traffic in a secure tunnel, but Hello, what it does is direct your browsing through the connections of other users from other regions. Hence, for security reasons, you should get rid of this extension .
Web of Trust
Also known as WOT this is a service based on crowdsourcing. This means that thanks to what the extension offers us, users can vote on their degree of trust in a website. Thus, all those who use the extension see a colored ring that allows them to know if it is safe or not, when entering. But WOT suffers from two major problems, on the one hand it was discovered that WOT collects a multitude of user data that it sells to third parties. In addition, sensitive data related to health is included here.
Over time it seems that these types of acts were eliminated, but the trust that you want to place in this proposal depends on each one.
AdBlock Plus
On the other hand we find this other ad blocking add- on that is one of the most popular in many places. However, its use can negatively affect the performance of your browser. The main reason for this is that it is very heavy and can slow down browsing, even more than the ads themselves. That is why it is not worth it at all to use this add-on that we are commenting on.
Extensions of your antivirus
Say that most free antivirus install an extension for your browser in addition to their desktop application. Many might think that these extensions keep us even more secure, but in reality they are mostly completely useless. And it is that from the outset the installed antivirus itself controls web traffic and downloads to avoid infections. That is why the extension does not protect us in a new way. Keep in mind that many of these extensions what they do is track our web movements even more, hence it is best to eliminate them.