Particle for Youtube now functions like adware after being sold to a new developer
by Linas Kiguolis | July 14, 2017
Users who have Particle For YouTube extension installed on their browsers should consider removing it as soon as possible. The original developer of the extension sold the extension to a new developer, which turns out to be a collector of abandoned Chrome extensions.
The compromised extension, which was formerly called YouTube+, has been transformed into adware that injects ads on websites the user visits. Besides, the new developer added two new permissions for this extension:
Read and change data on the websites the user visits;
Manage user’s apps, extensions, and themes.
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As soon as the extension was sold, the new developer adjusted extension’s code. The source code of Particle now contains a folder called algoad, which is responsible for injecting ads in popular websites. Users of this extension are forced to receive ads when visiting sites such as Booking.com, eBay, Yahoo, Bing, Google, or YouTube.
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What is interesting is that the extension is now owned by someone whose username is roberthawkingsg. This username is linked to two other Chrome extensions that function very similarly to Particle – Twitch Mini Player and TypeWriter Sounds.
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Update. On July 14th, the Particle For Youtube extension was taken down off the Google Chrome store. It is not surprising, considering how many users expressed complaints about the extension’s new permissions and ads that it served. Therefore, it seems that the case is closed and we won’t see any more activity of this extension anytime soon.
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