Why have you added an extension to my Chrome Beta?

Denthemen
Denthemen Posts: 2 New Member
edited January 2022 in Web Browsing

If I enable the extension, how much of a security risk is the fact that it can read and change all the data on the websites I visit and can communicate with cooperating native applications? This has been applied without my consent.

Accepted Answer

  • Jaims
    Jaims Posts: 846 Former F-Secure Employee
    Answer ✓

    Hi @Denthemen

    To understand this permission, it’s important to know that Browsing Protection by F-Secure extension work by evaluating the safety of web sites you visit and prevents you from unintentionally accessing harmful web sites. 

    Browsing Protection function when enabled shows you safety ratings for web sites listed on search engine results. By identifying web sites that contain security threats, such as malware (viruses, worms, trojans) and phishing, browsing protection's safety ratings help you avoid the latest Internet threats that are not yet recognized by traditional antivirus programs.

    To do that, the extension needs to:

    1. See every page you open so that Browsing Protection can work on every page you visit. This also means that the extension knows the URL of every page you visit.
    2. See all the data on the page to find any security threats among the other content. 
    3. Change the data on the page by adding some HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code to the page to show you safety ratings for web sites listed on search engine results. 

    The safety ratings are based on information from several sources, such as F-Secure malware analysts and F-Secure partners. 

    Browsing Protection extension does not record your browsing history, capture any data you enter in any web forms, or change any data you submit on a web form. The extension is not enabled automatically and you can disable the notification if you do not want it.

    To turn off this notification, simply follow the below steps;

    • Open the F-Secure SAFE/Internet Security application
    • Click on More Details on the Action Required section to the right
    • Tick/check the "Don't Ask Again"
    • Click on Dismiss

    You can always review this by clicking on View All Tasks

    • View Dismissed Tasks (1)
    • Setup (if you wish to enable the browsing protection again)

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