Google promoted a malicious Chrome extension after Microsoft banned it — and it lasted for over a year

A vast majority of users depend on extensions to enhance their browsing, since the add-ons bring new features and more customization options to the experience.

Google recently disabled the popular Chrome extension “Save image as Type” and removed it from the Chrome Web Store. For millions of users who relied on it to save images in formats like PNG, JPG, or WebP, the move came as a rude shock. According to Android Authority, the extension was blocked after it was found to contain an add‑on with malware.

The issue seems more widespread as it has gained traction across social media. Perhaps more interestingly, Microsoft Edge scrapped the extension from its repository a little over a year ago because of the same issue with malware.

Other than indicating that the extension contains malware, which renders it unsafe, Google doesn't provide a clear picture of what this actually means.

However, according to sleuths who looked into the extension's code, it seems that it was swapping out affiliate codes for sites like Amazon and Best Buy to steal commissions from its users.

"I dumped the data the extension stored and found the sites it was accessing," indicated Redditor AdamConwayIE. "It was using karmanow with over 578 sites ready to go. It would load a site in that hidden iFrame with the affiliate code, and this would replace an existing one in your browser."

Any alternative of this Extension "Save image as Type" from r/chrome

But perhaps more concerningly, XDA reported that Google continued harbouring the extension in its Chrome web store for over one year, even after establishing that it contained malware.

It’s an unfortunate incident, but it doesn’t take away from how useful the tool was. I used the extension daily to download images from the web and save them in whichever format I needed.

Before it was disabled and removed from the Chrome web store, "Save image as Type" had garnered up to one million users, 1,700 reviews, and a 4.2 out of 5 star rating.

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