I noticed this a week ago. Ended up building my own that has all the features I love from using several over the years.
JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
21–30 of 146 posts
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#22Noticed a suspicious element called give-freely-root-bcjindcccaagfpapjjmafapmmgkkhgoa in the chrome inspector today. Turns out about a month ago, the popular open source [JSON Formatter chrome extension]( https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/json-formatter/bcji... ) went closed source and started injecting adware into checkout pages. Also seems to be doing some geolocation tracking. I didn't see this come up on h…
> I feel like browser extension marketplaces are a failed experiment. People rightly criticize all of the problems around vendor-lock-in and rent-seeking with platform app stores, but this is a good example that they do indeed provide some value in terms of filtering out malware. The degree to which they are successful at that and add enough value to overcome the downsides is an open question. But it's clear that in…
> People rightly criticize all of the problems around vendor-lock-in and rent-seeking with platform app stores, but this is a good example that they do indeed provide some value in terms of filtering out malware.
But browser extension marketplaces aren't a free-for-all; they're exactly like the platform app stores in all the bad ways.
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#23Noticed a suspicious element called give-freely-root-bcjindcccaagfpapjjmafapmmgkkhgoa in the chrome inspector today. Turns out about a month ago, the popular open source [JSON Formatter chrome extension]( https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/json-formatter/bcji... ) went closed source and started injecting adware into checkout pages. Also seems to be doing some geolocation tracking. I didn't see this come up on h…
How did you "notice" a suspicious element in the inspector? Do you routinely look at the DOM?
> Do you routinely look at the DOM?
You don't?
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#24[dead]
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#25WebExtension permissions are fucking broken if the set of permissions necessary to reformat and style JSON snippets is sufficient to inject network-capable Javascript code into any page. If basically any worthwhile extension can be silently updated to inject tags anywhere, then it's time to call this a failed experiment and move on. Bake UBlock and password-management APIs into the browser. Stop the madness.
Been researching extensions for a while now at the day job and I'm preparing some disclosures to the major browser vendors.
The amount of absolute clusterfuckery in browser extensions is endless. One of the biggest issues is with how extensions define their permissions and capabilities in their manfiest.json files. I've reviewed thousands of these now, and probably only 5-10% of extensions actually get it right. There are just so many confusing and overlapping permissions, capabilities, etc.
It is a failed experiment, but I don't think Google can just shut it off, because of their market dominance. They'd be disconnecting some of their competitors from their users. They need to move to an updated manifest spec that is (more) secure by default, has fewer footguns, etc.
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#26Is it me or is this happening more and more frequently?
Maybe but it's always been a problem. I've been receiving offers to monetize or sell my extension for over a decade.
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#27Noticed a suspicious element called give-freely-root-bcjindcccaagfpapjjmafapmmgkkhgoa in the chrome inspector today. Turns out about a month ago, the popular open source [JSON Formatter chrome extension]( https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/json-formatter/bcji... ) went closed source and started injecting adware into checkout pages. Also seems to be doing some geolocation tracking. I didn't see this come up on h…
How did you "notice" a suspicious element in the inspector? Do you routinely look at the DOM?
I do. Then again, I’m a web developer so looking at the DOM is my day job.
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#28Guy talks about switching to the "Classic" version if > you just want a simple, open source, local-only JSON-formatting extension that won't receive updates. Wow that sounds like a tough choice. JSON formatting is moving at such a fast pase that I don't know if I should pay a JSON formatting SaaS a monthly subscription, or if I really can live without updates.
Big-JSON is coming for us
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#29Noticed a suspicious element called give-freely-root-bcjindcccaagfpapjjmafapmmgkkhgoa in the chrome inspector today. Turns out about a month ago, the popular open source [JSON Formatter chrome extension]( https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/json-formatter/bcji... ) went closed source and started injecting adware into checkout pages. Also seems to be doing some geolocation tracking. I didn't see this come up on h…
It's OK to inject ads, but not OK to remove them, under Google's current policies.
Re: JSON formatter Chrome plugin now closed and injecting adware
#30Noticed a suspicious element called give-freely-root-bcjindcccaagfpapjjmafapmmgkkhgoa in the chrome inspector today. Turns out about a month ago, the popular open source [JSON Formatter chrome extension]( https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/json-formatter/bcji... ) went closed source and started injecting adware into checkout pages. Also seems to be doing some geolocation tracking. I didn't see this come up on h…
> I feel like browser extension marketplaces are a failed experiment. People rightly criticize all of the problems around vendor-lock-in and rent-seeking with platform app stores, but this is a good example that they do indeed provide some value in terms of filtering out malware. The degree to which they are successful at that and add enough value to overcome the downsides is an open question. But it's clear that in…
Whatever value they provide is completely and totally irrelevant compared to giving Microsoft, Google, and Apple the unilateral discretion to end any software developer's career, or any software development business, by locking them out of deploying software with no recourse. Nobody has a problem with optional value-add stores, but all three have or are moving towards having complete control of software distribution on the hardware platforms used by billions of people.