Very few things available online are truly free of cost. If you don’t pay with cash, chances are you are paying with your personal information or other data. The Chrome web store is filled with free extensions that users install on their browsers to enhance their online experience. However, more and more of these extensions are being discovered and removed from the store due to their malicious intent. In February, 500 Chrome extensions that were found to be stealing millions of users’ private data were removed from the web store. Similarly, on June 18th, nearly 80 Chrome extensions were found to be stealing users’ login credentials and passwords by capturing screenshots. With 33 million downloads, these browser extensions have impacted financial services, healthcare, and government organizations.
Why should you manage Chrome extensions?
With more than half of all information workers and almost one-third of the entire labor force in the United States working remotely, many workers rely on a single computer for both their personal and business requirements. This brings the extensions installed for personal purposes in contact with business data, thereby exposing sensitive information to cybercriminals. Extensions have become an attack surface that are being exploited to target organizations. While devising an endpoint security strategy, IT admins need to include ways to prevent extensions from being used to steal sensitive enterprise data.
Here’s what IT admins can do to fortify their network against the increasingly rampant number of spyware attacks:
- Keep track of extensions being used in the network.
- Maintain a list of trusted extensions that can be used by workers.
- Remove extensions that could lead to a security breach.
Browser Security Plus for add-on management
These objectives can be accomplished using ManageEngine Browser Security Plus. With its add-on management features, IT admins can manage Chrome extensions effectively:
- All Chrome extensions present in the network can be tracked.
- Extensions that could be potentially harmful can be identified.
- Extensions that are not required can be removed from the network.
- Users can be restricted from installing extensions.
- Mission critical extensions can be pushed to users’ browsers silently.
- Installation of extensions can be restricted based on permissions.
To manage Chrome extensions and secure your network from data breaches, download a free, 30-day trial of Browser Security Plus. You can also check out its other features like web filter, web activity tracking, and configurations management for Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Firefox browsers, all from one console.
If you are a Desktop Central user, you can easily install the Browser Security add-on to try out these features. Comprehensive endpoint security for browsers starts with Desktop Central’s integration with Browser Security Plus.
** Optrics Inc. is an Authorized ManageEngine partner
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