Security researchers uncovered a long-running malicious campaign hiding inside free VPN and ad-blocking Chrome extensions that promised privacy but instead enabled full browser-level surveillance. Over six years, these extensions accumulated more than nine million installs, repeatedly reappearing on the Chrome Web Store even after takedowns. The extensions posed as legitimate, polished products while secretly redirecting traffic, collecting browsing data, disabling security tools, and routing all activity through attacker-controlled servers. The infection begins with the installation of a “Free Unlimited VPN” style extension that immediately fetches remote configuration files, installs a malicious PAC script, and gains control over all browser traffic. Older versions used aggressive techniques such as overriding core JavaScript functions, intercepting every navigation event, updating DNR rules in real time, and tampering with browser history to hide redirects. The extensions also maintained persistence by injecting keepalive scripts, remotely uninstalling themselves to evade analysis, and repeatedly fetching dynamic code updates that modified behavior long after installation. Newer variants became even stealthier. They delayed proxy activation to bypass sandbox analysis, moved core routing logic into runtime-downloaded scripts, and dynamically executed remote code. They also scanned for and disabled competing proxy or security extensions, exfiltrated installed extension lists, and uploaded hashed versions of visited URLs for profiling. By controlling proxy settings and navigation events, the attackers could redirect victims to phishing pages, inject content, or silently monitor browsing sessions. The remote-controlled configuration allowed operators to shift tactics without requiring an extension update. This campaign demonstrates how browser extensions with broad permissions can become long-term surveillance tools. Users should immediately uninstall suspicious VPN or ad-blocking extensions, clear cookies, rotate passwords, and run anti-malware scans. Organizations should block related C2 domains, review telemetry for unauthorized PAC changes, revoke sensitive sessions, and instruct affected users to reset or reinstall browser profiles.
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