A recent investigation conducted by AdGuard, an ad-blocking application, revealed a commonality among several extensions for the Chrome and Firefox browsers, as well as Android and iOS applications, which appear to collect critical personal information from users through various tactics.
The common element between these extensions and applications is a company called Big Star Labs, which is also the creator of the extensions.
AdGuard estimates that the extensions and apps have been installed more than 11 million times in total. The list of apps can be found at the end of the article.
According to AdGuard, the extensions collected each user's complete history without removing sensitive information from the addresses, which easily betrayed the user (such as the names contained in the addresses they visited).
In one case, an ad-block addon had a complete record of all pages the user visited, even those without ads.
Big Star Labs made a remarkable effort to hide its tracks. Where its name was mentioned, it was not as text, but as an image. This way, search engines like Google or Bing could not find its name, so they did not display it as a result in their searches. Furthermore, in addition to the company name, the terms of use of each service were also posted as an image, probably to avoid being indexed by Google. In addition, the name of the owner of the company's domain name is hidden.
The apps have some similarities with malicious apps. For example, iOS apps ask the user to install a new MDM (Mobile Device Management) profile, which allows full management of the device.
Finally, Apple and Google have been notified and are investigating the issue. Some of the apps have already been removed.
Here is the list of applications:
Chrome extensions:
Block Site (also available as a Firefox add-on)
Poper Blocker (also available as a Firefox add-on)
CrxMouse
Android apps:
Speed BOOSTER
Battery Saver
AppLock | Privacy Protector
Clean Droid
Block Site
Mobile health club apps
iOS apps:
Adblock Prime
