In an effort to protect users from "malicious" extensions , Google will no longer allow the download and installation of any extensions on the Chrome browser beyond those available in the Chrome Web Store.
Only those with the “beta” and “stable” versions of Chrome for Windows will be affected by the change, as both “developer” and “enterprise” users will continue to be able to perform local extension installs.
Google's policy change on extensions comes as there have been many complaints from users that extensions they used were hiding malicious software that silently made changes without the user's consent, such as, for example, replacing the start page on a new tab.
By forcing users to install extensions only through the Chrome Store, Google can better control so that similar problems don't arise again.
Source: digitallife.gr
