Security Verification in Web Browser Extensions

Abstract

Web Browser Extensions (which are often called add-ons or plugins) are code snippets which allow web developers to add functionalities to the web browser. Extensions can change the browsing experience of end users in different ways, such as by modifying user interfaces, providing utility services, and managing users’ important information in an efficient way. But the web browsers come with their own disadvantages. Some of the malicious things that a web browser can do are displaying unwanted ads, track the browsing, capturing passwords and private data. There is no option for a common user to get around these problems. For example, capturing the password is essential for some of the web browser to function. Many web browsers extension cannot work at all without the ability to transform the webpage. In this paper, we are going to compare various web browsers in terms of their extension security.