Google has removed The Great Suspender Chrome extension while Microsoft did the same last year – Here are 3 of its top alternatives.
In the last couple of days, several Google Chrome browser-related incidents involving malicious extensions have been reported including abusing Chrome’s Sync feature to steal user data. Now, Google has removed its highly popular The Great Suspender extension.
Google Removed The Great Suspender
On Thursday, Google removed one of its popular Chrome extensions called The Great Suspender from the Chrome Web Store because it was infected with malware. Google also deactivated it from users’ computers which is something the company doesn’t do often.
The extension was downloaded over 2 million times before being deleted. Its purpose was to suspend unused tabs and replace them with a blank gray screen until reloaded.
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According to the notification released by Google, the extension contained malware. It could sneakily add new features in the browser to execute arbitrary code from a remote server and perform functions like carrying out ad fraud and tracking users online.
The extension was quite famous among users as it helped them avoid memory issues on Chrome browser as it is often blamed for RAM hogging.
Extension’s Sneaky Behavior Was Noticed in November
Microsoft blocked the extension’s v7.1.8 on the MS Edge browser great suspender chrome extension millions malware
