Detect when your installed Chrome extensions have changed owners (github.com)

Article summary

The article discusses a Chrome extension called Under New Management that detects when installed extensions have changed owners. This is a concern because extension developers often sell their extensions to new owners who may use them for malicious purposes. The extension checks the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Addons store for changes in developer information and alerts the user if anything is different. The goal is to give users notice of the change of ownership so they can make an informed decision about the software they're using.

Main themes

• extension ownership changes
• automatic updates
• security risks
• user control
• update transparency
• security fixes backporting

What commenters say

• Automatic updates can be a security risk if the new owner of an extension has malicious intentions.
• Some users prefer to have control over updates and do not want automatic updates enabled by default.
• Others argue that automatic updates are necessary for security and that users cannot be trusted to perform updates on their own.
• There is a need for a better system to distinguish between security updates and feature updates, so users can choose to only install security updates.
• The current system of automatic updates can lead to users being forced to accept unwanted changes or features.
• Some users feel that they should have the option to turn off automatic updates and be notified of updates instead.
• The lack of transparency in update notifications makes it difficult for users to know when to take security updates seriously.
• There is a concern that security fixes may not be backported to older branches, leaving users vulnerable to security issues.