Snoopware is not fashionware from Snoop Dog. It’s software that snoops on your web browsing.

Researchers recently discovered snooping wares that affect Android and iOS users, as well as people who have installed Google Chrome and Firefox extensions. So yeah, everybody.

The good news is that only 11 million people have been snooped so far. The bad news is the hackers can see every single website users have visited – ever. That’s enough to make even Snoop Dog change his habits.

Big Star Labs

AdGuard Research discovered the spyware while looking into Chrome extensions. The problem was bigger than they anticipated.

“This time, we discovered multiple browser extensions and mobile apps invisibly collecting users’ browsing history, with a total user count of over 11,000,000,” wrote Andrey Meshkov in a blog post.

The post identified the problem with a dozen extensions and apps, including Block Site for Android, Chrome and Firefox. The offending programs, apparently acquired by Big Star Labs, were not available on Play, the Chrome Web Store, or Apple’s App Store.

According to reports, however, researchers have found a variety of apps and extensions that have been stealing login credentials, injecting malicious ads and pushing surveillance over the past year.

Not So Stylish

Earlier this month, they found Stylish – a Chrome, Firefox, and Opera extension with more than 2 million downloads – also tracked every site users visited.

“People should think long and hard before installing them and then only after researching the developers listed in the privacy policies,” Dan Goodin advised on Ars Technica.

Related Resources:

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