Solved uBlocker as malware

[csevcik]

Does any one knows why a message clamin uBlocker contains malware appeared near my version of this extension in Vivaldi? !

[Pathduck]

@csevcik Probably because it is. Did you install this through the Chrome Store? There is no version number or description, nor an id.

Remove it and install from the official store page:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublocker-ad-block-tool-fo/lmiknjkanfacinilblfjegkpajpcpjce

Or go with better, more widely used and open-source blockers like uBlock Origin or Adblock Plus.

[nomadic]

@csevcik Just being curious, why did you decide on uBlocker as opposed to uBlock Origin? I have never heard of uBlocker and uBlock Origin has a good reputation/ can be pretty powerful.

[Catweazle]

Precisely for the good reputation of uBlock Origin there are multiple imitators with a similar name that at best are useless and at worst are evil or spyware.
UBlock Origin is OpenSource and the problem is that therefore the name and logo do not have real protection against imitators.
Chrome Store is not a very efficient protection against this type of imitators and many times it is only removed from the Store after a user complaint.
There is only one way to be safe against malware extensions in the Chrome Store and that is to look in the description if the website is indicated and to see where the link leads, if it is to github or at least to a known author or company, it is usually be sure. If there is no specification of an official website in the description, look for another extension that has it, since then it is not to be trusted.

Always be careful with unknown extensions in the Chrome Store

[csevcik]

@Pathduck Thanks,The version I was using was uing was installed from the Google repositories used by Vivaldi (in the extensions menu entry).

[Pathduck]

@csevcik OK. I assume this was some time ago? Google have done a major cleanup of the Chrome Store, cleaning up bad extensions and those who tried to trick users into thinking they were another extension with a very similar name. I suspect this "uBlocker" was one of those.

But it's still important to use caution when installing extensions

[Catweazle]

@Pathduck, ....or directly use github as a repository. The ideal would be to have our own repository or even better, that Vivaldi extends its functionality so much that it does not need extensions. The Chrome Store has already shown on other occasions that it is not a very trustworthy source.
But this is just my opinion, no case

[csevcik]

@nomadic said in uBlocker as malware:

uBlock Origin
It was the one I found when installing Vivaldi. In was in the extensions library (Google library?) I was directed to by default by Vivaldi. I was a user of Opera before. In fact uBlocker was working well until the it was deactivated (by Vivaldi?) and the warning appeared exactly as the screen shot I posted.

[Crimsonshade]

Vivaldi uses the same extensions as Google Chrome (though not all are compatible with Vivaldi due to the many ways Vivaldi modifies and deviates from standard Chrome), and uses the same Web Store. It is common knowledge that the Google Chrome Web Store includes numerous fake extensions despite Google's best efforts to identify and remove them; and user caution is advised before installing any of them.

Extensions that provide security or Ad Blocking services are some of the most common targets for fakery. A key tactic used by developers of fake tools is to trade off the reputation of genuine, real add-ons by using names, logos and imagery that closely replicate or are similar in style to the official products, but differ ever so slightly in order to avoid detection. uBlocker is one such example - uBlock and uBlock Origin are real products, but uBlocker is a fake. Another Example is AdBlock Origin - this is a fake extension stealing from the names of two real ones, namely uBlock Origin and AdBlock Plus.

[Catweazle]

@Crimsonshade , the same thing happens in Google Play (I remember the Vivaldi fake). Google obviously does not care much about checking the apps it includes, so you should always be careful when using this source.

[csevcik]

@Catweazle I started using UBBlock Origin downloaded as suggested above. There is an obvious difference with the version of uBlocker that started this thread. While using uBlocker I kept getting messages from sites telling me to remove my blocker from blocking their adds. That sounded odd, and ideal blocker shooed block adds silently, dumping the to some null device without telling anything to the add source. Ublock Origin seems to be doing just that. Perhaps the the other blocker was sending some information to Google (most common sender of the adds I got). I'll stick with Ublock Origin.

[Komposten]

@csevcik It is not the ad provider that shows the "Please disable your ad blocker" messages. You see, a good ad blocker doesn't just prevent the web page from loading ads, it also removes the ad elements/positions from the page so that you don't see empty boxes where the ads should have been. This means that the website itself can check if the ad positions have been removed, and display a "Please disable your ad blocker" message. Many, many websites do this these days.

I believe UBlock Origin removes these "Please disable your ad blocker" messages, so you don't see them. The uBlocker you used first probably only removed the ads but not these messages.

[csevcik]

Well Komposten, for whatever reason I don't see them, that makes me happy :-).