I've added a lot of Chrome extensions to my browser over the years Today is a good time to take stock of what I've added to Google's web browser That's because Facebook is suing two companies that it believes are malicious browser extensions that mine user data without approval

According to ZDnet, the lawsuit was filed yesterday (October 2) by BrandTotal Ltd (headquartered in Israel) and Unimania Inc (headquartered in Delaware) regarding the extensions UpVoice and Ads Feed, respectively However, both extensions have been removed from the Chrome Web Store, so these links are no longer functional

Once installed in a browser, the lawsuit claims, the extensions scrape (silently collect in the background) data from Facebook and Instagram profiles and also collect information from Amazon, Twitter, and YouTube accounts The lawsuit alleges

Details of the specific data stolen have not been disclosed However, this information often includes profile user data such as name, user ID (often an email address), date of birth, gender, and location

How did they break into these laptops? According to Facebook, they were provided free of charge

Specifically, UpVoice said that in exchange for installing the extension while browsing Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Twitter, users would receive gift cards to stores like Nike, AMC, Visa, and Walmart promised

Ads Feed told users that they would join "panel members of an elite community group that influences the advertising decisions of multi-billion dollar companies"

But being kicked out doesn't mean you can't move on The extensions UpVoice (installed by over 5,000 users) and Ads Feed (installed by over 10,000 users) may still be installed in your browser

First, those using newer versions of Chrome, Brave, Opera, Microsoft Edge, and other browsers based on the Chromium framework should check to see if any extensions are installed

Recently, the following extensions have been installed

I need to tell you not to assume you know what is on your system, as I recently went through my father's laptop and saw a frightening number of extensions that he did not realize were there

UpVoice and Ads Feed may have found their way into your browser without your knowledge 21]

In Chrome, click on the puzzle piece icon on the far right side of the browser's menu bar and click on Manage Extensions Click Remove under the offending extension

In Brave, click Menu > Miscellaneous > Tools > Extensions, then click Remove next to the extension

In Opera, click Menu > Extensions > Extensions You will then see an X near the extension in the upper right corner, click on it to uninstall it 27]

In Chromium-based Edge, select Settings and More, then click Extensions Then click "Remove" under Bad Extensions