Google Chrome ‘Internet Download Manager’ adware has 200,000 installs
Image courtesy:App Store- Apple
On Wednesday, the Google Chrome extension ‘Internet Download Manager’ that has been installed by more than 200,000 users is adware.
According to the earliest reviews posted by users, the extension has been sitting on the Chrome Web Store since at least June 2019.
Despite the fact that the extension may install a known and legitimate download manager program, BleepingComputer notices unwanted behavior exhibited by the extension—such as opening links to spammy sites, changing the default browser search engine, and further hounding the user with pop-ups asking them to download more “patches” and unwanted programs.
A concerned reader of BleepingComputer reached out to them on seeing a Chrome add-on “running malicious sites by impersonating famous software.”
According to Bleeping Computer, their concern seems valid. The ‘Internet Download Manager’ browser extension installed by more than 200,000 users to date doesn’t seem all that innocent.
There does exist a legitimate Windows program called Internet Download Manager, published by software company Tonec.
Tonec offers Internet Download Manager extensions for Firefox and Chrome. However, the authentic Chrome extension provided by the company is called the “IDM Integration Module”.
