Cybersecurity researchers from Palo Alto have discovered that a malware in the name of ChromeLoader is doing rounds on the internet and is being targeting multiple browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and such
Surprisingly, the malware is in circulation since May 2022, but was discovered recently in research conducted for new adware by Palo Alto.
Adware is nothing but a malicious application that once downloaded hits the user with digital advertisements as soon as they browse websites on any browser. It not only displays annoying ads as banners or pop-ups, but has the potential to black out the screen with the banner and freeze it on a temporary or permanent note.
However, because of evolution in the world of browser development, such malware hits have been neutralized to a large extent. For instance, Firefox blocks all such pop-up ads and downloaders by default and notifies the user about its development.
Palo Alto has dubbed ChromeLoader as pervasive as it directs its users towards promotional sites and has a tendency to steal credentials, alter browser settings and, sometimes, leak the stolen data to public sites.
Its modus operandi is simple, an extension installs a listener which blocks all outgoing requests and crosschecks it with the browser says Yahoo, Microsoft Edge and such. And it is during this cross-checking process it sniffs the information and sends the user data to command-and-control servers located remotely.
NOTE- The user data sniffed by such adware includes the location of the user, his/her ISP details, their IP address, and sometimes in rare cases any contact details that are the user spills on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook.
