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Inter-University Media Study

Version 1.3 View in Chrome Web Store

Last scanned: about 11 hours ago

Extension Details

Rating: 5.0 ★ (4 ratings)

Users: 824

Context-Aware Verdict

HIGH

Overall Risk

Trust Factors: The extension has concerning trust indicators including a very small user base of only 824 users, minimal rating data with just 4 reviews, and no visible developer information or company details. The generic name "Inter-University Media Study" lacks specificity about its actual purpose or the institutions involved. The perfect 5.0 rating from such few reviews is not statistically meaningful.

Concerns: The extension requests highly invasive permissions that are disproportionate to what appears to be a research tool. The combination of history and webNavigation permissions allows comprehensive tracking of all browsing activity, while the storage permission enables local data retention. The extension only operates on Qualtrics survey pages, yet requires access to monitor all web navigation and browsing history. This permission scope far exceeds what would be necessary for a legitimate survey or research extension.

Recommendations: Do not install this extension due to the high privacy risks and questionable legitimacy. If you must use it for required academic research, create a dedicated Chrome profile with minimal browsing activity and disable it immediately after use. Contact the requesting institution to verify the extension's authenticity and necessity. Consider using alternative methods to participate in the study that don't require such invasive browser permissions. The risk-to-benefit ratio strongly favors avoiding this extension entirely.

Findings

HIGH

High-Risk Permission: history

This extension has the history permission. Can access your browsing history. This could potentially be used maliciously to compromise security or privacy.

HIGH

High-Risk Permission: webNavigation

This extension has the webNavigation permission. Can track your web navigation. This could potentially be used maliciously to compromise security or privacy.

MEDIUM

Medium-Risk Permission: storage

This extension has the storage permission. Can store data locally.

Raw Manifest

{
  "name": "Inter-University Media Study",
  "icons": {
    "16": "images/extension_icon-min-2.png",
    "32": "images/extension_icon-min.png",
    "48": "images/extension_icon-min.png",
    "128": "images/extension_icon.png"
  },
  "action": {
    "default_icon": {
      "16": "images/extension_icon-min-2.png",
      "48": "images/extension_icon-min.png",
      "128": "images/extension_icon.png"
    },
    "default_popup": "popup.html"
  },
  "version": "1.3",
  "background": {
    "service_worker": "background.js"
  },
  "update_url": "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx",
  "description": "Extension for sharing anonymized news browsing data for academic purposes",
  "permissions": [
    "history",
    "storage",
    "webNavigation",
    "https://socialtau.qualtrics.com/jfe/*/SV_*"
  ],
  "content_scripts": [
    {
      "js": [
        "contentScript.js"
      ],
      "matches": [
        "https://socialtau.qualtrics.com/jfe/*/SV_*"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "manifest_version": 3,
  "web_accessible_resources": [
    {
      "matches": [
        "<all_urls>"
      ],
      "resources": [
        "resources/allNewsDomains.txt",
        "externalScript.js"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

by ✦ Astarte

https://inter-university-media-study.org/plugin_was_uninstalled?userId=	https://inter-university-media-study.org/iums_plugin_deactivated
https://inter-university-media-study.org/deactivate_user	https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git
https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Getting-a-Git-Repository	https://inter-university-media-study.org
https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx	https://socialtau.qualtrics.com/jfe/

Inter-University Media Study

Extension Details

Context-Aware Verdict

Findings

Security Analysis Details

Required Permissions:

Embedded URLs (8 total):

Raw Manifest

Detections

Manifest Findings