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Earth 3D

Version 1.0 View in Chrome Web Store

Last scanned: about 2 hours ago

Extension Details

Rating: 1.0 ★ (2 ratings)

Users: 40,000

Context-Aware Verdict

HIGH

Overall Risk

Trust Factors: The extension has concerning trust indicators with only 40,000 users and an extremely low rating of 1.0 from just 2 reviews, suggesting poor user experience or potential issues. The lack of developer information and missing last updated date raises additional transparency concerns. The generic name "Earth 3D" provides little insight into the extension's actual functionality.

Concerns: The extension requests cookies permission which is unnecessary for a typical Earth visualization tool and poses significant privacy risks by allowing access to authentication tokens and session data across websites. The broad host permissions to earth3d.net combined with storage access creates potential for data collection and tracking. The permission set appears excessive for what should be a simple 3D Earth viewer, suggesting possible hidden functionality or poor security practices.

Recommendations: Given the high risk level and poor user ratings, consider avoiding this extension entirely. If you must use it, run it in a separate Chrome profile to isolate potential security risks from your main browsing session. Monitor your browser's cookie settings and consider clearing cookies after use. Look for alternative Earth visualization extensions from more reputable developers with better ratings and more transparent permission requests. The combination of suspicious permissions and poor user feedback strongly suggests finding a safer alternative.

Findings

HIGH

Broad Host Permissions

This extension has broad host permissions allowing it to access many or all websites. This could potentially be used to steal sensitive data or track browsing activity.

HIGH

High-Risk Permission: cookies

This extension has the cookies permission. Can access and modify browser cookies. 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": "Earth 3D",
  "icons": {
    "128": "public/image/earth-icon.png"
  },
  "action": {
    "default_popup": "earth-popup.html"
  },
  "omnibox": {
    "keyword": "search"
  },
  "version": "1.0",
  "background": {
    "service_worker": "scripts/background.js"
  },
  "short_name": "Earth 3D",
  "update_url": "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx",
  "description": "Instantly view stunning 3D satellite imagery of any location on Earth, directly from your browser's search bar.",
  "permissions": [
    "storage",
    "cookies"
  ],
  "host_permissions": [
    "*://earth3d.net/*"
  ],
  "manifest_version": 3,
  "web_accessible_resources": [
    {
      "matches": [
        "<all_urls>"
      ],
      "resources": [
        "*.json"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "chrome_settings_overrides": {
    "search_provider": {
      "name": "Online",
      "keyword": "Earth3D",
      "encoding": "UTF-8",
      "is_default": true,
      "search_url": "https://earth3d.net/admin/public/link?q={searchTerms}",
      "favicon_url": "https://earth3d.net/admin/public/favicon.ico",
      "suggest_url": "https://earth3d.net/admin/public/autosuggest?searchTerm={searchTerms}"
    }
  }
}

by ✦ Astarte

Earth 3D

Extension Details

Context-Aware Verdict

Findings

Security Analysis Details

Required Permissions:

Host Permissions:

Embedded URLs (6 total):

Raw Manifest

Detections

Manifest Findings

https://earth3d.net/privacy.html	https://earth3d.net/terms.html
https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx	https://earth3d.net/admin/public/link?q=
https://earth3d.net/admin/public/autosuggest?searchTerm=	https://earth3d.net/admin/public/favicon.ico