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TL;DR
- Under New Management there is a browser extension that monitors ownership changes in other extensions.
- The extension is not new, but it is useful: bad actors can acquire existing extensions to collect user data.
- Under New Management code is published on GitHub, which helps ensure transparency.
Extensions can add useful functionality to your browser, but there’s always the chance that an extension changes hands after you’ve granted it access to your data, a potentially major security risk. If that’s something you’re worried about, there’s an extension you should check out.
WorldPC has highlighted a Chrome extension called Under new management that is done to alert you when a new party acquires a different extension that you have installed, giving you the opportunity to remove it or at least investigate its last owner.
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With Under New Management installed, you’ll see an alert on the extension icon when you change ownership of a different extension in your browser. Ownership changes don’t necessarily mean bad news, but as WorldPCMichael Crider writes that he found himself under new management after a different extension he was using, Save Image As Type, came under the control of a new owner who turned out to be fiddling with user data. It’s a real problem.
Under New Management is not new and is relatively small, being the project of a solo developer with around 9,000 users. If you are worried about this extension being sold to a potential data collector, its code is posted on GitHub. It also hasn’t been updated in about two years, so it should be easy to track if any questionable changes occur.
You can install Under New Management from the Chrome Web Store right now.
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