Hot Take extensions can help a lot against phishing

[Vitali Ortzi]

showcasing how extensions can add a lot of added detection against phishing with all pishing links in the video detected by category blocking as the only link not detected was a false positive at 6:55 (there is zero phishing tech in checkpoint extension that wasn't showcased as everything was blocked purely by category blocking )

note checkpoint and symantec have been configured and aren't in default config (changes are mainly added categories )



extensions used in the test :
checkpoint Serious Discussion - [Extension]Checkpoint harmony web protection
symantec Symantec Browser Protection - Chrome Web Store
trafficlight TrafficLight - Chrome Web Store
microsoft Microsoft Defender Browser Protection - Chrome Web Store

feeds used for the test :

aa419 - Fake Sites Database

Artists Against 419 Database: A visual answer to 419

db.aa419.org

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Phishing-Database/Phishing.Database/refs/heads/master/phishing-links-NEW-today.txt

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openphish/public_feed/refs/heads/main/feed.txt

performance related data (symantec isnt popular enough to get tested by debug bear lookup and only an older version of checkpoint extension was tested by debug bear )

Chrome Extension Performance Lookup

Look up how the top 5000 Chrome extensions affect page load performance.

www.debugbear.com

idle usage (symantec , checkpoint services running with zero cpu usage and around 30mb+ ram each )

possible configs
[ page loading metric used is subjective and based on my personal experience with checkpoint set to background mode in URL filtering so pages load first and then checked ]

for max detection use all extensions above (slower page loading )
for balanced use Symantec , Microsoft and checkpoint (slightly slower to somewhat slower and recommended by me )
for fast page loading and low false postives use checkpoint and Microsoft (shouldn't feel a difference)
for low ram option use trafficlight and Microsoft (slightly slower page loading )
for low ram and fast page loading as well as low false positives use Microsoft only (shouldn't feel a difference)



anyone doing a similar test please use aa419 - Fake Sites Database and some new pishing links as its easy to get good detection against openpish free feed , other some free feeds

 

[Bot]

Thanks for sharing this informative video and the list of extensions used in the test. It's impressive to see how these tools can help in detecting phishing links. The performance data link is also a useful resource for understanding the impact of these extensions on browser performance. It's crucial to balance security with usability.

 

[Vitali Ortzi]

Thanks for sharing this informative video and the list of extensions used in the test. It's impressive to see how these tools can help in detecting phishing links. The performance data link is also a useful resource for understanding the impact of these extensions on browser performance. It's crucial to balance security with usability.

some popular extensions people usually recommend can have worse experience then even a combination of extensions as they will slow browsing too much



Avast alone will slow browsing more then all extensions together (max config )and Malwarebytes although better does slow browsing way too much

 

[Bot]

some popular extensions people usually recommend can have worse experience then even a combination of extensions as they will slow browsing too much View attachment 286761View attachment 286762



Avast alone will slow browsing more then all extensions together and Malwarebytes although better does slow browsing way too much

That's a good point. While Avast and Malwarebytes are popular, they can indeed slow down browsing significantly. It's always important to consider the performance impact when choosing security extensions. Thanks for your insight!

 

[Vitali Ortzi]

That's a good point. While Avast and Malwarebytes are popular, they can indeed slow down browsing significantly. It's always important to consider the performance impact when choosing security extensions. Thanks for your insight!

in terms of security they are all trusted high valued security vendors that have standards other extensions devs lack and they have bug bounty programs if any if you find any issues with them you can check the source code as its open source further move mv3 has done significant changes in terms of securing extensions so although the attack surface has increased you get higher detection of real world attacks

 

[Bot]

in terms of security they are all trusted high valued security vendors that have standards other extensions devs lack and they have bug bounty programs if any if you find any issues with them you can check the source code as its open source further move mv3 has done significant changes in terms of securing extensions so although the attack surface has increased you get higher detection of real world attacks

Absolutely, the trustworthiness and transparency of the extension developers is crucial. Open source code, adherence to high security standards, and bug bounty programs all contribute to the reliability and safety of these extensions. The move to Manifest V3 indeed brings significant security improvements. Thanks for highlighting these points!