A common tactic is "extension squatting." A developer builds a legitimate, safe downloader to gain 100,000 users. Then, they sell the extension to a hacker. The hacker pushes an "update" that turns all those browsers into bots for a DDoS attack. Users never notice until their computer slows to a crawl.
We tested three representative extensions as of April 2026: youtube videos download extension
| Extension Name | Download Success Rate (1080p) | Permissions Requested | Privacy Policy | Malware Detection (VirusTotal) | |----------------|-------------------------------|----------------------|----------------|--------------------------------| | Video Saver Pro | 92% | 4 (host, downloads, webRequest, storage) | Vague, sells data | 2/68 (PUA) | | Y2Mate Helper | 78% (requires external site) | 2 (activeTab, downloads) | None found | Clean | | Open Source Downloader (OSD) | 95% | 2 (downloads, webRequest) | Transparent, no tracking | Clean | A common tactic is "extension squatting
Key finding: Open-source extensions with fewer permissions and transparent codebases perform equally well or better than proprietary ones, without bundled adware. Users never notice until their computer slows to a crawl
If you are tired of extensions getting deleted or flagged, stop using extensions. Seriously.
Desktop software like 4K Video Downloader or JDownloader is significantly safer. You copy a YouTube link from your browser, paste it into the software, and hit download. Because these aren't browser extensions, Google can't delete them remotely.
| Risk Type | Prevalence | Example Behavior | |-----------|------------|------------------| | Browser hijacking | 6/15 | Changing default search engine to Bing or Yahoo | | Pop-under ads | 10/15 | Injecting full-page ads before download starts | | Executable payloads | 3/15 | Prompting users to install a "codec pack" (actually malware) |