Browser extensions enhance your features on a browser. This can be things like price matching on shopping sites, modifying the browser window or integrating other apps like Grammarly to spell check your typing as you surf the web.
Not all are good, in fact, most browser extensions are harmful and track your information and change settings on your computers, such as your search engine or homepage. It takes a close eye and experience to recognize which extensions are malicious or not, However, a good rule of thumb to follow is if you didn’t add the extension yourself and it was added to the browser on its own then more likely than not, it’s a bad extension. At the end of the day, you don’t need any extensions so if you’re unsure then remove them all and add the ones you desire to keep.
How to remove browser extensions on Google Chrome:
- Open Chrome and go into the settings by clicking the three lines or dots in the top right-hand corner of the window.
- Select “More Tools”.
- Then select “Extensions” from the side menu.
- Click the “Remove” button next to all the extensions you’d like to remove.
Typically you should receive a prompt confirming its OK to remove it and you’ll select “Remove”
Any windows that pop up after removing the extensions are safe to just close.