A Firefox add-on that stole passwords and other log-in information of users when they visited websites has been disabled and added to the block list by the Mozilla. As reported in a blog post by the Mozilla on Tuesday the add-on gained immense popularity within five days of its availability.
The add-on was available for download for anyone who wished to do so, on the page addons.mozilla.org. The software was named Mozilla Sniffer was downloaded approximately eighteen hundred times in a span of just five days that it was available. The software outfit will be sending out notifications to those who are using it warning of the dangers and urging them to ditch the software. Users who have already installed the add-on should immediately change their passwords. People need not fret about the security concerns that have been raised by the add-on. The addition to the block list will lead the add-on to be uninstalled for computers running the program.
The blog posts threw light on the working of this add-on in the blog post. The Mozilla Sniffer intercepts login data and sends it to a remote server that appeared to be down. It’s a fact that this add-on was not developed by Mozilla neither was it reviewed by it. It is only possible for the company to detect any viruses, Trojans and other malware. These unwanted activities can not be easily detected by the site and require a code.
The company said it in works to improve security so that these issues are not raised in the future. As mentioned in the blog on this issue “We’re already working on implementing a new security model for addons.mozilla.org that will require all add-ons to be code-reviewed before they are discoverable in the site,”
The issue has brought out the security loops in the browser since the add-ons are requiring more monitoring. In the tough competition that the browser is facing from others like Chrome and Opera this could hamper Mozilla’s market share. At present it Mozilla has the second largest market share in the browser market.