Microsoft Edge is finally getting a lot of publicity, which means that hackers and scammers are flocking to the browser to spread their dangerous wares. Recent reports have pulled back the curtain on malicious extensions that masquerade as official VPN apps.

The New Wave of Attacks on Microsoft Edge

The report of this new wave of attacks came in from Tech Radar. This new wave of malware infiltrated the Edge app store using a legitimate app as its cover; however,  they typically achieved this using one of two methods.

The first camp of malware was a malicious extension designed to look like a legitimate service. This camp typically used VPN services for their disguise, impersonating popular services such as TunnelBear and NordVPN.

However, there were a handful of extensions that didn't impersonate VPNs. This includes a fake Ublock Adblock and Greasemonkey addon, both of which are extensions that people install on a new browser without a second thought.

The second camp of malware did things a little differently. Instead of building an app that looks like the real thing, the malware developer actually stole legitimate extensions from the Chrome app store. They then injected malicious code into the app, then published it onto the Microsoft Edge app store.

Some of these real-but-malicious apps include the following:

The Great Suspender, Floating Player - Picture-in-Picture Mode, GoBack with Backspace, friGate CDN - smooth access to websites, Full Page Screenshot, One Click URL Shortener, Guru Cleaner - cache and history cleaner, Grammar and Spelling Checker, Enable Right Click, FNAF, Night Shift Redux, Old Layout for Facebook

As such, if you downloaded an extension on Edge recently, it's a good idea to do a quick virus scan to ensure it didn't carry something nasty with it. Also, keep your eye out for any suspicious occurrences, such as adverts appearing in search results en-masse.

A Major Issue for Microsoft

This is a huge hurdle for the company if it wants to get Microsoft Edge into the spotlight. Both Chrome and Firefox have spent a lot of time in the public eye, and both have seen their fair share of malicious extensions and hacker attacks.

Now that Microsoft Edge is making a mark on the browser world (and even overtaking Firefox for second place), malware developers are taking note. To them, Microsoft Edge is a new, insecure service with a huge userbase; in short, it's ripe for abuse.

As such, if Microsoft wants to truly win over the public, it needs to enforce tighter regulations on its third-party extensions. Failure to do so may give Microsoft Edge the reputation of an unsafe browser, which will drive people away as it did with Internet Explorer.

Microsoft's Next Challenge for Edge

With malware distributors taking note of Edge's refound popularity, Microsoft needs to secure its users as fast as possible. Can the software giant put the stop to malicious extensions, or will it become a hub for viruses and malware?

That's not to say that the other big browsers have a spotless track record. In fact, a recent report showed that malicious Chrome extensions could spy on businesses and extract sensitive information from them.

Image Credit: JMiks / Shutterstock.com