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Can one Chrome extension enable or disable another one?

Answer 1

A:

You can't disable one extension from another one. This would be a major security risk. Imagine a malicious extension that disables the Norton SafeWeb or McAfee SiteAdvisor toolbar (if they existed for Chrome, of course).

It would be much easier to just remove style and link tags (that reference CSS). However, there is no efficient way to strip inline styles (i.e. <a style='font-size: 12px;'></a>).

SimpleCoder 2010-09-18 21:08:05

only under the experimental API

Mohamed Mansour 2010-09-18 21:41:10

For what reason could Google possibly have added this feature for?

SimpleCoder 2010-09-18 21:42:17

For allowing Extension Management extensions. For example, controlling when an extension gets updated, deleted, change of permissions, extension activity. Lots of stuff. The extension team is trying to expose everything in Chrome externally for extensions safely, and securely.

Mohamed Mansour 2010-09-18 22:00:40

I understand that, but why should extensions be able to uninstall or disable each other? Couldn't that be used maliciously?

SimpleCoder 2010-09-18 22:39:21

An extension is a just a "program" within the browser. If you install a malicious program in your computer, you will be affected. Safe thing with an extension. You can create a very simple content script that reads your bank account number when inputed in the website and send that to a third party. It is up to the user to be careful which one to download. Google Chrome helps use that judgement by helping the user pick the right decision by annoying infobars, confirmations, limitations, etc. For example, a good extension to have, and I might do it, is to disable all extensions.

Mohamed Mansour 2010-09-19 04:17:30

@Mohamed Mansour- My problem there is that most users (outside of here, of course) are not tech-savvy enough to actually read these notifications. I think this "feature" is just waiting to be exploited through social engineering and other tricks.

SimpleCoder 2010-09-19 14:28:30

Answer 2

+1 A:

Actually it is possible to disable another extension, but only in experimental API for now. See chrome.experimental.management module.

serg 2010-09-18 21:39:26

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Can one Chrome extension enable or disable another one?

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