Chrome Web StoreCaution required
Suspicious in code review
Our reviewer found behaviour consistent with malware, but not enough to confirm it. Treat this extension as untrusted until it has been re-reviewed.
3 medium-severity findings in this extension’s code
Every finding is verified by a security analyst. Unlock the code evidence, indicators and version history.
What our analysis found
Wacken Open Air, used by 1,797 people, is rated caution by Extension Auditor. Our code review reported 3 findings (3 medium), led by tracking. It comes from a trusted publisher and was last updated in November 2022.
Key findings
- Medium
Tracking
Every outbound URL click from the new tab (favorites, quicklinks) is wrapped through `[domain withheld]>`, revealing to the publisher's monetization platform exactly which external sites the user navigates to. The destination URL is passed as a query parameter, allowing the platform to build a profile of browsing intent beyond search queries. This is not disclosed in the extension description.
- Medium
Tracking
User interaction events (new tab opens, active-day pings, news clicks, history clicks, favorite clicks, background changes) are sent as analytics beacons to `[domain withheld] including the time-elapsed-since-install (`te`) and extension version. This behavioral telemetry pipeline is undisclosed to end users and reveals daily engagement patterns to the publisher's third-party analytics platform. The `vars` store data (`r` in the merged object) may also include additional identifiers from the Redux state.
- Medium
Tracking
On first install, the background page reads an `extensionHash` cookie and POSTs it with a score of 50 to `[domain withheld]. This is a attribution mechanism that silently reports install credit to a Google Cloud Function, associating the user's installation with a referral source without explicit user disclosure.
Analyst notes
This is a white-label 'searchturbo' platform new tab replacement (brandTURBO) that routes all user search queries through `[domain withheld] for monetization, wraps every outbound click through `[domain withheld]>` for click-tracking, and sends behavioral analytics beacons to `[domain withheld] — none of which are explicitly disclosed beyond the generic category of 'Search Tools.' The ML score of 0.92 is substantially inflated by Webpack bundle patterns (eval in regenerator runtime, String.fromCharCode in code, large bundle size) rather than genuine obfuscation; however, the publisher reputation (56% malicious portfolio) and the permhash cluster (49% malicious peers) both corroborate caution. No credential theft, history exfiltration, or code injection into external pages was found.
Wacken Open Air Chrome extension security report
ID: pjlfkheiklmbkjnhabenmommnmagpcga
Supported Languages
Extension Info & Metadata
Publisher Contextual Analysis
- Author
- brandTURBO
- Privacy
- Privacy Policy
- Help
- Help Center
- Country
- DE
- MX records exist
- Yes
- Domain exists
- Yes
- Is disposable
- No
- Is role-based
- Yes
- Mailbox exists
- Yes
- Address
- Straßburger Str. 55 Berlin 10405 DE
- Website
- Visit
Screenshots & videos
Install growth
- 3 medium
The file, code excerpt and explanation behind each finding are part of the full report. No conclusion has been withheld — only the evidence. The verdict above already reflects everything found here.
3 medium-severity findings in this extension’s code
Every finding is verified by a security analyst. Unlock the code evidence, indicators and version history.
About this extension
Get the W:O:A into your browser! The best photos of the festival enrich your starting page from now on.
Read the publisher’s full description
The official New Tab starting page of Wacken Open Air beautifies your browser with HD wallpapers and all news about the festival and comes with helpful features. The free extension works with Windows, Chrome OS and Mac OS. And this is what you get: - W:O:A wallpapers - choose your favorite or be surprised every day - All current news about the W:O:A at a glance - A freely definable search - choose your favorite providers for pictures, shopping etc. - Search suggestions with shortcuts to your favorite sites - An elegant display and management of your favorites - Quicklinks to the most important pages in the W:O:A cosmos - One-click integration of Google services and applications The whole thing is completely free of charge for you and customizable to your taste. This is a white label enterprise extension for Wacken Open Air.
User reviews
Extension files
Browse and explore files within this extension package
Gain full insight into all external connections.
Upgrade for full visibility.
URLs
View the external URLs this extension communicates with to understand its network activity and data interactions.
3 medium-severity findings in this extension’s code
Every finding is verified by a security analyst. Unlock the code evidence, indicators and version history.
Gain full insight into all external connections.
Upgrade for full visibility.