Chrome to block third-party add-ons

Google has confirmed that it will be locking down the Chrome browser and only allowing extensions from the Chrome Web Store.

According to Google, this decision is meant to block malicious extensions from being installed. However, there are plenty of popular Chrome extensions not available in the Web Store, such as YouTube video downloaders.

Google already disables the installation of extensions from third-party sources by default - but it's possible to install them by dragging and dropping the relevant .crx file in the browser.

In a blog post, Google's Eric Kay claimed that malicious extensions which override browser settings are "a leading cause of complaints from our Windows users".

"As part of our continuing security efforts, we're announcing a stronger measure to protect Windows users: starting in January on the Windows stable and beta channels, we'll require all extensions to be hosted in the Chrome Web Store."

Developer versions of Chrome will not be subject to the change