Top Risks

• Google brand impersonation: claims to deliver Google Search but dev is unaffiliated mysearcheasy.com.
• Privacy policy is Google's own policy — not scoped to this extension; data collection and 3rd-party sharing admitted with no extension-specific disclosure.
• Startup-page override silently redirects browser start to mysearcheasy.com search portal.
• Install URL hijack opens mysearcheasy.com/sucess.htm on install — classic traffic-monetization onboarding pattern.
• Extension last updated 15 months ago with no verified publisher or governance signals.

Evidence

• brand_impersonation store brand_mention.is_impersonation=true; brands=['google']; confirmed_owner=false. Extension claims to put Google search on start page.
• startup_page_override manifest chrome_settings_overrides.startup_pages=['https://mysearcheasy.com/search/'] — overrides browser start to dev-controlled search.
• install_url_hijack manifest install_url_hijack=true; target=https://www.mysearcheasy.com/sucess.htm — opens 3rd-party page on install.
• privacy_policy_generic store Policy URL is Google's own policy page (myaccount.google.com/privacypolicy); scope_extension=false; data_collection=true; third_party_sharing=true.
• privacy_policy_d_clause api fetched=true, scope_extension=false, data_collection=true, third_party_sharing=true → +10.0 Privacy (D-clause worst case).
• stale_extension store months_since_update=15; 12-24mo band → +6.0 Maintenance.
• unverified_developer store verified_publisher=false; is_featured_by_google=false; no recognized org. Reputation starts 5.0 +2.0 impersonation.
• webstore_install_hijack_signal manifest onInstalled opens 3rd-party URL (+2.0 Webstore) combined with search-override pattern (+2.0 Webstore).

Permissions Breakdown

• chrome_settings_overrides.startup_pages medium Overrides browser startup page to mysearcheasy.com — hijacks user navigation without explicit HIGH perm.

Pillar Scores

Bookkeeping