Online Safety

AI Is Outpacing Privacy Protections, New Survey Shows – Here’s How to Protect Yourself A new global survey from TrustArc, a firm that specializes in privacy compliance, suggests that many companies are rushing to adopt artificial intelligence while leaving their privacy safeguards behind. The report, published on May 6, 2026, warns that privacy capability is struggling to keep pace with AI adoption — a gap that has direct consequences for anyone who uses tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or Google Gemini. ...

Your Productivity Extensions Could Be a Security Risk: How to Stay Safe Chrome extensions are everywhere. A grammar checker here, a note-taking tool there, maybe a coupon finder. They seem harmless, and many are genuinely useful. But a growing number of these productivity tools have become a quiet entry point for attackers. Recent reports, including a detailed analysis on Security Boulevard, describe how so-called “productivity extensions” are being turned into backdoors for both personal and corporate systems. ...

Think That Productivity Extension Is Safe? Here’s How to Check for Hidden Backdoors Browser extensions make life easier—they block ads, manage passwords, check grammar, and save tabs. But the same power that lets them improve your browsing also lets them steal it. A March 2026 report from Security Boulevard detailed how attackers are hiding backdoors inside seemingly trustworthy productivity extensions. Once installed, these tools can exfiltrate credentials, inject phishing pages, and send sensitive data to remote servers—often without triggering any alarms. ...

AI Tools Are Booming, but Privacy Protections Aren’t Keeping Up — What to Watch For A new global survey from TrustArc, a privacy compliance and risk management firm, finds that most organizations are adopting artificial intelligence tools faster than they are building the privacy safeguards needed to protect user data. For everyday consumers, this gap means the personal information you feed into an AI chatbot, image generator, or productivity tool may be handled with fewer protections than you expect. ...

Is Your Chrome Extension a Spy? How to Spot and Stop Backdoor Attacks Browser extensions promise convenience: a grammar checker that follows you across sites, a coupon finder that scans your cart, a note taker that captures what you read. But the same permissions that make these tools useful also make them dangerous when they fall into the wrong hands. ...

Is That Chrome Extension Safe? How to Spot Malicious “Productivity Tools” It starts innocently enough. You need a timer, a grammar checker, a coupon finder, or a better new tab page. You search the Chrome Web Store, read a few reviews, and install an extension that promises to save time or money. A week later, you notice unusual ads, redirected searches, or password prompts that feel off. ...

AI Adoption Outpaces Privacy Protections, New Survey Shows — What You Need to Know If you’ve used a chatbot, image generator, or voice assistant recently, you may have wondered what happens to the information you share. A new global survey from TrustArc, a privacy management company, suggests that concern is well founded: privacy safeguards across many organizations are not keeping up with how fast they are adopting artificial intelligence tools. ...

What Is Shadow AI and How to Protect Your Privacy From It You open a new browser tab, paste a draft report into a free AI chatbot, and ask it to rewrite the conclusion. It saves you twenty minutes. No one in your IT department knows you did it. That’s Shadow AI—the use of artificial intelligence tools without official approval or oversight. And it’s spreading faster than most organizations can track. ...

Is That Chrome Extension Spying on You? How to Spot a Backdoor ‘Productivity Tool’ Browser extensions are one of the easiest ways to add functionality to Chrome—a grammar checker here, a coupon finder there, a note-taking sidebar. They promise to save time and streamline work. But that convenience comes with a catch: an extension that can read every page you visit can also steal your passwords, session cookies, or private data. Over the past year, security researchers have documented a rise in malicious Chrome extensions that masquerade as legitimate productivity tools, then siphon credentials or inject ads. For remote workers and small business owners, the risk is especially high because a single compromised browser can lead to a full account takeover—including work email, cloud storage, and financial dashboards. ...

Is Your Browser Extension a Security Risk? Here’s How to Check You probably installed a Chrome extension to save time—maybe a grammar checker, a coupon finder, or a note-taking tool. These “productivity helpers” often ask for broad access to your browser because that’s how they work. But recent reports show that some of these extensions are being turned into silent backdoors, capable of stealing passwords, reading emails, and even infiltrating corporate networks. ...