Malicious Chromium extension spoofs Perplexity AI to hijack browser searches

Google has removed a malicious browser extension masquerading as Perplexity AI after Microsoft researchers found it was intercepting users’ search traffic and routing queries through attacker-controlled servers before forwarding them to legitimate search engines. Microsoft Threat Intelligence said the extension masqueraded as the AI-powered answer engine to trick users into installing it. Based on its analysis, the company said the extension’s primary objective was to intercept search traffic an