Forcepoint Endpoint Chrome Extension For Windows

The Forcepoint Endpoint Chrome Extension is a tool that allows you to see the overall security posture of your network in a single view. It provides insight into the data that is being sent and received, the applications running on your endpoints and browsers, and the devices that are accessing your network. It also lets you take action based on this information.

Cybercriminals began to use an interesting method to extract confidential data from the system of the attacked user. In this, they are helped by the direct injection of malicious extensions for the Google Chrome browser on Windows systems. The main goal of attackers in this campaign is to gain control and manipulate victim data that is used in internal web applications.

According to experts from the SANS Institute 1, attackers avoid using the Chrome Web Store 2 and implement add-ons with their own hands. The malicious extension for Google Chrome was named Forcepoint Endpoint Chrome Extension for Windows. Cybercriminals use the logo of Cybersecurity company Forcepoint to create legitimacy.

The first thing attackers do is place the add-on in the user’s local folder and then call it directly from the browser. This, by the way, makes it possible to make a completely legitimate function of Google Chrome, which can be activated in the “Extensions” section of the Internet browser settings
researchers explain.
Unfortunately, the SANS Institute report does not mention the original way attackers entered the victim’s system. As the experts explained, it was not in vain that the attackers chose malicious extensions, and not standard binaries.

The thing is that today almost everything can be controlled through web applications. This means that all data an attacker need is easily retrieved, even if the attack surface is narrowed down to web applications.

How to remove Fake Forcepoint Chrome Extension?

• Reset browser settings to original ones
• Delete Fake Forcepoint hijacker manually
• Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
• Open GridinSoft Anti-Malware and perform a “Standard scan“.
• “Move to quarantine” all items.
• Open “Tools” tab – Press “Reset Browser Settings“.
• Select proper browser and options – Click “Reset”.
• Restart your computer.

Browser hijackers are usually pretty simple to remove. Most of the time, they have a separate application that can be located in the list of installed applications. Due to the certain marketing method of Fake Forcepoint hijacker, it can be conveniently tracked and erased manually.

Nonetheless, if you got Fake Forcepoint in the bundle with a free program, your personal computer may be contaminated with much more dangerous malware trojans, spyware and even ransomware.

That’s why I’d recommend you utilize anti-malware programs to delete the Fake Forcepoint PUA and all various other malware.

You can utilize Microsoft Defender3 it is capable of discovering and eliminating various malware, including mentioned hijacker. Nevertheless, significant malware, that might exist on your PC in the specified instance, can disable the Windows antivirus program by modifying the Group Policies. To minimize the chance of such situations, it is better to use GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

Download GridinSoft Anti-Malware
To detect and erase all malicious applications on your desktop with GridinSoft Anti-Malware, it’s better to use Standard or Full scan. Quick Scan is not able to find all the malware, because it checks only the most popular registry entries and folders.

You can spectate the detected malicious programs sorted by their possible hazard simultaneously with the scan process. But to perform any actions against the viruses, you need to wait until the scan is finished, or to stop the scan.

To choose the action for every spotted virus or unwanted program, click the arrow in front of the name of the detected malicious program. By default, all malware will be removed to quarantine.

Reset browser settings to original ones
To revert your browser settings, you need to use the Reset Browser Settings option. This action is not able to be counteracted by any virus, hence, you will surely see the result. This option can be located in the Tools tab.

After pressing the Reset Browser Settings option, the menu will be displayed, where you can choose, which settings will be reverted to the original.

Reset Browser Settings options

Deleting Fake Forcepoint hijacker manually
Besides using anti-malware software for browser restoration, you may choose the “Reset browser settings” function, which is usually embedded in all popular browsers.

To reset Edge, do the following steps :
Open “Settings and more” tab in upper right corner, then find here “Settings” button. In the appeared menu, choose “Reset settings” option :
Reseting the Edge browser

After picking the Reset Settings option, you will see the following menu, stating about the settings which will be reverted to original :

For Mozilla Firefox, do the next actions :
Open Menu tab (three strips in upper right corner) and click the “Help” button. In the appeared menu choose “troubleshooting information” :
The first step to revert Mozilla Firefox

In the next screen, find the “Refresh Firefox” option :
The second step of Firefox restoration
After choosing this option, you will see the next message :
The last step for Firefox

If you use Google Chrome
Open Settings tab, find the “Advanced” button. In the extended tab choose the “Reset and clean up” button :

In the appeared list, click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” :

Finally, you will see the window, where you can see all the settings which will be reset to default :

Opera can be reset in the next way
Open Settings menu by pressing the gear icon in the toolbar (left side of the browser window), then click “Advanced” option, and choose “Browser” button in the drop-down list. Scroll down, to the bottom of the settings menu. Find there “Restore settings to their original defaults” option :

After clicking the “Restore settings…” button, you will see the window, where all settings, which will be reset, are shown :

As an afterword, I want to say that time plays against you and your PC. The activity of browser hijacker must be stopped as soon as possible, because of the possibility of other malware injection. This malware can be downloaded autonomously, or offered for you to download in one of the windows with advertisements, which are shown to you by the hijacker. You need to act as fast as you can.

Enable chrome extensions registry

Typically Chrome users install extensions by visiting an extension’s listing in the Chrome Web Store and installing the extension directly from that page. In some cases, though, other installation flows may be more appropriate. For example:

An extension is associated with some other software, and the extension should be installed whenever the user installs that other software.
A network admin wants to install the same extensions throughout their organization.
Administrators can also use enterprise policies to manage extension installation. To learn more, see Extension Enterprise policies.

For the previous cases, Google Chrome supports the following extension installation methods:

Using a preferences JSON file (for macOS X and Linux only)
Using the Windows registry (for Windows only)
Both ways support installing an extension hosted at an update_URL. On Windows and macOS, the update_URL must point to the Chrome Web Store. When an extension is installed via these methods, Windows and macOS users will have to enable the extension using the following confirmation dialog:

External extension warning

On Linux, the preferences file can point to a Chrome Web Store extension, an externally hosted extension or a CRX extension file on the user’s computer. Linux users will not be prompted to enable the extension; it is installed automatically.

Warning
Windows and Mac installs must come from Chrome Web Store: As of Chrome 33, no external installs are allowed from a path to a local CRX file on Windows (see Protecting Windows users from malicious extensions). As of Chrome 44, no external installs are allowed from a path to a local CRX file on Mac OS (see Continuing to protect Chrome users from malicious extensions).

Before you begin

Installing from the Chrome Web Store

If you are distributing an extension hosted in the Chrome Web Store, you must first publish the extension. Then, make a note of the following:

The update URL— https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx. This url points to the Chrome Web Store.
The extension’s ID— This can be found in the Chrome Web Store URL of the extension.
Chrome Web Store item id

Installing from Local CRX file

If you are distributing to Linux users from a local file, you will need to package a CRX file and note the following information:

The extension ID— This can be found in the extension management page chrome://extensions.

The extension version— This appears in the extension management page chrome://extensions or in the manifest JSON file.

How to find extension id and version

The location of the CRX file— This can either be a local directory or a network share. Make sure the file is available to the machine you want to install the extension on.

Installing from a personal server

If you are distributing an extension hosted on a personal server for Linux users, you will need to follow the instructions for Installing extensions on Linux and note the following information:

The extension ID— This can be found in the extension management page chrome://extensions.

The update_url XML file path— This has to match the file path of the update_url field declared in the manifest JSON file.

The following examples assume the version is 1.0 and the extension ID is aaabbbcccdddeeefff.

Using a preferences file

MacOS X and Linux only: Do not use the preferences file for Windows. Use Windows registry instead.

macOS

Create a JSON file with the name of the extension ID. For example: aaabbbcccdddeeefff.json

Place it in one of the folders listed below:

For a specific user
~USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/External Extensions/
For all users
/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/External Extensions/
Specify the update URL with the field name “external_update_url”. For example:

{
“external_update_url”: “https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx”
}
Save the JSON file.

Launch Google Chrome and go to chrome://extensions; you should see the extension listed.

The external extension file for all users is read only if every directory in the path is owned by the user root, has the group admin or wheel, and is not world writable. The path must also be free of symbolic links. These restrictions prevent an unprivileged user from causing extensions to be installed for all users. See Troubleshooting permission problems.

Troubleshooting Mac OS permissions problems

Linux

Create a JSON file with the name of the extension ID. For example: aaabbbcccdddeeefff.json.

Place it in one of the folders listed below:

/opt/google/chrome/extensions/
/usr/share/google-chrome/extensions/
The following list describes extension installation from the Chrome Web Store, a CRX file or a personal server:

To install a Chrome Web Store extension, specify the update URL with the field name “external_update_url”. For example:
{
“external_update_url”: “https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx”
}
To install the extension from a CRX file, specify the location in “external_crx” and the version in “external_version”. For example:
{
“external_crx”: “/home/share/extension.crx”,
“external_version”: “1.0”
}
To install the extension hosted on a personal server, the “external_update_url” field has to point to the xml file, like in the following example:
{
“external_update_url”: “http://myhost.com/mytestextension/updates.xml”
}
Save the JSON file.

Launch Google Chrome and go to chrome://extensions; you should see the extension listed.

Use chmod if necessary to make sure that the aaabbbcccdddeeefff.json files are world-readable. Check the preference file common mistakes FAQ for additional help.

Supported Locales

If you would like to install extension only for some browser locales, you can list supported locales in field name “supported_locales”. Locale may specify parent locale like “en”, in this case the extension will be installed for all English locales like “en-US”, “en-GB”, etc. If another browser locale is selected that is not supported by the extension, the external extensions will be uninstalled. If “supported_locales” list is missing, the extension will be installed for any locale. For example:

{
“external_update_url”: “https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx”,
“supported_locales”: [ “en”, “fr”, “de” ]
}

Using the Windows registry

Find or create the following key in the registry:

32-bit Windows
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Google\Chrome\Extensions
64-bit Windows
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Google\Chrome\Extensions
Create a new key (folder) under the Extensions key with the same name as the ID of your extension. For example: aaabbbcccdddeeefff.

In your extension key, create an “update_url” property and set it to the following value:

{
“update_url”: “https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx”
}
Launch Chrome.

Go to chrome://extensions; you should see the extension listed.

Check the Windows registry common mistakes for additional help.

Updating and uninstalling

Google Chrome scans the metadata entries in the preferences and registry each time the browser starts, and makes any necessary changes to the installed external extensions hosted in the Chrome Web Store.

To update a local CRX file extension to a new version, update the file, and then update the version in the preferences json file.

To uninstall your extension (for example, if your software is uninstalled), remove your preference file (for example, aaabbbcccdddeeefff.json) or the metadata from the registry.

Some Common questions about external extensions.

Is “pre-install” still supported by Google Chrome?

Yes, but only as an install from a Chrome Web Store update_url, not from a local CRX file path. For more information, see App and Extension policies.

What are some common mistakes when installing with the preferences file?

Not specifying the same id/version as the one listed in the CRX file.
The JSON file (for example, aaabbbcccdddeeefff.json) is in the wrong location or the ID specified does not match the extension ID.
Syntax error in JSON file (forgetting to separate entries with comma or leaving a trailing comma somewhere).
JSON file entry points to the wrong path to the CRX file (or path specified but no filename)
Backslashes in UNC path are not escaped. For example, “\server\share\file” is wrong; it should be “\\server\share\extension”.
Permissions problems on a network share.

What are some common mistakes when installing with the registry?

Not specifying the same id as the one listed in the Chrome Web Store.
Key created in the wrong location in the registry.
Registry entry points to the wrong path to the CRX file in the Chrome Web Store.
Permissions problems on a network share.
Not all instances of Chrome are closed. Try rebooting your computer after setting the registry.

What if the user uninstalls the extension?

If the user uninstalls the extension through the UI, it will no longer be installed or updated on each startup. In other words, the external extension is blocklisted.

How do I get off the blocklist?

If the user uninstalls your extension, you should respect that decision. However, if you (the developer) accidentally uninstalled your extension through the UI, you can remove the blocklist tag by installing the extension normally through the UI, and then uninstalling it.

Conclusion

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