Hundreds of shady Chrome VPN extensions target Russians, including fake Windscribe and ExpressVPN

A TechRadar investigation found 369 untrustworthy VPN extensions for Russian users on the Chrome Web Store, collectively reaching over 218,000 users. More than 120 impersonate known brands, including seven fake Windscribe and five fake ExpressVPN extensions.

• 369 extensions from just 70 developers; one email linked to 24 apps
• Over 120 extensions use names of legitimate VPN brands
• 47% have more reviews than users, suggesting manipulation
• 89 extensions flagged earlier by Palo Alto remain available