since that browsergate site about LinkedIn seems to be gaining traction I figure I should mention:
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since that browsergate site about LinkedIn seems to be gaining traction I figure I should mention:
- yes, LinkedIn does do what's being claimed (though, it's that it probes for specific extensions you're running, using features in chrome's API - it doesn't "search your computer")
- it does seem to have been doing this since at least as far back as 2017, and there has been intermittent reporting on it over the years
- I'm fairly confident the copy on the site was generated by (or at least went through) an LLM, so idk that this site is the best way to spread the issue around
edit: and as someone else noted in the replies, looking through the list of extensions of scans for... they're pretty much all "AI"/scraper/automation plugins. so, should LinkedIn be doing this, or even able to do this in Chrome? no! but also, it does seem like the stuff they're scanning for is all extensions that shouldn't exist to begin with tbh
-
since that browsergate site about LinkedIn seems to be gaining traction I figure I should mention:
- yes, LinkedIn does do what's being claimed (though, it's that it probes for specific extensions you're running, using features in chrome's API - it doesn't "search your computer")
- it does seem to have been doing this since at least as far back as 2017, and there has been intermittent reporting on it over the years
- I'm fairly confident the copy on the site was generated by (or at least went through) an LLM, so idk that this site is the best way to spread the issue around
edit: and as someone else noted in the replies, looking through the list of extensions of scans for... they're pretty much all "AI"/scraper/automation plugins. so, should LinkedIn be doing this, or even able to do this in Chrome? no! but also, it does seem like the stuff they're scanning for is all extensions that shouldn't exist to begin with tbh
sorry for the edit notif spam - I was trying to find the oldest example of this being talked about and it was a bit difficult to find something solid
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since that browsergate site about LinkedIn seems to be gaining traction I figure I should mention:
- yes, LinkedIn does do what's being claimed (though, it's that it probes for specific extensions you're running, using features in chrome's API - it doesn't "search your computer")
- it does seem to have been doing this since at least as far back as 2017, and there has been intermittent reporting on it over the years
- I'm fairly confident the copy on the site was generated by (or at least went through) an LLM, so idk that this site is the best way to spread the issue around
edit: and as someone else noted in the replies, looking through the list of extensions of scans for... they're pretty much all "AI"/scraper/automation plugins. so, should LinkedIn be doing this, or even able to do this in Chrome? no! but also, it does seem like the stuff they're scanning for is all extensions that shouldn't exist to begin with tbh
@vantiss just read through the site before seeing this post and yeah, it definitely seems to have been written by an llm
among other things, there are so many "it's not X, it's Y" structures in places where it is extremely unnecessary. and also, one of the repos they cite in the Credits page for "running this research" has a
.claudefolder in it -
since that browsergate site about LinkedIn seems to be gaining traction I figure I should mention:
- yes, LinkedIn does do what's being claimed (though, it's that it probes for specific extensions you're running, using features in chrome's API - it doesn't "search your computer")
- it does seem to have been doing this since at least as far back as 2017, and there has been intermittent reporting on it over the years
- I'm fairly confident the copy on the site was generated by (or at least went through) an LLM, so idk that this site is the best way to spread the issue around
edit: and as someone else noted in the replies, looking through the list of extensions of scans for... they're pretty much all "AI"/scraper/automation plugins. so, should LinkedIn be doing this, or even able to do this in Chrome? no! but also, it does seem like the stuff they're scanning for is all extensions that shouldn't exist to begin with tbh
@kopper joked that the browsergate site was created by a vengeful plugin developer:
"just say which one of those [browser plugins] is one you made. we all know the true reason"
"yes we all know the DMA requires them to accomodate.... checks notes... "[brand] LinkedIn Automation - Smart LinkedIn automation with AI-personalized outreach. "
https://not-brain.d.on-t.work/notes/akl6kqe0d6r30jcb
@vantiss -
@vantiss just read through the site before seeing this post and yeah, it definitely seems to have been written by an llm
among other things, there are so many "it's not X, it's Y" structures in places where it is extremely unnecessary. and also, one of the repos they cite in the Credits page for "running this research" has a
.claudefolder in it@b yeah - I looked into who is bringing the lawsuit and it's... a LinkedIn addon maker for automation/scraping/LLM stuff called TeamFluence,
and the github repo with the .claude in it is built by a guy who is an ex-Twitter employee that now does entrepreneur/startup stuff and is an active LLM booster
also, the footer mentions "fairlinked.eu", which smells similarly fishy. if it's the same company as fairlinked.org (which, I think it is but haven't proved yet) then they're definitely purveyors of LLM stuff
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since that browsergate site about LinkedIn seems to be gaining traction I figure I should mention:
- yes, LinkedIn does do what's being claimed (though, it's that it probes for specific extensions you're running, using features in chrome's API - it doesn't "search your computer")
- it does seem to have been doing this since at least as far back as 2017, and there has been intermittent reporting on it over the years
- I'm fairly confident the copy on the site was generated by (or at least went through) an LLM, so idk that this site is the best way to spread the issue around
edit: and as someone else noted in the replies, looking through the list of extensions of scans for... they're pretty much all "AI"/scraper/automation plugins. so, should LinkedIn be doing this, or even able to do this in Chrome? no! but also, it does seem like the stuff they're scanning for is all extensions that shouldn't exist to begin with tbh
Thanks for this, that sets it into perspective.
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since that browsergate site about LinkedIn seems to be gaining traction I figure I should mention:
- yes, LinkedIn does do what's being claimed (though, it's that it probes for specific extensions you're running, using features in chrome's API - it doesn't "search your computer")
- it does seem to have been doing this since at least as far back as 2017, and there has been intermittent reporting on it over the years
- I'm fairly confident the copy on the site was generated by (or at least went through) an LLM, so idk that this site is the best way to spread the issue around
edit: and as someone else noted in the replies, looking through the list of extensions of scans for... they're pretty much all "AI"/scraper/automation plugins. so, should LinkedIn be doing this, or even able to do this in Chrome? no! but also, it does seem like the stuff they're scanning for is all extensions that shouldn't exist to begin with tbh
@vantiss Does this LinkedIn scandal apply to other browser / browser engines ? Or just Chrome / Chromium / Blink ?
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@vantiss Does this LinkedIn scandal apply to other browser / browser engines ? Or just Chrome / Chromium / Blink ?
@Sobex
afaik, this attack only works on chromium browsers -
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