I’d like to make an informed decision on extensions I install. Usually I read about people caring about browser extensions. I install extensions in vscode, in zed, gnome, kde and probably in a lot of other tools like bash as well.
Usually, I do not think much about security/ privacy. I only install what I want/ need and delete what I do not need.
How can I judge which extension to install and which not? There are extensions releasing builds regularly but the last release of public code on github was years ago. Downloads and stars give a hint on popularity. With popularity the people who will look into the code increases but if there’s no code, there’s nothing to look into. And just because it’s not popular, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad software.
How do you judge which extension to install?
Almost all extensions will weaken your security posture. In fact off the top of my head there are basically only two kinds of extensions that could improve it:
Anything else is questionable at best. Maybe you could create browser profiles where you install extensions somewhat more liberally, with decreased expectation of safety.