What are Extensions?
Ever wondered how Google Chrome Extension Works? Well, Extensions are actually the small piece of software that will customize the whole browsing experience one can get. Extensions allow the user’s to modify the web browser’s behavior and functionality. Like for e.g., we can take Google Chrome, a user can customize the browser as per his/her needs.
Basically, they are built on the web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This was a brief answer for wondering how Google Chrome Extension Works.
An extension has to fulfill its one and only job that is to make things easy to understand and easy to work with the web browser. A single extension has the capacity to hold a lot of components that can perform a wide range of functions and it all will have a sole purpose to serve.
The user interface will be simple and determined. Extensions will have a simple icon and it will be a familiar icon as well, Given below are the icons of some extensions such as Alexa Rank Checker, Ad Blocker, Google Analytics and Moz.
We need to download and install the necessary Extensions whenever there is a need. Basically, Extension files will be compressed into a single .crx file package that can be easily downloaded and installed from the Chrome web store. This means extensions do not depend on content from the web, unlike ordinary web apps. As per my knowledge, Google Chrome Extension Works only in Google Chrome and Opera Browser, as opera is based on Google’s Chromium engine.
Google Chrome Web Store
Extensions are published and are available on Google Chrome’s Web Store. Some of the websites that you visit or software that you install asks you to install their extensions as well. No need of downloading the extension from Google web store for that as the software or that particular website will provide it to you. For example, If you visit the official website of “Grammarly”, then after signing up you can add Grammarly extension to your web browser.
The Chrome Web Store has become Google’s online store for web extensions for Google Chrome or any other Google application. On May 19, 2010, in the Google I/O conference Chrome Web Store was announced by Vic Gundotra and it came into action on December 6, 2010. This allows users to install and run web extensions for the Google Chrome browser.
Extensions, browser themes and applications are coded and written using CSS, JavaScript, HTML and Google apps script. From Chrome 14 they started using Google native client.
The web store also hosts paid as well as free applications, it is like Google Play Store but for web extensions and web applications. The visual and UI overhaul was announced on Oct 25, 2011.
How Does Google Chrome Extension Works?
Google Chrome Extension Works by redirecting the coming chrome traffic through an https proxy server.
The google chrome’s extension has become the preferred by Private Internet Access (PIA) HTTPS proxy and VPN service. The regions which come under Private Internet Access uses the proxy service TLSv1.2 to encrypt all the communication that happens between your browser and PIA.
The extension does not affect other application other than the web browser in which it is installed. It can also be used without or with the PIA desktop app. It supports making HTTPS, HTTP, and secure web socket entreaties through the proxy servers. Plaintext web sockets are not supported by PIA.
In addition to that being a client for PIA, the extension also implements some features that will help in protecting your privacy and it also provides some security while using Google Chrome with PIA.
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