FVD downloader for Chrome latest extension to inject ads on websites

Buying successful extensions and adding monetization options to them, usually in the form of ad injections on websites users visit, seems to be a profitable business model.

While it is unclear if the company controlling the popular FDV Downloader extension for Chrome has changed, it is confirmed that it has started to inject advertisement on web pages you visit.

FDV Downloader is one of the most popular Google Chrome extensions with its nearly 2 million users as reported on the extensions' Chrome Web Store page.

It works on the majority of sites that embed videos, the most notable exception is YouTube where it does not work on due to Google's store policy that prohibits this explicitly.

It is not clear when advertisement started to show up for the first time, but users have been leaving reviews criticizing it in the comment section on the Chrome Web Store page for at least the past couple of days.

If you browse the source code of the extension, which you can do from the Chrome profile directory if it is installed for example, you will find mentions of Superfish there.

Software by the company is often used by extensions, especially those offering price comparison but also by extension authors and companies who try to monetize their extensions by adding one of the company products to their extensions.

Disable the ads

The ads are enabled by default in the extension which means that all users who have installed it in Chrome will be exposed to those while browsing the Internet.

There is an opt-out option in the preferences. Here is what you need to do to disable the advertisement:

1. Right-click on the FDV Downloader icon in Chrome's address bar and select options from the context menu that opens up.
2. This opens the options page. Here you need to remove the checkmark from "Enabled FDV Downloader Deals" and click on apply changes to complete the process.

Alternatives

Here are some download alternatives for Chrome that you may want to give a try instead:

• Video Downloader Classic - Easy to use video downloader for Chrome that works with most video hosting sites.
• Video Downloader professional - Is compatible with most video hosting websites on the Internet. It adds an icon to Chrome's address bar that indicates whenever video contents are found on a page. Two clicks, one on the icon and one on the download button save the selected video to the local system.

Know of another program for the job? Share it with everyone in the comments below.