Play N Start Extension

The Play N Start Extension, a.k.a. Play N Start Plus, comes from hxxp://www.playnsearch[.]com and can be found on the Chrome Web Store — hxxps://chrome.google[.]com/webstore/detail/play-n-start/ccobcdnclejmeiiomfcpfjlmmdflleec. The Play N Start Extension is proposed to Web surfers that use Chromium-based Web browsers to surf the Internet. The description of Play N Start says that it offers “quick entertainment click-and-visit experience, for free." The extension at hand is configured to provide a customized search by Yahoo that can’t be changed. The 'Play N Start Extension' requires the following rights in Google Chrome:

• Read and change all your data on the websites you visit.
• Replace the page you see when opening a new tab.

The Play N Start Extension is deemed as a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) from hxxp://www.playnsearch[.]com that reconfigures your new tab and adds a search by Yahoo. The Play N Start New Tab page is listed in the Omnibox as 'Play N Start|chrome-extension://ccobcdnclejmeiiomfcpfjlmmdflleec/index.html' and includes links to Gomovix.com, Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and eBay. Upon installing the Play N Start Extension, Web surfers are redirected to the URL:

hxxp://api.getplaynsearch2[.]com/wim/api/verticals/content.php?vert=movies&id=ccobcdnclejmeiiomfcpfjlmmdflleec&name=Play%20N%20Start&rdr=1

The URL causes a redirect to hxxps://www.livesports[.]today/liveupdates2?source=unsupport_2nd, which produces a loop of messages from h[tt]ps://www.livesports[.]today that urges the visitor to enable browser notifications. You are not required to enable browser notifications from livesports[.]today if you wish to use the Play N Start Extension. The livesports[.]today site and advertisers associated with hxxp://www.playnsearch[.]com use the Play N Start Extension to deliver personalized promotional materials and news from the sports world. You may want to remove the Play N Start Extension so that you can restore the default new tab in your browser and use a search engine other than Yahoo. The persistent tracking cookies and Web beacons downloaded by Play N Start can be deleted with help from a reliable anti-spyware instrument.