Browser Extension Control via Publisher Rules
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current web browsers lack effective mechanisms to ensure the reliability, security, and integrity of content delivery, as third-party extensions can modify or interact with web content in unintended ways, disrupting the trusted relationship between web publishers and users, leading to potential harm and revenue loss for publishers.
Innovation Solution
A system where web publishers can generate and provide rules to govern the behavior of browser extensions, allowing or restricting specific actions on web pages, ensuring that only permitted extensions can implement actions on the page, thereby maintaining content integrity and user trust.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If browser extensions are allowed to operate freely on web pages, then user functionality and customization are enhanced, but content integrity and publisher control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of extension code before allowing execution. The browser analyzes the extension's manifest file and code to determine what actions the extension is configured to implement, and blocks extensions before they can execute harmful actions by checking against publisher-defined rules in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The browser acts as an intermediary between extensions and web pages. It receives rules from publishers, analyzes extension code, and enforces these rules to control extension behavior. This intermediary layer prevents extensions from directly modifying content without authorization while still allowing legitimate extensions to function.
2Ease of operation
If browser extensions are permitted to modify web content, then user customization and utility are improved, but security and trust relationships deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where publishers can define rules about what extensions should and shouldn't do on their sites. The browser analyzes extension code, determines what actions the extension is configured to implement, and enforces publisher rules by blocking prohibited actions. This creates a feedback loop that maintains security while allowing customization.
Solution Approach 2:
The browser analyzes extension code and determines what actions the extension is configured to implement before the extension executes. This preliminary analysis allows the system to prevent harmful actions before they occur, rather than reacting to them after damage is done.
3Adaptability or versatility
If third-party extensions are allowed to interact with web pages, then functional versatility is enhanced, but publisher control and revenue models deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The browser serves as an intermediary that enforces publisher-defined rules on extension behavior. Publishers can specify which extensions are allowed to perform certain actions on their sites, giving them control over how their content is modified and preventing unauthorized changes that could harm their revenue models.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of extension code to determine what actions the extension is configured to implement. This allows publishers to preemptively control which extensions can interact with their content and under what conditions, preventing revenue loss before it occurs.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a processor configured to execute a web browser in a first browser execution process initiated by an operating system of the system. The system includes a browser extension installed in the web browser, the browser extension including a markup language file and a file specifying at least one type of action related to a page element on which the browser extension seeks to act. The web browser may be configured to receive a set of rules from a web publisher associated with a first web page prior to rendering the first web page, determine based on the file, without loading the browser extension, that the browser extension is configured to implement a first action prohibited by the set of rules, and restrict the browser extension from implementing the first action on the first web page.