The Popular Anti-Phishing Cryptonite Browser Extension Is Now Open Source

MetaCert has decided to make Cryptonite even more accessible with this latest update.

Cryptonite is a popular browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. It warns users about phishing sites and fake social media accounts. And it gives a visual indicator when browsing websites and social media accounts that have been verified.

You can no longer rely on SSL certificates that display the legacy padlock in the browser toolbar. SSL certs are free and issued automatically upon application — there’s no review process. The padlock only indicates that the transmission of data between the user’s browser and the website is encrypted. It says nothing about the trustworthiness of the website or the website owner. Phishing sites use SSL certs because people see the padlock and immediately assume they’re safe.

When you install Cryptonite, it adds a small black shield to your browser toolbar. Every time you visit a crypto website or social media account that has been “Verified by MetaCert Protocol” the shield will turn from black to green. This indicates that the site, or social media account, is guaranteed to be the real website and not an imposter with a phishing site. So, if it’s not green assume it’s not safe until you prove otherwise.

MetaCert developed Cryptonite to protect people from phishing scams, and as a proof of concept for the MetaCert Protocol. Now, Cryptonite protects over 80,000 users and we expect that number to grow as we continue to roll out updates and new features.

We ❤️ Open Source

Today, MetaCert is pleased to announce Cryptonite is now an open source project under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL). We hope that making Cryptonite open source makes people more comfortable using this powerful security tool.

By making Cryptonite open source we are also creating an opportunity to offer translated versions of the extension to better protect even more individuals. This is where you can get involved. The more languages Cryptonite is translated to, the more impact it will have against cyber criminals who would otherwise be able to take advantage of others around the world. If you can provide translation services, please submit a pull request on our Github repository, and a member of our team will coordinate with you further.

We hope our commitment to providing open code for Cryptonite will make it easier for integration with browser vendors, such as Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari and Brave, who can in turn bake it into the very software of their applications. That way Cryptonite can provide both developers and users worry-free open source protection from phishing sites, and social media impersonators.

Please visit our Github repository for Cryptonite: https://github.com/metacert/cryptonite