Google Plans to Start Cracking Down on Apps That Silently Install Browser Extensions With Chrome 25

Chrome plans to add a feature so obvious, we wonder what took so long.

If you’ve ever downloaded a free app to use on your PC, it’s probably happened to you. The installation goes great, the program works as advertised (or doesn’t), but it isn’t until you open a browser window that the true cost of using that free app is realized.

Freeware tools love to install obnoxious tool bars, search engine replacements, and the most insidious ones install extensions with missions completely unknown to the user.

For applications like Skype this can add useful functionality such as click to dial, but more often than not, silently installed extensions do more harm than good. That’s why we were ecstatic to learn that Google is finally tackling the problem head on with Chrome 25, and will hopefully inspire the other major browser makers to take action as well.

In Chrome 25, users will be greeted with a new confirmation screen on any extensions installed without permission, and gives the user an opportunity to approve or trash it prior to executing. Google so far hasn’t made the decision to restrict extensions to the Chrome Web Store exclusively, however it’s not hard to imagine a future where this becomes the reality.

The Chrome team claims the move will help improve the functionality and performance of the browser, but it’s also a huge security bonus as well. The current stable release of Chrome is sitting at 23, but considering this increments every six weeks, expect to see this feature rolling out automatically to users early next year.

Chrome plans to add a feature so obvious, we wonder what took so long.

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Wealthfront Client Meeting with Burton Malkiel

This year, Wealthfront hosted a fireside chat with Burton Malkiel at the Stanford faculty club. It was my first chance to talk with Malkiel since 2005, and I got to ask him about his opinion of the stock market. He said that while the US stock market is now historically expensive, but the developed markets and European markets are looking cheap, so "this is a good opportunity to do some rebalancing."

Wealthfront also divulged some interesting information: they currently have $450M in assets under management, compared to $90M around this time last year, so their service has gained a lot of traction. Not only are the number of accounts increasing, the average account size has also been increasing. (The first time you see the tax loss harvesting numbers they post to your account, youll be motivated to shove more money into the account) They currently have 32 employees with 18 engineers, and they expect to have more than half the company be engineers for the foreseeable future.

Malkiel says theyve been splitting up the fixed income segment to do things that make sense under the current environment. For instance, AT&T bonds are paying 4% while AT&T stocks are yielding 5% in dividends. It thus makes much more sense to own AT&T stocks rather than bonds. Thats an interesting approach, though I would point out that Swensen thinks that corporate bonds are not worth holding.

Someone pointed out that with the new individual stock based tax loss harvesting, they risk accidentally triggering the wash sale rule if they have accounts elsewhere or vest company stock. The answer to the latter is that they allow you to have a blacklist of stocks that theyll never buy or sell on your behalf, and the wash sale triggering based on another advisor trading on your behalf simply means you dont recognize all the tax losses you could otherwise be entitled to. They note that they plan to provide turbo-tax compatible reports, so turbo-tax should be able to reconcile all the buys and sells that they do on your behalf.

One thing that I was very pleased to see was when someone asked whether the resulting decreased cost basis of your holdings wouldnt wash out in the end when you do withdraw the money. Malkiels response was that he was so old he didnt expect to pay any capital gains at all on his holdings as they will get stepped up upon inheritance. Andy Rachleff also mentioned that "our tax loss harvesting service is not suitable for short term investments." Its a strong statement of where Wealthfront wants to go, and I applaud them for making such a strong statement up front.

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