Detecting and Unhiding External Links. An indispensable tool for SPAM BUSTERS chasing malicious links hidden in comments and posts.
External Links Detector Extension
The External Links Detector can help you.
The extension inspects the visited webpage, and highlights all external links, including hidden ones. It reveals not only links over blank characters, dots, but also hyperlinks over white-on-white text, or links hiding with complex techniques using injected CSS code.
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SITE-BASED functionality - the External Links Detector (ELD) will only work on websites that you explicitly enable. You can do that either once per session by clicking the icon of the extension (we recommend keeping it pinned on the nav bar of the browser, otherwise you have to navigate through Chrome's menu to Extensions, and selecting ELD there), or permanently (recommended!) - visit the concerned website, right-click the icon of the ELD extension, and in the context menu, select the feature \"This can read and change site data\", and click the option with the domain name. Please see the last screenshot for illustration.
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The extension is customizable in several ways. When you click the icon of the extension, or when you select \"Options\" in its context menu, you can adjust the following parameters:
IGNORE LIST - you can enter multiple domains that you want to exclude from the external links checking. Note: you do NOT need to add the domain name of the web page, where you want to use the tool!
COUNTER POSITION - you can select one of the four page counters for displaying the external links counter box.
AUTO-RUN (labeled \"Detect Links Automatically\") - when enabled (default setting), detected external links will be counted upon loading the web page, and the number of external links is shown in the selected corner of the page. No rectangle appears when no external links are detected. When the option Auto-Run is disabled, then you have to click the icon of the extension in order to detect the external link on the current page. We recommend pinning the icon to the navigation bar of your browser.
AUTO-HIGHLIGHT (labeled \"Highlight links automatically\") - when checked, all detected external links are automatically made visible, and highlighted with white text in a red rectangle, as soon as the visited page is fully loaded. Mouse-over tooltip over the rectangle shows the target URL of the link. If you keep this option disabled, the links will be only counted, and you have to click on the rectangle with the number of external links in order to reveal and highlight the links.
SUBDOMAINS - by default, only 2nd level domains (i.e. \"google.com\", \"xyz.org\", ...) are being matched for exclusions (both from the ignore list, as well as the domain of the visited page). So for example if you are inspecting a page on the domain \"forums.abc.net\", and the page contains links to diverse subdomains of abc.net (i.e. \"support.abc.net\"), then those links will not be included (neither counted, nor highlighted). If you enable this option for strict matching, links to non-matching subdomains will be considered external links too. For example a link to www.microsft.com will be considered an external link, even if the domain \"microsoft.com\" is on the ignore list, or when you are inspecting pages on the domains \"microsoft.com\" or \"support.microsoft.com\".
ZERO-COUNTS - by default, the counter of external links will appear in the selected corner of the page only when at least one external link (not appearing on the ignore list) is detected. If you prefer seeing the counter even when no links are detected, enable the option \"Show zero counts\".
LINK LIST - by hovering the mouse cursor over the link counter box, you can view the full list of all detected links on the page. It is helpful, when the links are spread over diverse parts of the page, that may not be easily accessible, or perhaps may remain hidden in their original location.
PRIVACY POLICY: This extension does not collect any user data, and does not connect to any remote servers. The code is secure and reviewable by any interested party.
FEEDBACK: Comments with bug reports, feature requests, critics, or just with kudos welcome. Donations are welcome too, and help motivating me to maintain and improve the extension:
• https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=724KXVPMHE6DL
• https://buymeacoffee.com/truxoft
CREDITS:
- External Link icon © by Fathema Khanom @ freepik.com
- External-links Chrome extension by ua-cms.ru - initial inspiration
- ChatGPT - valuable advices
- seilogramp @ forums.garmin.com - motivation, testing
Source Manifest.json
How to download and manually install External Links Detector extension for Chrome
Looking for a way to install External Links Detector extensions for Chrome, you can search for them in the Chrome Web Store, clicking the "Add to Chrome" button, and following the straightforward process.
However, you may need to install External Links Detector extensions manually, this article outlines two simple methods to effortlessly install External Links Detector extensions, whether they come as unpacked folders in compressed formats like .zip or as .crx files.
Method 1: Download External Links Detector extension and manually install through Drag &Drop
If you ever need to manually install a External Links Detector extension for Chrome, don't worry, it's a simple process. Just follow these easy steps, and you will have your extension ready to use in no time.
Step 1: Download the External Links Detector Extension by clicking the "Download CRX" button on the website.
Look for the External Links Detector extension you wish to install. Go to the website and download the External Links Detector extension package, which is usually a .CRX file and comes in a zipped file. Here ".crx" file is the format for External Links Detector extension that contains all the data.
Step 2: Extract &Arrange Files
Once the file is downloaded, extract that file into its own folder. Similarly, give that extension files a permanent home. In other words, keep it in a folder that you don't accidentally delete it because these files will be needed to make that extension work.
Step 3: Go to the Chrome Extensions Page
Open Google Chrome and in the address bar, type chrome://extensions; it will open the Google Chrome extensions page. Make sure that "My extensions" is selected in the sidebar.
Step 4: Drag and Drop the Extension
Now, go to the folder where you extracted the External Links Detector extension and drag &drop the extension file from there anywhere onto the extension page within Google Chrome.
Step 5: Complete the Installation
Once you drag and drop the extension file, follow the steps that Google Chrome takes you through. Similarly, if the extension file is of .crx file format, you will be required to review the permissions and then add the extension.
Now, you can manage that added extension as you would like to with any other Chrome extension that you added through Chrome Webstore. Its icon will also appear in the Google Chrome Menu on the right side of the address bar once you activate it.
Method 2: Download External Links Detector extension for Chrome and install in Developer Mode
This is another method to install External Links Detector extension manually, but the twist is that here, you install by enabling the developer mode option provided in Google Chrome. This mode is commonly used for testing extensions or running unpublished tools.
Step 1: Download the External Links Detector extension file
Select and download the External Links Detector extension by clicking the 'Download CRX' button on the website.
Step 2: Extract the downloaded contents
Convert the file to a ZIP file if it is in CRX format then extract the External Links Detector extension zip file or folder that you downloaded. Make sure you extract it using the same folder name and keep it safely in another folder, so you don't delete it by mistake. The extracted folder will be needed to keep your External Links Detector extension running.
Step 3: Open Chrome Extension Setting Page
In the address bar of Google Chrome, type chrome://extensions and open the Chrome Extension Page.
Step 4: Enable Developer Mode
After opening the Chrome Extension page, look at the top right side, and you will find the toggle option of "Developer mode."Simply enable that developer mode option.
Step 5: Load the Unpacked Extension
Once you enable the developer mode option, you will see the menu of Load Unpacked, Pack Extensions and Update. From that, select the option "Load unpacked."
Step 6: Select the Extension Folder
Once the pop-up opens upon clicking Load unpacked, select the External Links Detector extension directory and click on the "Select Folder "button.
Step 7: Confirm and Install
After you select an extension folder of a Google Chrome extension you're installing manually, confirm its installation for the final time and let the installation complete.
Conclusion
Here we've made a step-by-step guide on How to manually install External Links Detector extension in 2 ways. We hope this guide proves helpful.
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