Mozilla's Add-On Policies And Spyware Surprises

I've been using FlashGot on and off for years. It is a useful plug-in that helps you download multiple files from the same Web page "automagically." So when Firefox informed me about a new update for an add-on I've used for years, I clicked "OK" and updated it, only to find a surprise the next time I used Google.The surprise: On top of my search results were "search refinement" suggestions in the regular Google font. Because it looked very much like Google's "did you mean...?" typo correction feature, I thought it was a new Google feature. I clicked on a suggestion and found myself surfing a different search site. To make sure I didn't just encounter malware or some form of hijacking, I clicked the Back button and examined the Google search results more closely.

Next to these recommendations was smaller text that stated they were a feature of FlashGot. While I appreciate the information, it doesn't absolve it, and I immediately uninstalled the application.

Why, you ask?