Here are some Google Chrome tab-saving extensions now that The Great Suspender is gone

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

If you’ve been using The Great Suspender to manage your Google Chrome tabs, you’ll want to read this sentence, go uninstall it, then come back. That’s because it has been serving ads and malware, with Google removing it from the Chrome Web Store as a result.

Maybe that’s not such a shock, as Microsoft removed it from the Edge extension store at the end of last year. At the time, we thought it was a scummy developer that copied the Chrome extension to the Edge store but with added adverts, but now we’re not so sure the two extensions are unrelated.

So what happened with The Great Suspender?

It seems that The Great Suspender was sold to a shady developer at some point last year. That unknown dev added some sneaky update code, which let the extension connect to some third-party servers and run programs. Yikes.

The extension also asked for some pretty wide-reaching permissions, which many users probably just clicked “yes” on. Once it had those, it could inject ads, block sites, or redirect clicks to websites it decides.

That’s pretty abusive behavior, so it’s time to delete it from your computer if you haven’t already.

Here are some Chrome alternatives that don’t inject ads or malware

If you’ve been using The Great Suspender (and didn’t uninstall it before reading this far), it’s time to uninstall it. It’s a giant security hole, and nobody should be taking that kind of risk. If you haven’t already removed it, go and “unsuspend” all of your tabs before you remove the extension from your browser.

If you already removed it before “unsuspending” your tabs, you can rescue them from your browsing history, by searching for the extension’s ID, klbibkeccnjlkjkiokjodocebajanakg, then opening those tabs and trimming the extension’s ID from the URL bar.

Whichever way you get those tabs back, we presume you want to keep them after all this trouble. Either create a new folder in your Bookmarks Bar to save them in, or install one of the following extensions to keep tabs on your tabs:

• Auto Tab Discard: This is very similar to The Great Extender, reducing the memory load on your system
• The Great Discarder: Discards unused tabs to free up your precious system resources, while being compatible with Chrome tab syncing
• OneTab: Turns all your open tabs into a hyperlinked list, so you can go back to them at any time
• Tabs Outliner: Prefer your tabs to be in a Wiki-style sidebar? This is the extension you want

That’s only if you find you really need a tab management extension. Chrome does automatically freeze tabs after five minutes, so they won’t eat up system resources. You can also group tabs without needing an extension, so they’re easier to manage when you have multiple tabs open.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Update Google Chrome right now – it’s more important than usual
• Google might be taking a cue from Apple by blocking ad trackers
• Google Chrome’s new password tool identifies weak passwords and helps you fix them
• Calm down – Chrome probably isn’t slowing down your Mac’s performance

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.