It started with installing a code extension. A blockchain developer looked for a 'Solidity Language' extension for Cursor, a VS Code variant, and selected one that appeared trustworthy based on its name and number of downloads. Unfortunately, it was a counterfeit from a spoofed publisher, quietly executing a script that gave hackers remote access, stole credentials, and infiltrated crypto wallets. He lost over $500,000 within minutes. Since Cursor uses Open VSX instead of the Microsoft Marketplace, attackers forged downloads and trusted the extension to deploy malware, such as Quasar RAT. Key lessons include never trusting download counts blindly, verifying sources carefully, keeping different environments separate, and relying only on trusted marketplaces.

One fake extension. One click. Half a million gone.
Always audit before you install.

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