How Minecraft inspired me to build a Chrome Extension

Hi Indie Hackers! 

I am a high school student passionate about web development, design, and of course, Minecraft.

My journey with Minecraft began all the way back in 2014. At one point I’d eagerly wake up at 7:00 AM and play until 10:00 PM (I know, it was an unhealthy obsession). But the more I played, the more comfortable I became with computers, jumping from 50 words per minute to 150. I also started experimenting with building websites using HTML/CSS, and later picked up JavaScript and Python.

Now fast forward to the summer of 2022 on my favorite Minecraft server, Hypixel.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of players exploded thanks to popular YouTubers and more people staying at home. But with that came a spike in scams and hacked accounts. These hacks were creative and ranged from unknowingly installing malware that would “improve gameplay", entering their login information on Discord to "receive a rank”, or just trusting “friends.” In-game scams were also really common, where players would trade lookalike items that mimicked rare and expensive items. 

This made me shift my focus from enjoying the Minecraft community to “How can I protect it?”

My initial idea was to build a web app that could instantly detect whether a link, file, image, or email was a scam. That idea evolved into a full Chrome Extension called Cheztrap, which I began developing in June 2024 using APIs like OpenURL and ChatGPT.

What started as a solution to Minecraft-related scams has become a tool anyone can use.

So what is Cheztrap?

Cheztrap is a free Chrome Extension that helps users detect phishing links and malicious websites in one click. It’s built for people who ask themselves:

“Is this link or email safe?”

Some of the key features includes:
➢ A brief summary of a website or email’s legitimacy
➢ Info about the founder(s) and where they're based
➢ Data on how much revenue the site has raised
➢ Estimated monthly web traffic

I’m here looking for feedback, advice, and support as I continue improving it. Would love to hear what you guys think!