Jumping in here because I had the exact same security worries a couple years back. I used to install every price tracker under the sun until my browser started lagging and I realized how much data they were actually scraping. It is definitely sketchy. What I do now to stay safe is avoid the browser extensions entirely and use web-based tools instead. Since you need a solid laptop for college under 800 bucks, honestly, just get any mid-range Lenovo. You can't go wrong with a ThinkPad for school because they last forever. To find the best deals without installing spyware, I usually check the official store deal pages directly or use the Office Depot price tracker to watch for sales. It is way safer than letting some random extension track your whole browsing history.

They do work, but only if you use them to check the price history graph instead of relying on the alerts. I have used Keepa for years to track refurbished hardware and it definitely saved me cash by showing when a sale was actually just the normal price. To give you some better recommendations on how to hunt for this laptop, I need to know a couple of things:

• What major are you in, and do you need to run heavy software like CAD?
• Are you open to buying certified refurbished, or does it absolutely have to be brand new? Knowing that makes it way easier to figure out if a price tracker is even worth your time.

Honestly, I had high hopes for these trackers when buying my current setup last year, but they were not as good as expected. Unfortunately, the alerts are often delayed, and the best laptop deals sell out before you get the email. I missed two great sales because of the lag. What actually worked was checking refurbished outlets directly on Tuesday mornings. I saved almost 150 bucks on the one I got, no spyware needed.