And it bombards users with ads after the install

Jul 8, 2019 09:24 GMT  ·  By

A fake application called ES File Explorer made its way to the Google Play Store, only to bombard users with ads without actually offering any features that were included in the already-famous file manager.

Google removed ES File Explorer from the Play store earlier this year due to what was believed to be click fraud, and the parent company, DO Global, hasn’t relaunched it since then.

But because this was one of the most popular file managers on Android, it was only a matter of time until someone used its name for other malicious purposes.

Lukas Stefanko, malware researcher at security company ESET, discovered the fake ES File Explorer and reported it on Twitter, explaining that once installed, this app bombards users with ads.

“App has no functionality and within 2 minutes displayed 9 fullscreen ads while "setting up" the app. To look trustworthy, it requests registration,” Stefanko notes.

Over 10,000 downloads

The more worrying is that this fake app has already recorded more than 10,000 downloads from the Google Play Store, most likely from users who believed they were installing the original file manager.

DO Global didn’t say anything about a potential comeback of its app, and the company only said that it accepted Google decision of removing ES File Manager from the Play Store.

“We fully understand the seriousness of the allegations. As such, we immediately conducted an internal investigation on this matter. We regret to find irregularities in some of our products’ use of AdMob advertisements. Given this, we fully understand and accept Google's decision. Moreover, we have actively cooperated with them by doing a thorough examination of every app involved,” it said in the statement.

Meanwhile, users who come across such listing in the Play Store are recommended to look for the most common signs of a fake app, including the developer name, the description of app, and the reviews posted by others.

The fake ES File Explorer has already been removed from the Google Play Store.