Latest Update to ES File Explorer Android App Brings Adware To Your Lockscreen (xda-developers.com)

An anonymous reader writes: ES File Explorer (Google Play link) is one of the handiest file manager apps in the post-Android Gingerbread era, and it continues to ride up on its popularity (Editor's note: Google Play listing suggests the app has been downloaded between 100,000,000 and 500,000,000 times) and functionality. Recent changes to ES File Explorer, however, are signalling its decline. The newest update might just be the last straw that breaks the camels back, as ES File Explorer now bundles in adware. This adware comes in the form of DU Battery Booster, which adds in a lockscreen on your phone and brings ads directly to your lockscreen, irrespective of your choice. There was no intimation, no choice, no changelog to mention the same; all features which are characteristic of such deceptive "Booster" apps.Plenty of users have taken it to the Google Play listing of the aforementioned app to express their grievances. "This software is getting some major bloat with a lot of features that has very little to do with file browsing in general, so going to look elsewhere for a simple file explorer without all the 'extras'," a user wrote.

Comments

Not Surprising

[jesseck]

I used to use this, because it was the best out there... but these days, and with all the pointless (to me) updates, I am close to removing it.

Re:Not Surprising

[MightyMartian]

Their promotion of other products means it's a lot bigger pain in the ass to use. Frankly, I think Google should just do the right thing and put a proper file browser in Android. But if it's going to start throwing ads on my lockscreen, then whatever utility the app may have, it's going to be deleted. There's a level of assholeishness that I just won't tolerate.

Re:Not Surprising

[war4peace]

I stopped it from auto-updating using the link below:
http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/...

I'll stick with the version I have until Kingdom's Come - or until a better app comes along.

Re:Not Surprising

[Cramer]

BULL. SHIT.

Ads within the app, WHILE I'M USING IT, are one thing. Going for the lame money grab of spamming my lockscreen with worthless, bandwidth robbing shit. Well, they can rot in the hottest, smelliest part of hell.

Re:Not Surprising

[macs4all]

BULL. SHIT.

Ads within the app, WHILE I'M USING IT, are one thing. Going for the lame money grab of spamming my lockscreen with worthless, bandwidth robbing shit. Well, they can rot in the hottest, smelliest part of hell.

What is being missed here, and is of FAR MORE CONSEQUENCE, is that Android allows the SILENT REPLACEMENT OF THE LOCKSCREEN.

It's hard to imagine a more "one stop" way to direct someone into a "fake OS" that lures the user seamlessly from the FAKE Lockscreen right into a FAKE Password Screen, and then???

I can't even begin to fathom the security implications of being able to simply REPLACE A LOCKSCREEN with NO USER INTERVENTION!!!

Re:Not Surprising

[AmiMoJo]

They have hit the same problem that many, many apps have. The basic concept, a file manager, is actually fairly trivial and has been duplicated hundreds of times. Often it's a practice first app that new developers crank out and throw in the app store for free.

These guys got in early and made a name for themselves, but that's all they've got. A generic product that was feature complete years ago.

Other examples of this are any number of office suites, and my personal worst Nero Burning ROM.

Re:Not Surprising

[TsuruchiBrian]

When I realized my neighborhood mechanic was sprinkling nails in the street to make money on tire repairs, it made me realize how important it is to support small local businesses. /s

Maybe it would be better to be motivated to support all the developers, who don't do stuff like this.

dammit, filesystem, you had one job

[Pseudonymous Powers]

ES File Explorer is one of the handiest file manager apps in the post-Android Gingerbread era, and it continues to ride up on its popularity

ES File Explorer's slogan should be "Because for some reason Google has some sort of policy against including a decent file manager with Android by default".

That decision has always made perfect sense to me. Just because you're writing an operating system, that's no real reason to get bogged down messing around with "files" and "directories" and stuff. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go write some audio-processing software for my printer.

Re:dammit, filesystem, you had one job

[iampiti]

Well, it's pretty obvious that Google doesn't want a file manager in Android because it doesn't fit their goals. They want you to store everything on the cloud so they can datamine the hell out of it
I hate that mobile OSs give the user so little control over their own devices, they should be like a PC only smaller. And, no, that doesn't mean they should be hard to use for regular users just that they shouldn't prevent power users to use their devices as they see fit

I've never used ES

[jenningsthecat]

fx File Explorer has always been great for me. I use the free version - no ads. There is also a paid version with additional features. Easy, intuitive, works well as either user or root.

Oh shit - I think I just wrote a Slashvertisement ...

Re:God alternative to ES?

[Golthur]

I use Amaze file manager, and have no complaints.

It's open source, GitHub is here: https://github.com/arpitkh96/AmazeFileManager.

Alternatives?

[pr0t0]

This /. story prompted me to search for alternatives, and found this which seems relevant.
http://www.guidingtech.com/536...

I've installed Solid to see how that looks. A decent ad-free file explorer is worth a couple of bucks to me.

Re:Alternatives?

[QuietLagoon]

...Maybe you should have tried the ad-free version of ES File Explorer?...

Sorry, I don't support jerks, no matter how good the product is.

.
And ES Global has just leaped to the top of my "jerks" scale with this latest antic of theirs.

Re:Alternatives?

[Cley Faye]

Oh yes, they *did* something right: their app, right before all these "free updates to boost your system plz gib gib". You're telling "4.8 stars", I tell you "4.8 stars based on their previous versions".

I would not have cared if they decided to make it a paid app; I have a handful of these when they feel polished enough. I even paid for a basic SMS app that was just a "downgrade" for the recent stuff google pulled on that.

But the thing here is that they are shoddy. Consumers trust is hard to gain, and when you lose it, it's done. When you have arguably one of the best app on the market that does a lot of things well, there's one thing you don't do: start behaving like it's a chinese ripoff that exist only as an ad channel. On the point of ES File Explorer: one day, out of the blue, my phone had a notification about "removing trash to boost the performances", or something along the line. It sort of looked like a classic spam message, with no indication that this was from an app. And if dismissed, it comes back quickly. That was ES; and there was no option to disable it. Then, this "extremely useful feature" became the default screen when you open the app, prominently taking a third of the screen to encourage you to use what have all the warnings you're looking for when you look at a scam.

And now, the very same team decided to force-feed you a new lockscreen, with implications that goes well beyond the "showing ad" issue. Android might not be the most secure thing on earth, but I have slightly more trust in the stock lockscreen than in the one provided by some definitely shoddy business.

Seriously, now I've removed all of their apps, found very good replacements that don't do anything funky, even paid for one, and all is well. But I can't understand how you can think "hey, let's force spam and bloatware down people's phones, THEN make a paid version without that" when you could have just done it harmlessly.
They could make the best app ever now, I'm never trusting them again with anything.

Re:Alternatives?

[Cley Faye]

Other translation: I'm more than willing to pay for an app that I use regularly and is produced by people that have a fair amount of trust, and strangely enough force-feeding my phone with bloatware, adware and replacing basic functionalities with junk got them out of this fairly exclusive group.

Thanks!

[ArhcAngel]

I got up this morning and looked at my phone and saw the ad screen and was WTF!? because I had no idea what was generating it. I was late so I didn't have time to investigate further. Now I know what it was.