Latest Update to ES File Explorer Android App Brings Adware To Your Lockscreen (xda-developers.com) 249
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.
Not Surprising (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not Surprising (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
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At least in my case, the reason I used ES for a LONG time wasn't due to lack of other file browsers - ES had REALLY good built-in LAN support (such as a fully userspace SMB client that did not require the kernel SMB client support to be enabled/existent).
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I totally kicked ES File Explorer off of all my android systems quite some time ago because of these pop-ups.
However, from the developer's perspective, I wasn't giving them any money, nor likely to in the future, so... I guess they don't really care that I don't use their app anymore.
Too bad that it's difficult to choose what level of software update you want to use - their older program was the best I'd used.
Re:Not Surprising (Score:4, Informative)
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 (Score:5, Insightful)
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!!!
Hasn't replaced my lockscreen (Score:2)
Am I missing something? I'm on the latest version 4.05, and my lockscreen doesn't seem any different. I agree that the app has become bloated, and it annoyingly won't let you configure it to start out looking at the filesystem instead of their homepage, which has ads and nothing much of use. But it still works, and hasn't messed with my lockscreen in any way I can detect.
That said, I'm on Cyanogenmod 13, which installed its own File Manager that doesn't look half bad for basic functionality...
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Am I missing something? I'm on the latest version 4.05, and my lockscreen doesn't seem any different. I agree that the app has become bloated, and it annoyingly won't let you configure it to start out looking at the filesystem instead of their homepage, which has ads and nothing much of use. But it still works, and hasn't messed with my lockscreen in any way I can detect.
That said, I'm on Cyanogenmod 13, which installed its own File Manager that doesn't look half bad for basic functionality...
Honestly, IDK. I use iOS.
My comment came from reading TFS, which stated:
" 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."
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Oh. So what it really means is that ES presents ads on its homescreen for another app that will replace your lockscreen if you go to Google Play and actually install it. Nice headline, Slashdot.
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Same here (Score:2)
I'm running a stock Galaxy S7 and opened my phone just now to remove the app, but my lockscreen looks the same.
"News for nerds. Stuff that's sometimes true."
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This is a wonderful app. I push files around my home network using the ssh integration etc. Your comment motivated me to "go pro". I've been using the app for years and it never even occurred to me to buy it. For 2.99USD, it's really a pittance and the developers deserve a little compensation for a job well done. Thanks for motivating me.
Re:Not Surprising (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Not Surprising (Score:4, Informative)
I stopped it from auto-updating using the link below:
http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/... [gizmodo.com]
I'll stick with the version I have until Kingdom's Come - or until a better app comes along.
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A few weeks, I installed it to find and move an OS image. It didn't look like the traditional file manager... and instead of the regular Android filesystem, it only supported bouncing between user directories.
If this program is spewing ads, that is even worse, because in the past, I used to trust it with root. I guess I'll use the ancient Root File Explorer utility from now on.
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I already hit that threshold 3-4 months ago. It was giving me some popup about some sort of "optimization" routine, which had the options of "OK" or "Hide" - Hide did NOT stop it from running in the background.
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Yeah, ditch it. Or roll back to the last version before the original author sold it to the wolves, you can find it on ApkMirror. Look for version 4.0.2.3. You'll have to double check with another root file manager if that version is already sending back logs to China or not, ES hides the log file. You can unpack and repack the .apk installer to either change the name or resign the package, either one will stop the update manager from trying to install the new ruined version. You don't get SMB security patch
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I passed the "close to removing it" point a few months ago when it was pushing mysterious notification to my screen - that's not what I expect out of a file explorer application.
Solid Explorer seems to do what I need without the un-necessary intrusions.
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There's no way in hell I'm paying for this crap.
The Pro version contains the same crap that caused me to uninstall the free version, such as some snake-oil "Performance Optimizer" tool that you can't disable.
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The Pro version contains the same crap that caused me to uninstall the free version, such as some snake-oil "Performance Optimizer" tool that you can't disable.
No it doesn't. I'm looking at right now on my phone and there's no such tool / add on. There's no ES service running after I close the app.
Ah reality, it really gets in the way of your excuses for being cheap doesn't it?
Re:Not Surprising (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
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Why are you bothered at other people's outrage? You should expect it. This is a free society. Deal with it.
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When you grow up and get a job some day, I wonder if you'll work for free?
When someone releases an app with ads, it's not free. It's ad-supported. That's how the devs get paid. Seriously, what kind of a reality distortion field do you live in where you think that software developers spend thousands of hours developing apps for free? Just to make you happy? Yeah, I said thousands of hours. This app is at least one dev's full time job. Have you ever spent thousands of hours on anything at this point in your l
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Ads in the app are one thing. Nobody is complaining about that. Taking over the lock screen and advertising to you when the app isn't open is something totally different. It's no better than the mid-2000s trend of including spyware, browser toolbars, etc... with shareware apps--scummy as hell.
FWIW, I CAN'T STAND in-app advertising at all and spend the couple of bucks on the pro version whenever one is available. Apps that don't have a pro version and insist on in-app advertising get uninstalled unless t
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Did you read the OP?
You fucks bitch about us being entitled but what makes you think you're entitled to be paid? For something free? Something you voluntarily selected the app to be, mind you. But we're the assholes? Goddammit! Go die in a fire.
So yeah, he says how dare someone expect to be paid for a "free" app. That shows a profound misunderstanding of the world IMHO.
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I uninstalled ES last week, and it had nothing to do with ads. It was blocking another app, a dlna client, from being able to select a video player other than ES's built in player.
Yeah, it can't do that. No app can do that. The only way it could do that is if you selected "always open using this app" previously. If you did, you can clear that up by going to that app in settings and choosing "clear defaults".
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I don't think it is ES fault, at least not entirely. Newer versions of Android seem to have changed the way default apps work and don't let you choose by default anymore.
To fix this, go to the the offending app properties (ES in this case), go to "open by default", and set "supported links" to "always ask" or "don't open". You can also clear the default from here.
dammit, filesystem, you had one job (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
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Up above people are saying it's $2.99 and that the paid version has no ads. Well, one AC says it has ads and then calls people names but registered users are asserting it has no ads.
Err... I... I umm... I use Windows Phone so I don't actually know if there *is* a File Manager app in the store? (It comes with a functional file manager.) There probably is but I can't help with that either. No, no I'm not that helpful. I'm not even sure why I'm in the thread. Morbid curiosity, I suppose. But, it's dirt cheap i
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I'm going to go write some audio-processing software for my printer.
Are you *still* working on Pulse Audio Lennart? [wikipedia.org]
Re:dammit, filesystem, you had one job (Score:4, Insightful)
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
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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".
The policy is simple. Android by design was not supposed to care about exact files. Everything was media scanning and OS level control of where things were being saved. And quite frankly as a user myself I should not ever have to browse through a filesystem on a damn phone or tablet, save for maybe a downloads folder ... which Android provides a default store and app to access. Want to take something specific and do something with it? There's usually an app that interacts with that file format be it the PDF
I've never used ES (Score:5, Informative)
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 ...
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I use the one from cyanogenmod. Works great, no ads obviously.
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Total Commander.
https://play.google.com/store/... [google.com]
It is awesome on Windows and it is equally awesome on Android.
AirDroid (Score:2)
No problem on iOS (Score:2)
There's no silly "file explorer" problem on iOS, because we can't access files! /joke
Alternatives? (Score:5, Informative)
This /. story prompted me to search for alternatives, and found this which seems relevant.
http://www.guidingtech.com/536... [guidingtech.com]
I've installed Solid to see how that looks. A decent ad-free file explorer is worth a couple of bucks to me.
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They manufactured a problem and now sell a solution, classy.
Or
I just switch to some other file manager. Done
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same here; deinstalled this ES junk and found another. for now, at least.
phones - whack-a-mole - what do they both have in common?
(sigh)
I hate phones. I really do.
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I just switch to some other file manager. Done
I guess you liked it enough and used it for free for at least some amount of time then? I doubt the devs are broken up that they'll continue to receive no compensation from you for using their app. What a loss.
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And yet strangely, you seem really broken up over it. So much so that you get really really upset over it.
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I'm not one of the devs. I'm broken up that people (including you?) go apeshit when someone tries to monetize their work. When your mom finally kicks you out of her basement you'll understand.
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> So by all intense and purposes ...
Really? Really? C'mon now.
It's porpoises, obviously.
Intense?
I should know better than to go into phone threads. ;-)
Re:Alternatives? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Alternatives? (Score:4, Insightful)
...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.
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Were you paying for it prior to this "jerk" move? No? Oh I get it. This your latest excuse to not compensate the software developers that produce the tools you use. I understand now, thanks.
Re: Alternatives? (Score:2)
I've now deleted the paid version. I wish there was an enforcablecrefund policy, but it wasn't that expensive.
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Shill detected. Why would anyone want to pay for a program that phones home to China?
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How many apps do you use that don't phone home? Oh, you don't know. In fact, you don't even know this one you just happen to have read another post that made that claim.
Yes, you're right I'm highly paid by the ES Explorer team to push their software on Slashdot. It's not a great job but man it's bought this yacht and home in Malibu so I can't complain too much.
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No, he told you that that's how he bought his home in Malibu and his yacht. Can't you read? Sheesh!
Don't mind me - I got an email informing me of my 10 year Slashdot anniversary (now if only I still new my first account) so I'm gonna burn another fatty and make bad jokes for the rest of the night.
Re:Alternatives? (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
Thanks! (Score:4, Insightful)
X-plore (Score:3)
I don't get it. What's wrong with X-plore? It's the midnight commander or norton commander style file manager for android and I've been using for some 5 years. It's amazing.
No bloat or other shit.
Never even heard of ES File Explorer before, and I guess I haven't been missing anything...
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Maybe it's that X-Plore's UI is a hot mess?
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You may want to consider to what app you're likening X-Plore to.
My first reaction when you mentioned MC was "wtf why would someone write a keyboard interaction app on the phone", not "that awesome CLI file exploring utility in Linux".
Scanning apps to make sure they're safe (Score:3)
It's annoyed me for a while now that it likes to scan every app I download to make sure it's "safe". I wonder if I hadn't uninstalled it just now if it would scan itself and prevent it from being installed?
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I wonder how they were doing that. [slashdot.org]
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Perhaps that was what they were doing. My money was on they were tracking what everyone was installing for analytic purpose to sell to whoever would pay for the data. That's an easier conclusion to jump to now that they're bundling adware with it then it is to think that they are are "security researcher" actually trying to protect my device.
I haven't seen any ads yet. (Score:3)
An annoyance - but I seldom encounter a file management issue so urgent on my Android devices that I can't wait until I have a host computer to work with. I can't handle being subject to a developer's whim regarding features and advertising on such a truly critical and fundamental application. Games? Sure. Email and calendar clients? Less so, but okay. My file manager, SSH client, word processor/spreadsheet applications? NO.
At least Linux and MS-Windows systems don't seem too interested in monetizing file managers.
wow, dodged that bullet (Score:2)
I see the DU booster lockscreen but no ads. (Score:2)
I use ES File Explorer on my phone (Jellybean), while I get the DU Boost Lockscreen, I only get that when it's plugged in. And there are no ads.
I also have ES File Explorer on my tablet (Lollipop), the lockscreen is unchanged.
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Ah, I see why I wasn't seeing ads, Wifi was off. (I don't have a data plan on the phone).
Other Apps too! (Score:2)
So I have had a replaced lockscreen on my HTC One (M7) for a few months now. It's really annoyed me but I was too lazy to find out what was doing it. I had assumed it was HTC or my phone provider and was just 'happy' being annoyed about it.
Then when I saw this article, I thought it may have been the problem but, alas, I had already removed ES File explorer previously.
It got me to looking and I found out that it was in fact the TouchPal keyboard app doing it on my phone. - http://forums.androidcentral.c... [androidcentral.com]
Wh
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So I have had a replaced lockscreen on my HTC One (M7) for a few months now.
HTC's lockscreen is bad enough as it is. It has an ugly clock that you cannot configure, move, or remove. And it is telling me that "weather unavailable", which means that it would normally try to reach across the net to find the local weather, were the location services not turned off. You can't configure or remove the weather, either.
Further, it has four apps at the bottom that, if you miss the small center bit while "swiping up", become active should you enter the unlock code. You can't change those ap
It became shit a long time ago (Score:2)
when they introduced a mandatory home page peddling their additional software. Too bad this app is still the most useful file manager in Android but luckily you can replace it with something less intrusive by giving up on certain non-essential features.
Also if you still cannot live without it, uninstall it and manually install one of its old shit-free versions from here [apk4fun.com]. Make sure you've disabled automatic updates in the Google Play (Store) app.
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Also if you still cannot live without it, uninstall it and manually install one of its old shit-free versions from here. Make sure you've disabled automatic updates in the Google Play (Store) app.
How far back do you have to go?
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Someone above mentioned 4.0.0.2. Don't ask why I remember. I don't even have an Android phone and I'm just in the thread being an ass to celebrate. (I'm just a helpful ass.)
EStrongs Sold Out (Score:2)
EStrongs *USED TO* make great software, but they sold out several years ago to a Hong Kong based company that just keeps stuffing more and more bloat and ads into what was once some of the best Android software.
I personally use Root Explorer now which works great, even on non-rooted devices.
never trusted them (Score:2)
Alternative recomendation (Score:2)
Cabinet [google.com] open source, only a file manager, actively developed.
Other apps that do the same (Score:2)
It's not about the money (Score:2, Insightful)
For me at least, it's not about the sticking ads in there. They're developers and they have (until recently) made a great application that was my go-to file manager for years.
The problem is that they have, without any notification whatsoever, silently added a 3rd party app to theirs. Not only that, but the app they have bundled is totally crap. It "claims" that it will boost your phone's charging rate by 20%, which is just total and utter rubbish (in my, admittedly short test, it lengthened the charging tim
Re:God alternative to ES? (Score:4, Informative)
I use Amaze file manager, and have no complaints.
It's open source, GitHub is here: https://github.com/arpitkh96/AmazeFileManager [github.com].
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Not to happy with my current filemanager, anyone who has any recomendations for alternatives?
ES File Explorer Pro
https://play.google.com/store/... [google.com]
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I have the pro version, no ads. Make sure you uninstall the free version after you get the paid one.
Don't be afraid to try it out. Like with all play store apps, you get your money back if you uninstall it within a certain delay.
Solid Explorer is a good file manager (Score:2)
https://play.google.com/store/... [google.com]
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I just uninstalled ES File Manager - a shame because I loved that app. (Now, the "battery booster" popup on my son's tablet makes sense.)
I installed Amaze File Manager [google.com]. It's free and open source. So far, it's very quick and seems full featured (at least for the uses I need it for).
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Last time I'm paying for something that ought to be free to begin with. At most, such apps should only advertise for the developers' other applications - in this instance, they could put ads for "ES
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Wouldn't trust them once they cross into adware territory. And the "Pro" version appears to be even more bloated.
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Oh Macfriend, you're so silly and witty!
But it IS a spectacular (albeit non-free) File Reader/Player/Manager. FAR better than anything on Android.
Jus' sayin'...
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I somehow doubt that you've tried them or that you're able to be objective. Who'd you think you're fooling?
I don't have an Android either. WTF are either of us doing in this thread besides shitting it up?
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But it IS a spectacular (albeit non-free) File Reader/Player/Manager. FAR better than anything on Android.
... for some fairly restrictive definitions of "file", "manager", "reader" and "player." Reminds me of a joke about hammers and nails ...
Jus' sayin', too ;-)
Not nearly as restrictive as you think. You pretty much can get/put any file you wish. Now, whether you have an App than can DO anything with that file is entirely a different matter, and not related to GoodReader's capabilities. But, having said that, I have been pretty surprised at how many different filetypes it can actually open natively, and of course, for the rest, there's the "Open In..." option.
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I haven't seen him in a while so this is the best I can offer...
Apps are for cows. Only cows use apps. You app using cow. Mooo!!!
Here's to you, cow man!
Imma post this bitch logged in.
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> It's from China. What do you expect?
Great integration, tight code, privacy, security, ideal function, efficiency, and good looks.
Why'd you ask?
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I see you too are in the thread for much the same reason as I. Come, let's make pointless comments and share mindless drivel together fine Anon! Let us make merriment and proclaim our lack of interest - or even insight. Let us not say one thing of merit but disrupt the conversation flow for our own amusement.