37000 Chrome users downloaded a fake Adblock Plus extension

Google allows 37,000 Chrome users to be tricked with a fake extension by fraudulent developer who clones popular name and spams keywords. pic.twitter.com/ZtY5WpSgLt

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 9, 2017

Legitimate developers just have to sit back and watch as Google smears them with fake extensions that steal their good name pic.twitter.com/3Tnv4NtY9t

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 9, 2017

I’m being mean to Google because there’s no way their Chrome team is happy with this extension vetting/moderation situation.

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 9, 2017

SwiftOnSecurity says the fake extension was created by a “fraudulent developer who clones popular name and spams keywords.” Indeed, it’s pretty hard to tell that it’s fake, since its developer’s name is “Adblock Plus,” and it has a considerable number of reviews.

According to one of the fake Adblock’s reviewers, he started getting invasive ads that open lots of tabs after he installed it. Unfortunately, it’s unclear what else it can do or if it has even more detrimental effects that we still don’t know of. We asked Google if it has unearthed anything about the fraudulent extension, but even if we never hear back, it may be best to re-install Adblock Plus if you notice getting random ads after downloading it.