Google Chrome users running the Adblock Plus browser extension need to check the software right now.
Those who recently downloaded the hugely-popular ad-blocking browser extension from the official web store should make sure they’ve installed the right one.
That’s because some 37,000 Google Chrome users have installed a fake version of the browser software.
The fraudulent version of Adblock Plus purportedly passed Google’s verification process and was widely available in the official Chrome web store.
SwiftOnSecurity claims the fake extension was created by a “fraudulent developer who clones popular name and spams keywords”.
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The fake version of the app listed its developer as Adblock Plus – and boasted a considerable number of reviews.
That made it difficult to tell the genuine browser extension apart from the fraudulent version.
According to one of the reviews on the fraudulent Adblock Plus extension, following its installation, the browser extension started to show a number of invasive ads within Google Chrome.
It’s currently unclear if the fake Adblock Plus extension is to blame.
However, those users who were tricked into downloading the fraudulent version of the web browser should immediately uninstall it.
The official version of Adblock Plus can be found in the Chrome web store here.
Thankfully, the fraudulent version has now been removed.