Unfortunately, we may have a bad news for all the Google Chrome users, who have recently installed the AdBlock Plus expansion.

According to the twitter user describing as @SwiftOnSecurity, up until 10th of October, a fake AdBlock Plus clone was listed in Google Chrome’s official Web Store. @SwiftOnSecurity tweeted that: “Google allows 37,000 Chrome users to be tricked with a fake extension by a fraudulent developer who clones popular name and spams keywords.”

It is unclear if the fake plug-in was designed to drop malware or other malicious payloads. However, just to be on the safe side, it is advised to check its developer’s credentials (by selecting: Chrome > More Tools > Extensions) or even better, to reinstall the web browser and scan the computer for unwanted content.

In his comment, @SwiftOnSecurity has also referred to the Google’s  verification process, that – in his opinion – affects mainly legitimate developers, and lets the fraudsters steal their good names.

At this point, it is not clear how Google will addressed this issue. So far the company has removed the fake AdBlock Plus expansion and made a statement: “We are always working to improve how we detect malicious extensions, and will continue to update our security protections to help prevent these types of issues in the future."