Quote:
Originally Posted by Blossom
You're welcome ES File Explorer is a must have app! It does pretty much everything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jj2me
Anyone know how they make money? I don't recall ever seeing an ad. And there's no pro version.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blossom
There use to be paid version for root but I think it went free a couple years back.
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For non-trusting people, the answer to why we get ES Explorer for free with no ads and lots of updates, might be found
here, which I'll quote so you don't have to follow that link:
Quote:
"Begin a recording session, open ES File Explorer, attempt to log in to Dropbox using a dummy account, not your own.
Go immediately back to Network Connection and explore where ES went.
Last I checked, that password - in fact the entire login screen - was a product of the ES Chinese servers.
Stop recording, add ES to your firewall blacklist."
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I tried what that poster said using the free version of Network Connections, and yes, it shows packet travel to Chinese servers (see attached screenshot from the Network Connections app). Since it shows no other packet travel other than to a Chinese IP address, we can be sure that ES File Explorer acts as our login proxy to Dropbox.
Two things as possible defenses:
- We don't know if it actually collects/stores our logins/passwords.
- It may not be possible for an app to login for us and then do the chores of monitoring the Dropbox exchange without acting as our proxy, so this may not be out of the ordinary. Any web developer, please correct me.
And two suspicions, even if the defenses above are valid:
- Chinese servers
- Why does ES Explorer do this for free, with no usual revenue stream, and yet active development?