Yet another reason not to use Avast

An Avast antivirus subsidiary sells 'Every search. Every click. Every buy. On every site.' Its clients have included Home Depot, Google, Microsoft, Pepsi, and McKinsey.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdkq7/avast-antivirus-sells-user-browsing-data-investigation

 

Make sure to untick this crap as well.

 

More info about Avast Malware from my thread. ONE VENDOR'S RISE AND FALL!

About time people wake up and finally can see what cancer company Avast has become. They bought up AVG and Piriform (CCleaner) to be able to collect as much info they can about the users. Free or paid from this company should be avoided. None should support this.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/antivirus-summary-report-2018.827396/page-3#post-10888467



Of course this isn't nothing new....

Avast spies on HTTPS connections
Published on 30. August 2019 by Günter Born

Anyone installing an Avast antivirus solution on their Windows system should expect their HTTPS connections to be monitored. It is well known that anti-virus providers read the HTTPS connections. Avast seems to have been using a new technology for a week - and has caught on a developer version of Chrome with it.

Why bother with this? None should install it! And neither AVG who is from same company.

Avast and AVG collect and sell your personal info via their free antivirus programs
The report alleges that Avast and AVG are collecting personal information and sending it to Jumpshot, a subsidiary that provides information on every "search, click and buy" you make to corporate clients.

"Avast says information collection is opt-in, and an opt-out option will be added soon"

No thanks!

 

AVG and Avast should not even exist. ESET, Kasperski and just ordinary Windows Defender are good enough if you need an antivirus/antimalware program.

 

Please recommend a good guide on configuring Windows Defender.

 

There really isn't a lot to configure. I disable scanning on everything except the C:\ drive. I also disable Controlled Folder Access (ransomware protection) because I don't like the stupid crap it does with permissions on files that I want to change, move or delete. Since I am diligent about creating offline Macrium Reflect images, I'm not concerned about the extremely remote possibility of ransomware. If that happens to me, I will simply nuke the drive with Diskpart and restore a clean image. No fuss, no muss. And, I don't use Defender (or anything else) on any of my benching OS installations. I only run it on my Windows 10 Enterprise 1909 crash test dummy OS. Even on that OS, I toggle it on/off at will using the Defender Control utility.

 

Haven't used Avast since my last days of Windows XP, so it's around 2009. That year I received Windows 7 laptop and just used Defender.
My parents still have it, I think, but I plan to downgrade them to Windows 10, and I will just leave Defender for them as well...

And every one else has already leaked and/or sold your data before them...

 

I've used MSE to Defender from Microsoft and have no problems. Here are a first thing you can do to protect without a A/V
1. Password Protect the Admin/Owner account-only to login to update
2. Create Limited account and use that for your everyday account-prevents unauthorized installs without Admin privileges.

Just these two options is what alot of users forget-the account you first setup is the Admin/Owner account and once virus/malware breaks through that forget any A/V from protecting you. If user just stop and think whom are they giving access to would you leave your door unlock-most would say no then why are you keeping your computer unprotected with just two simple steps????

3. Then you can install the A/V-if you have Windows 10 then Defender is FREE for owners so why are you not using it?

There are more blocking from Browers adblocker to hosts blocker to stop ReDirects and Popups but I'll leave that for something else as posting that will take more time then what is mentioned here.

 

Easiest and most hassle-free solution for web browsing is to use Brave browser. It's based on Chrome and will import all of your passwords and favorites, etc.

 

How Avast Uses Its Antivirus Software to Harvest Data and Sell “Every Search. Every Click. Every Buy. On Every Site.” wccftech.com | Jan 28, 2020

How much Avast is being paid by its clients for this data
In one instance, a marketing firm called Omnicom Media Group paid Jumpshot $2,075,000 for data access in 2019, with contracts revealing payments of $2,225,000 and $2,275,000 for 2020 and 2021, respectively. Avast users from over 14 different countries, including the US, UK, Australia, and Canada, had their data shared with this New York-based company.

 

I have to use Chrome without any plugins and visit shady websites for one of my jobs. I currently have Avast with HTTPS scanning and all data collection disabled, but I don't feel I can trust Avast anymore, and want to switch to Defender.

Defender is currently disabled in Windows settings and OOSU10, should I just enable it there and be done with it, or do I need to perform additional settings e.g. via Group Policy or something like ConfigureDefender utility, given my use case? I am asking because information on fine-tuning Defender seems scarce and I don't know if I need it or not; I didn't use Windows Defender for a single day in my life, always relying on Avast...

 

I have killed Defender from being used. Eset Nod32 on main pc and Kaspersky free on some others. You’ll find cheap license for Eset on Kinguin.com

Never pay for any internet security packages. All is fully of bloatware.

 

You should just be able to enable it in Windows and OOSU10 and have it work. Once it is enabled, you can look at the configuration options available, which are not complex or extensive.

 

Can be used together but if you kill Win update you kill updates for Defender. Probably solutions for this but I prefer not support Microsoft. They know if you use their AV. Not much of M$ solutions on my pc’s. Killed before birth

 

Most people that would use Defender also have Windows Updates enabled on the OS as well, so not a big deal in that sense. As I mentioned, I only use antivirus on my crash test dummy OS, and I have updates enabled as well. I let it run wild and free to see what will get broken so I can know what to avoid. I also do not like supporting Microsoft, but Defender is free and very light on resources. It is also as effective as competing products. So, I am supporting myself in that aspect, and only taking advantage of Microsoft. There are things about ESET and Kaspersky products that I do not care for as well, so it boils down to picking your poison. Thankfully, I don't have to think about it on my benching OSes. I do prefer the simplicity of using the Defender Control tool to flip it on and off. It's much easier than third party options.

As much as I do not like them and make no apologies for being extra critical of their stupidity, I also want to be fair and acknowledge the rare circumstance where they actually do a good job at something. I think being fair and objective is important and it validates the vitriol that flows so freely. Defender is something they actually have done a decent job with.

 

I don’t trust what’s coming from Redmond. They is known for killing awesome. Defender as it works today doesn’t mean it will works equal tomorrow. Only God knows what following Defender updates. A nice way implement changes in the OS. Nope, I don’t want be a part of this. Maybe I’m paranoid but better safe than sorry.

3rd part AV software can’t do core changes in the OS. Micro$lope is able to do everything in their interest. They will go over bodies to make it the way they prefer.

 

Avast defends its data gathering and sharing practices -- 'that's how antivirus works' betanews.com | Jan 29, 2020


Two days ago we reported how a joint investigation by Motherboard and PCMag discovered that Avast's free antivirus software was harvesting user data and selling it onto marketers in a way that could be linked back to an individual.

Following the inevitable backlash, Avast has responded, defending its data gathering and attempting to justify the practice of selling it on, while continuing to insist that the data is fully "de-identified".

 

Avast shuts down Jumpshot
https://www.ghacks.net/2020/01/30/avast-shuts-down-jumpshot/

 

Too late! Too late! The damage is already done and the trust is gone as the sun in a cloudy day Why trust a company that have spyware as main philosophy to earn money? Avast have done same shenanigans with AVG security, Piriform (CCleaner) and the well known spyware browser extensions. Everything they touch will be transformed into Malware.

Their ranking will continue sink further as a stone in water... http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-in-windows-anti-malware-market-share.831065/

This is only the beginning of the fall...

 

Avast under investigation for the sale of personal data to third-parties betanews.com | Feb 13, 2020

It’s fair to say that Avast has been engaging in some rather sketchy behavior over the past couple of years. These include a privacy controversy with CCleaner back in 2018, and then a couple of weeks ago it was revealed that Avast Free Antivirus was sending browser history to marketers.

After attempting to defend its data gathering and sharing practices, Avast finally apologized and shut down its marketing analytics subsidiary Jumpshot with immediate effect. But it seems that isn’t the end of the matter as far as the Czech authorities are concerned.

As a result of a joint PCMag and Motherboard investigation , the Czech Republic's Data Protection Authority has now launched an inquiry into Avast’s sale of users’ browser histories to third-party companies. It's at an early stage, but the DPA is taking things very seriously.​

What might be worrying for Avast Free Antivirus users is PCMag reports that the company "plans on archiving the browser histories it collected and sold via Jumpshot, rather than immediately deleting the information which includes searches and clicks anywhere online, from Amazon browsing to adult content browsing".