Avast extension removed for tracking users

[peteyt 387]

Not sure if this is allowed but thought I'd share an interesting post. Turns out an extension for browsers from Avast has been removed for tracking users. It does show sometimes those apparently protecting users are sometimes actually doing the opposite. This is why sometimes extensions can also be a bad idea. 

https://www.slashgear.com/avast-extension-removed-from-firefox-and-opera-for-tracking-users-05602354/

[itman 1,629]

Avast has a long reputation for tracking user activities, ad nag screens, you name it. This is especially true for the free versions of it but even the paid versions perform limited tracking activities. This is one major reason I stop using their products some years back.

[peteyt 387]

21 hours ago, itman said:

Avast has a long reputation for tracking user activities, ad nag screens, you name it. This is especially true for the free versions of it but even the paid versions perform limited tracking activities. This is one major reason I stop using their products some years back.

It's a shame as Avast once was respected, kind of similar with AVG at the beginning.

I'm now debating if I should remove ccleaner. I don't use it as much as I used to but it can be handy but now wonder if it could technically be classed as a PUA

[Nightowl 198]

49 minutes ago, peteyt said:

It's a shame as Avast once was respected, kind of similar with AVG at the beginning.

I'm now debating if I should remove ccleaner. I don't use it as much as I used to but it can be handy but now wonder if it could technically be classed as a PUA

I stopped using it since they went to Avast and their servers got infected somehow with the move, I never use it again.

here is another post : https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/avast-and-avg-firefox-extensions-pulled-from-mozilla-addons-site/

[Hpoonis 7]

AVG IS Avast.

[Nightowl 198]

4 minutes ago, Hpoonis said:

AVG IS Avast.

Avast bought AVG (merged together) in 2016

[peteyt 387]

9 hours ago, Hpoonis said:

AVG IS Avast.

 

8 hours ago, Rami said:

Avast bought AVG (merged together) in 2016

Avast bought AVG a few years back and also now own Piriform which is known mainly for ccleaner.

As for Avast and AVG - both are made as seperate programs. I'm not sure about the technical details e.g. if they offer anything different but presume they probably share some of the same technologies.

[peteyt 387]

9 hours ago, Rami said:

I stopped using it since they went to Avast and their servers got infected somehow with the move, I never use it again.

here is another post : https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/software/avast-and-avg-firefox-extensions-pulled-from-mozilla-addons-site/

I have just downloaded the free version of System Ninja which seems decent and going to uninstal ccleaner. I don't use it a lot but ccleaner is a lot better UI wise and the cleaning tool had a lot of programs included while System Ninja is mainly for general cleaning e.g. windows temp files etc. Like you I'm not keen on programs being shady, sending stuff they don't need to especially if they are not being open about this and not asking for permission (surely with GDPR this shouldn't be allowed). This is especially strange considering ccleaner in a sense is supposed to be a privacy program 

[Nightowl 198]

9 hours ago, peteyt said:

I have just downloaded the free version of System Ninja which seems decent and going to uninstal ccleaner. I don't use it a lot but ccleaner is a lot better UI wise and the cleaning tool had a lot of programs included while System Ninja is mainly for general cleaning e.g. windows temp files etc. Like you I'm not keen on programs being shady, sending stuff they don't need to especially if they are not being open about this and not asking for permission (surely with GDPR this shouldn't be allowed). This is especially strange considering ccleaner in a sense is supposed to be a privacy program 

I started to feel that all of these optimizing software is a joke , it might help very little , but it's not that much important at all.

[peteyt 387]

3 hours ago, Rami said:

I started to feel that all of these optimizing software is a joke , it might help very little , but it's not that much important at all.

Some of the stuff yeah. Registry cleaners have been debated for a long time. While occasionally keys left can cause issues later on with updates and such the general consensus is that keys left behind do not really take any space and removing them does not speed your computer up and if anything can cause more issues.

The thing is most of what these programs offer can be done in windows itself. The advtange is normally a nice UI and with all the features rolled into one program. For example the startup manager in many of these tools allows you to sometimes see ratings and also scheduled tasks people might not be aware of. Some are marketed also as tools to help privacy.

Some do have stupid claims e.g. make your internet faster. You can do tweaks but it will never be what people think it will be.

Edited December 12, 2019 by peteyt

[Nightowl 198]

3 hours ago, peteyt said:

Some of the stuff yeah. Registry cleaners have been debated for a long time. While occasionally keys left can cause issues later on with updates and such the general consensus is that keys left behind do not really take any space and removing them does not speed your computer up and if anything can cause more issues.

The thing is most of what these programs offer can be done in windows itself. The advtange is normally a nice UI and with all the features rolled into one program. For example the startup manager in many of these tools allows you to sometimes see ratings and also scheduled tasks people might not be aware of. Some are marketed also as tools to help privacy.

Some do have stupid claims e.g. make your internet faster. You can do tweaks but it will never be what people think it will be.

Indeed I understand that sometimes it gives you some kind of feature that you need and I do know about these tweaks hehe , download managers for XP always claimed that it will bring you more speed , as like they will pay my ISP a better package
 

Also driver softwares are PUA for me , It's good that Windows do provide the drivers now and also it can be obtained from the manufacturer website

[peteyt 387]

47 minutes ago, Rami said:

Indeed I understand that sometimes it gives you some kind of feature that you need and I do know about these tweaks hehe , download managers for XP always claimed that it will bring you more speed , as like they will pay my ISP a better package
 

Also driver softwares are PUA for me , It's good that Windows do provide the drivers now and also it can be obtained from the manufacturer website

Although I have noticed some extra speed with download managers ha unless it's just in my head. I know some download bits in parts to speed things up.

[Nightowl 198]

4 minutes ago, peteyt said:

Although I have noticed some extra speed with download managers ha unless it's just in my head. I know some download bits in parts to speed things up.

Haha maybe it maximizes or utilizes better than the browsers we had before in XP days , but these days it's not needed as far as I know , it might be good , because if the download failed somehow , it can keep what you have downloaded most of the times.

[itman 1,629]

Are You One Of Avast’s 400 Million Users? This Is Why It Collects And Sells Your Web Habits.

Quote

Avast, the multibillion-dollar Czech security company, doesn’t just make money from protecting its 400 million users’ information. It also profits in part because of sales of users’ Web browsing habits and has been doing so since at least 2013.

But recently appointed chief executive Ondrej Vlcek tells Forbes there’s no privacy scandal here. All that user information that it sells cannot be traced back to individual users, he asserts.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2019/12/09/are-you-one-of-avasts-400-million-users-this-is-why-it-collects-and-sells-your-web-habits/#132f21992bdc

And one should take his word on this? Sorry, but I don't. Using harvested web data for internal analytical purposes is one thing and is bad enough. Selling it and the admission of doing so is an entirely different matter.

Edited December 12, 2019 by itman

[peteyt 387]

2 hours ago, itman said:

Are You One Of Avast’s 400 Million Users? This Is Why It Collects And Sells Your Web Habits.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2019/12/09/are-you-one-of-avasts-400-million-users-this-is-why-it-collects-and-sells-your-web-habits/#132f21992bdc

And one should take his word on this? Sorry, but I don't. Using harvested web data for internal analytical purposes is one thing and is bad enough. Selling it and the admission of doing so is an entirely different matter.

Yeah. The fact it is apparently anonymised doesn't change the fact the data is still being collected and sold. I mean what is the difference between this and a piece of spyware?