Antivirus collect data, should I worry?

where do they steal? Avast collects the browsing history of its users and sells the data to third parties, according to joint research of PCMag and Vice. This is the latest example of a free antivirus software that collects data. Of course this free antivirus should also save some money.

Are you using Avast antivirus? By default, Avast collects web browsing activity and offers it to marketers through a subsidiary called Jumpshot. Companies that buy the data the Avast app collects can see the full “clickstream” data to track what Avast users are doing .

Here's how Michael Kan presents it at PCMag:

The data collected is so detailed that customers can see the individual clicks that users make during their browsing periods, including up to a millisecond. And while the data collected is never associated with an individual's name, email, or IP address, each user history is assigned an identifier called a device ID.

Avast on the other hand says that this data is "anonymous", but PCMag and Motherboard report that they were able to link it to people. For example, if you know which Amazon user bought a certain at a specific second on a specific date, you can identify the “anonymous” person and then check their browsing history further.

If you have Avast installed by default, your browsing history is sold to advertisers via Jumpshot. This data is not collected through the Avast browser extension, but through the main Avast antivirus application.

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When you install Avast, you will see a question asking if you want to share your data. Most people who click on "Agree" probably did not realize that they agreed with the behavior described above.

If you have installed Avast, open the application and follow the path in the menu Settings – General – Privacy . From there you can control what data is collected and shared by the app, and of course you can turn off data sharing options.

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In October 2019, the creator of the Adblock Plus extension, Wladimir Palant, described how many Avast browser extensions collect and transmit data from the browsing history. The expansion of the AVG app did the same thing - and this should come as no surprise, since Avast bought AVG a few years ago.

Google and immediately removed the browser extensions from the Chrome Web Store and Mozilla Addons pages respectively, until Avast makes the necessary changes. Add-ons are available again while Avast seems to be more "transparent" in its privacy policy.

(Google is trying to protect its users from third party data collection, the joke of the day).

The free software antivirus has to make some profit, so it should come as no surprise that companies like Avast have turned to collecting and monetizing their customers' data.

Free antivirus software isn't “free” anymore. Many antivirus companies change the default engine s, changing the browser's home page and embedding additional software "offers" into their installers. Today, many other antivirus applications may be tracking you and possibly selling this data.

If you do not like these use Windows antivirus, but still do not be sure that data does not leave your computer.

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Written by giorgos

George still wonders what he's doing here ...

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