Data is sold to big brands so they can study consumer behavior when buying online to come up with compelling ads. The division held liable for selling data to third-parties is the company’s subsidiary Jumpshot. Unfortunately, a huge amount of anonymized browser history information can be broken down and connected to actual users. So, based on this explanation, one can simply believe that the act is not harmful. Now, back to the highlight of the story, as indicated above, Avast claimed to have stripped any identifying details before selling its users’ browsing history. Worse, it can slow down your system performance when executing scans, limiting other activities. Although light, it takes time to complete a full system scan compared to other leading competitors in the industry. This mini security suite comes with an unlimited password manager on its free version. About Outbyte, uninstall instructions, EULA, Privacy Policy. To have access to advanced features, users have to pay for a premium version.Ĭompatible with: Windows 10/11, Windows 7, Windows 8 Avast Antivirus is sold using a freemium model whereby users receive basic endpoint protection features at no cost. The company ranks second in claiming the largest market share in the security industry. Before diving deep into the matter, let’s first understand what is Avast? About Avast AntivirusĪvast is a computer security tool that was founded back in 1988 and has managed to rack over 430 million monthly users. However, based on our experts’ analysis, de-identified data can still be linked to actual identities. In their defense, Avast claimed the data sold had been de-identified, hence securing user privacy. This scandal was revealed when both Google and Mozilla dropped Avast’s web extension. It was once a trusted security tool with over millions of users, then turned out to be harvesting and selling browser history information to third-parties. But what happens when these so-called ‘guardian angels’ become the vultures we’re running away from? In the end, our hopes rely on security tools that promise to keep us safe from cyber criminals.

The internet is congested with vultures looking to spy and steal sensitive data.

What is avast antivirus pro