Yet another reason to avoid so-called free antivirus'

[cornishman]

Just been reading that both AVG and Avast are phoning home with far more info on you, the user than is good (for you! )

Avast & AVG extensions, when installed in your browser, track the URL and title of every webpage you visit, and how you got to that page, along with a per-user identifier and details about your operating system and browser version, plus other metadata, and then transmit all that info back to Avast's and AVG's backend servers.

All the more reason to spend a couple of quid (average of £35.00 (UK) annually)

 

[maltrab]

I have discovered many times that the so called free and paid for versions of AVG and Avast don't afford much protection, Mcafee is terrible, Norton will cripple your machine, there are several much better options out there

 

[BruceC]

Is anyone surprised by this? Your browsers and OS's would be flooded with hidden nastys that do similar. You may find that Nortons, BitDefender etc etc etc all do the same.

I just accept this stuff these days, theres no point putting on a foil hat and worrying about it.
If they know I go to google.com and search for how to win 100 million - so be it

 

[cornishman]

I just accept this stuff these days, theres no point putting on a foil hat and worrying about it.
If they know I go to google.com and search for how to win 100 million - so be it

It's not the fact that they "phone home", a lot of softwares do, it's the underhand and secretive way that they do it, at the same time saying "who ME?"

 

[captain clutterbuck]

I have just noticed something peculiar with my Antivirus . I installed my AV software some time ago and subsequent Windows updates seem to have overwritten the setting for Security in the Security and Maintenance option in Control Panel and set firewall and Antivirus to be Windows Defender so anyone with a paid for AV might be paying for nothing . I spoke online to a Windows guy and "put words in his mouth" by saying to set my default AV to be my third party purchased software should I best reinstall it which would then overwrite the AV setting removing Windows Defender and replacing with my chosen third party software , his answer "It will probably help" If their software update wasn't so careless to overwrite the setting that have been a better solution . Might be worth people checking