Antivirus software, also known as anti-malware, is a computer program designed to prevent, detect, and remove malware. While there is some antivirus software that costs a lot, there are some companies that offer theirs for free. One of these is Avast, which is currently used by millions of people all over the world.
A new joint investigative report conducted by PC Mag and Vice's Motherboard reveals an intriguing revelation about Avast and its subsidiary AVG. Based on the report, whenever users install Avast on their PC or laptop, they are asked to agree with the License Agreement. Most of the time, users do not read this part and immediately click on the 'I Agree' button.
However, there is one portion of that agreement where users enable Avast to anonymize and share user's data with third parties for trend analytics. Slashgear recently conducted its own version of the investigation using the Avast OS X app. The site discovered that during the installation process, the license agreement is still asking users to agree that 'You also acknowledge that Vendor or a member of the Vendor Group may share Data that is anonymized and aggregated with third parties for trend analytics.'
In Oct 2019, Adblock Plus creator Wladimir Palant revealed that the Avast Online Security Extension, as well as the AVG Secure Browser, are spying on their users and harvesting users' data. The developer further explained last year that the user's data, which includes a unique user ID, page visited, and other details could be provided to third parties. He also suggested that the possible destination of these data is Jumpshot, which a subsidiary of Avast.
Palant's report is where the joint investigative project of Motherboard and PC Mag was built upon. According to the report, Jumpshot repackages and sells the data. On its official website, Jumpshot states that it could deliver data based on users' actions behind the most valuable walled gardens of the internet.
Jumpshot's current and previous clients include Yelp, Pepsi, Google, Microsoft, Home Depot, Sephora, to name a few. These names were reportedly obtained through leaked contracts, user data, and other company documents. Some examples of what Avast track includes Amazon Store views, Clothing banner ad clicks, Google searches, and Instagram views.
Avast also tracks dates the user visited a Facebook page, exact time of clicks and views, and products bought on eBay. Additionally, it tracks video views, search terms, date, and time of visit on PornHub. Last month, Avast tried to justify its actions by saying that the gathered web histories, before being forwarded, were removed from users' personal details. "The data is fully de-identified and aggregated and cannot be used to personally identify or target you," Avast said.
