Sad this isn't an onion headline
this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2024
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I doubt anyone here uses it but its another one to blacklist all the same
15 years ago avast was the only good one.
Replaced it with Eset not long after that because even back then it was going downhill fast. Then I ditched Eset about a decade ago because Windows Defender had finally reached a point where it was pretty much as good as anything else.
At this point I suspect sticking with Windows Defender (if you have to use Windows) may be the most sensible way to reduce your attack surface. At least it's just one company you know is already spying on you. Who knows which other antivirus companies these days are spying for profit.
Or GTFO windoze entirely.
No, it definitely wasn't the only good one 15 years ago. Maybe 20-25 years, but there were good options out there. MBAM hadn't gone to a shitty sub model yet, and G Data and Bitdefender were around.
It was better than McAfee
Well, yeah. Actual viruses are better than McAfee (and Norton)
No, it was the only free one. Freeware antiviruses weren't common back then.
That's not true, there were several free antiviruses that were considered good back then. I'd say quality free antivirus were more popular in the mid-00s to late 00s than they are now after Windows defender got usable.
there were several free antiviruses that were considered good back then
like?
"Data about the websites a person visits isn’t just another corporate asset open to unfettered commercial exploitation," Fair writes.
Fair.
Disclosure: Condé Nast, Ars Technica's parent company, received data from Jumpshot before its closure.
Nice.
Unfucking believable, also the grift continues "Avast has been acquired by Gen Digital, a firm that contains Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, CCLeaner, and ReputationDefender, among other security businesses."
Rip, once great software
… CCLeaner
Oh, that's why.
My roommate from a year ago was adamant CCleaner was required for his PC to keep running. In 2023. I was just shocked to see it was still even a thing.
“Let me tidy up these cookies for you….” .
Unbelievable.
CCLeaner?
They really don't like the original name Crap Cleaner anymore, eh?
BulkCrapUninstaller is pretty good tho.
Btw, the scripts on their site track you.
And with all that the general majority speaks of FOSS as of something dubious, because these well-known companies won't scam them.
And not to lie about their product?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
All of that language was offered up while Avast was collecting users' browser information from 2014 to 2020, then selling it to more than 100 other companies through a since-shuttered entity known as Jumpshot, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations and characterization of the facts, we are pleased to resolve this matter and look forward to continuing to serve our millions of customers around the world," the statement reads.
The FTC's complaint (PDF) notes that after Avast acquired then-antivirus competitor Jumpshot in early 2014, it rebranded the company as an analytics seller.
For example, a sample of just 100 entries out of trillions retained by Respondents showed visits by consumers to the following pages: an academic paper on a study of symptoms of breast cancer; Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential candidacy announcement; a CLE course on tax exemptions; government jobs in Fort Meade, Maryland with a salary greater than $100,000; a link (then broken) to the mid-point of a FAFSA (financial aid) application; directions on Google Maps from one location to another; a Spanish-language children’s YouTube video; a link to a French dating website, including a unique member ID; and cosplay erotica.
In a blog post accompanying its announcement, FTC Senior Attorney Lesley Fair writes that, in addition to the dual nature of Avast's privacy products and Jumpshot's extensive tracking, the FTC is increasingly viewing browsing data as "highly sensitive information that demands the utmost care."
"Data about the websites a person visits isn’t just another corporate asset open to unfettered commercial exploitation," Fair writes.
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