An Avast antivirus subsidiary sells 'Every search. Every click. Every buy. On every site.

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  • I see that “if it’s free, you’re the product” is still valid in 2020. To be honest, this is to be expected. It’s why I actually pay for antivirus. If you don’t want to pay or can’t pay, you’re better off with using Microsoft Defender (yeah, really).

    Thanked by (2)WSS cybertech
  • WSSWSS OGRetired

    You might have enjoyed my 'beta tester' roast of them in feedback. They literally printed it out, framed it, and sent me proof.

    My pronouns are like/subscribe.

  • joepie91joepie91 OGServices Provider
    edited January 2020

    @debaser said:
    I see that “if it’s free, you’re the product” is still valid in 2020. To be honest, this is to be expected. It’s why I actually pay for antivirus. If you don’t want to pay or can’t pay, you’re better off with using Microsoft Defender (yeah, really).

    Except as it turns out, your data gets sold and/or misused for things that you pay for as well because hey, it's free money. This is a structural problem in the software/IT industry, not something specific to free things at all.

    (Also, don't pay for AV, because whatever third-party AV you have installed is likely making your system less secure, given the shitty parser implementations running in kernel mode and badly-certificate-checking TLS MITM in virtually all of those products. Use Windows Defender instead, which is at least competently written.)

  • WSSWSS OGRetired

    @joepie91 said:
    (Also, don't pay for AV, because whatever third-party AV you have installed is likely making your system less secure, given the shitty parser implementations running in kernel mode and badly-certificate-checking TLS MITM in virtually all of those products. Use Windows Defender instead, which is at least competently written.)

    Sony probably has some pretty good in-house stuff. I'd use whatever they use. It tends to install whenever you want to listen to a CD.

    Thanked by (2)uptime FlamingSpaceJunk

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  • uptimeuptime OG
    edited January 2020

    I shall name me Avast subsidiary "Ye Mateys" for great justice!

    Aye, but riddle me this: y tho was itself not properly detected and rightfully keelhauled ...?

    HS4LIFE (+ (* 3 4) (* 5 6))

  • WSSWSS OGRetired

    @Clouvider said:
    Or use a Mac.

    Wait, you don't run homebrew?

    My pronouns are like/subscribe.

  • @joepie91 said:

    @debaser said:
    I see that “if it’s free, you’re the product” is still valid in 2020. To be honest, this is to be expected. It’s why I actually pay for antivirus. If you don’t want to pay or can’t pay, you’re better off with using Microsoft Defender (yeah, really).

    Except as it turns out, your data gets sold and/or misused for things that you pay for as well because hey, it's free money. This is a structural problem in the software/IT industry, not something specific to free things at all.

    (Also, don't pay for AV, because whatever third-party AV you have installed is likely making your system less secure, given the shitty parser implementations running in kernel mode and badly-certificate-checking TLS MITM in virtually all of those products. Use Windows Defender instead, which is at least competently written.)

    Well.
    I do use Malwarebytes premium as a paid app other than defender on Windows 10.
    I believe Malwarebytes is not me of the better ones.

  • cybertechcybertech OGBenchmark King

    @debaser said:
    I see that “if it’s free, you’re the product” is still valid in 2020. To be honest, this is to be expected. It’s why I actually pay for antivirus. If you don’t want to pay or can’t pay, you’re better off with using Microsoft Defender (yeah, really).

    I use Linux. Is that ok?

    I bench YABS 24/7/365 unless it's a leap year.

  • WSSWSS OGRetired

    @cybertech said:

    @debaser said:
    I see that “if it’s free, you’re the product” is still valid in 2020. To be honest, this is to be expected. It’s why I actually pay for antivirus. If you don’t want to pay or can’t pay, you’re better off with using Microsoft Defender (yeah, really).

    I use Linux. Is that ok?

    Only if you remember to f-prot the tarballs.

    My pronouns are like/subscribe.

  • @cybertech wrote: I use Linux. Is that ok?

    @WSS said: Only if you remember to f-prot the tarballs.

    Dang! :o I've never done that. Should I reinstall all my Linux installations? :p

  • @WSS said:

    @cybertech said:

    @debaser said:
    I see that “if it’s free, you’re the product” is still valid in 2020. To be honest, this is to be expected. It’s why I actually pay for antivirus. If you don’t want to pay or can’t pay, you’re better off with using Microsoft Defender (yeah, really).

    I use Linux. Is that ok?

    Only if you remember to f-prot the tarballs.

    Get the best deal on your next VPS or Shared/Reseller hosting from RacknerdTracker.com - The original aff garden.

  • WSSWSS OGRetired

    @dahartigan said:

    Only if you remember to f-prot the tarballs.

    This joke is more than a decade older than that place.

    My pronouns are like/subscribe.

  • Previously used avast. Then switched to panda.

    Now using a readonly version of porteus Linux with preconfigured pi hole based adblocker.

    Still using panda on Windows gaming machine, that gets powered on over the weekends...

    Thanked by (1)uptime

    If it’s not broken, keep fixing it until it is. Blink twice if you agree.

  • WSSWSS OGRetired

    @somik said:
    Previously used avast. Then switched to panda.

    .. then had to reinstall Windows when it decided to eat half of your files?

    My pronouns are like/subscribe.

  • flipsflips OG
    edited January 2020

    I had an Avast installation, running with no real-time shield turned on (just wanted it for scanning some files before unpacking or executing). Then I discovered Avast had a habit of trying to login to default gw using admin/admin and such on telnet, http etc.
    That's when I deinstalled and seached for and deleted all remnants of Avast ...

  • @WSS said:

    @somik said:
    Previously used avast. Then switched to panda.

    .. then had to reinstall Windows when it decided to eat half of your files?

    LOL, isn't that a given? Avast started showing up with ads and making pc slow. So wiped system and reinstalled OS.

    If it’s not broken, keep fixing it until it is. Blink twice if you agree.

  • If anyone wants, I have a McAfee one year licence. :p
    Got it with the laptop and I think key be you can transfer it.

  • Why do people install another free antivirus when Windows 10 gives a free one?

  • @maddy said:
    Why do people install another free antivirus when Windows 10 gives a free one?

    Double the protection, double the safety, double the data breach chance.

    If it’s not broken, keep fixing it until it is. Blink twice if you agree.

  • Is there a selfhosted wget proxy (scan and deliver) for all the tarballs we download?

    Sounds like a nice idea for a weekend project.

    Thanked by (2)Abdullah uptime
  • DanielDaniel OG
    edited February 2020

    @somik said: Double the protection, double the safety, double the data breach chance.

    Someone once asked me why their computer was so slow... They had four different anti-virus programs installed. "I got a virus once, so I installed a few antiviruses to make my protection even better".

    Thanked by (1)uptime
  • joepie91joepie91 OGServices Provider
    edited February 2020

    @maddy said:
    Why do people install another free antivirus when Windows 10 gives a free one?

    Because Windows Defender was pretty crap in a distant past, and even though that hasn't been true for many years now, AV companies have used that as their marketing pitch to justify their existence ever since. There's literally no (good) reason to install a third-party AV today.

    Thanked by (1)maddy
  • @joepie91 said:

    @maddy said:
    Why do people install another free antivirus when Windows 10 gives a free one?

    Because Windows Defender was pretty crap in a distant past, and even though that hasn't been true for many years now, AV companies have used that as their marketing pitch to justify their existence ever since. There's literally no (good) reason to install a third-party AV today.

    Thanks! I can save money on subscription and maybe invest in a nice VPS. ;)

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