

Both companies are backed by strict privacy policies and do not sell their users’ data. I recommend you seek out a more ethical antivirus provider like Norton or TotalAV. It’s unfortunate because AVG offers a decent antivirus on both the free and paid plans. While it might be enough to regain some people’s trust, I no longer trust Avast or AVG to safeguard my online privacy and other sensitive data. The fact remains the company earned revenue by invading its users’ privacy for years and only stopped due to public pressure.Īvast has since shut down Jumpshot and updated its privacy policy to allow users to opt-out of future data collection. It would be quite easy for companies that purchased the data to combine this data with their own activity logs in order to reveal your identity.

While Avast claimed the data it collected was fully anonymized, a media investigation revealed the opposite. The sold data included people’s Google searches, YouTube viewing history, and even visits to adult websites. Jumpshot recorded every user click and documented which websites they visited, when, and from where. This was done through Jumpshot, a data-harvesting subsidiary that has since ceased operations. Warning! AVG’s parent company Avast has sold millions of its users’ browsing data to marketers and other third parties. Both Norton and TotalAV offer powerful online protection and have strict data protection policies, all for an affordable price. I ultimately believe you’re better off with a trustworthy antivirus service that won’t put your privacy at risk, like Norton or TotalAV.
AVG ANTIVIRUS FREE 2015 REVIEW SOFTWARE
It’s disappointing as AVG offers great antivirus software with near-perfect malware detection rates. Worse still, Avast only responded to accusations after significant backlash from the public and media.Īvast claims to have rectified the situation, but I don’t trust the company and can’t continue to endorse AVG’s free or paid plans. It was recently discovered that AVG’s parent company Avast had been secretly selling the personal data of its users for years. While it’s a popular antivirus with millions of global users, I can no longer recommend AVG after its parent company was caught in a serious privacy violation.
