Avast Antivirus Software boasts of nearly half a billion monthly users, and I was among them. With its free options for virus protection, it’s a natural choice for many looking to keep their PC protected. Often times though, free software comes with a heavy cost in terms of privacy, and that is exactly the case for Avast users.
This morning I was alerted with an email (seen below) from Avast, of a recent U.S. Federal Trade Commission settlement where the company misrepresented its sharing of browsing data collected. We have learned that Jumpshot, a subsidiary of Avast, sold browsing information to over 100 companies. Jumpshot allowed third parties to link back browsing information to users devices. This took place between August of 2014 and January of 2020 (when Jumpshot was eventually shut down.) If you were an Avast user during this time, you were likely effected. Avast says it will be deleting this data and taking future precautions. I can surely say that this negatively impacts my feelings about this company that I do not plan on using again. If you were an Avast user, how do you feel?
