![]() But any actual misuse of that data by a security company would spell its destruction. Yes, that means that they could construct a complete record of your browsing activity. To do this, they must send the URLs you visit to the cloud for analysis. Just about every antivirus product includes the ability to steer your browser away from unsafe or fraudulent URLs. Vlcek said no, the only difference is that if you accept, Avast retains and aggregates data reported by the browser extension, while if you decline, it discards the data after use. Neil asked if declining to share data meant that Avast wouldn't use those unique identifiers. When you install Avast, it makes a point of asking permission to gather information, specifically requesting "non-identifying data" and stating the data "is fully de-identified and aggregated and will not be used to personally identify or target you." You can click to agree or decline the sharing request. They simply let the cloud-based analysis system match reports coming from the same source. ![]() Browser type and version feed into aggregate statistics, though Vlcek said a future version will let you opt out of that feature.Īs for the unique user IDs Palant reported, Vlcek confirmed they exist, but said they don't connect to any personal data. Some of the fields, such as the page title, aren't used and "will be removed."Īvast collects the country code for a general idea of location, in lieu of capturing the much more personal IP address. Many, such as the referrer field, feed into URL analysis in the cloud. He also noted that the extension takedowns occurred just 12 hours after Mozilla's announcement of its new store policies.īut what about all that data sent by the browser extensions? Vlcek went down the laundry list of data points identified by Wladimir Palant and explained each. ![]() Rubenking that "We have already implemented some of Mozilla's new requirements, and we will release further updated versions that are fully compliant and transparent per the new requirements." UPDATE 12/5: Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek tells PCMag's Neil J.
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