Avast sells user data collected by its antivirus software

An antivirus program used by hundreds of millions of people around the world is selling highly sensitive web browsing data to many of the world's biggest companies, a joint investigation by Motherboard and PCMag has found. Our report relies on leaked user data, contracts, and other company documents that show the sale of this data is both highly sensitive and is in many cases supposed to remain confidential between the company selling the data and the clients purchasing it. The documents, from a subsidiary of the antivirus giant Avast called Jumpshot, shine new light on the secretive sale and supply chain of peoples' internet browsing histories. They show that the Avast antivirus program installed on a person's computer collects data, and that Jumpshot repackages it into various different products that are then sold to many of the largest companies in the world. Some past, present, and potential clients include Google, Yelp, Microsoft, McKinsey, Pepsi, Sephora, Home Depot, Condi(C) Nast, Intuit, and many others. Some clients paid millions of dollars for products that include a so-called "All Clicks Feed," which can track user behavior, clicks, and movement across websites in highly precise detail. Is anybody really surprised by this? Antivirus companies have been scammers for a long time now, spreading fear and anxiety amongst primarily less knowledgeable users, tricking and scamming them into paying exorbitant amounts of money for tools that are not needed, do not work, slow computers down, and in many cases, actively harm operating systems. Of course, with these programs running with unparalleled access to many Windows machines, we all knew antivirus companies would resort to selling user data to make an extra buck, sinking even deeper. You don't need anything more than what your operating system provides, whether you use Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, or iOS.