• Avast goes rogue

    Posted on June 17, 2016 at 10:18 CDT by • Comment in the Forums

    From reader c:

    Avast has just taken a page out of Microsoft’s bullying manual.

    I use Avast Free Antivirus. Several months ago, after resisting nag messages to “upgrade” to the new free version whose extra “features” I did not care for, I finally gave in.

    The new version messed with my Outlook 2003 (yes, that’s two thousand and three ; it suits me perfectly). It added a new “anti-spam” toolbar in all messages, which takes unwanted screen space and is completely unneeded, since I practically never receive spam.

    There was no warning, no way to opt-out before or after installation, and no way within Outlook 2003 or Windows 7 to disable the unwanted add-in. None that I found, anyway.

    So I went nuclear, and restored my whole system drive from a backup image. The “upgrade” vanished and I was back where I wanted to.

    Yesterday, Avast fired up a new, different nag screen, urging me to “upgrade” again (for my own good). Except… the only option “offered” was a Continue button… and no way to Cancel or Decline.

    So I right-clicked in the Windows taskbar to Close Window. Which it did.

    Today, when I launched Ooutlook, the dreaded anti-spam add-in appeared again.

    So, Avast stealthily “upgraded” me against my will, using exactly the same method Microsoft introduced with its wicked Windows 10 “upgrade” nag screen, where no Cancel option is offered and where clicking X means Accept.

    Folks, when a major player goes rogue, expect other, lesser vendors to grab the opportunity and go with the flow… Bad habits spread more readily than good ones. It seems we are less and less in control of our computers, and “empowerment” is a word of the past.

    UPDATE: I don’t know why, but attempts to post comments on this article are getting locked out. At least, I can’t get anything to post. Sometimes WordPress works in mysterious ways. Reader BC sent this:

    I’ve been using Panda Free Antivirus for over a year without problems. It seems light on resources, and it’s truly a “set-and-forget” experience when properly configured. The key is to enable “Gaming/multimedia mode,” and–most importantly–turn off “Panda news.” The software will be silent, without any type of nag screen.
    Panda does request an e-mail address, but I’ve never provided one.
    I don’t have another anti-virus scanner, but Malwarebytes and Spybot seem to indicate my system is clean.
    Other
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