Uninstall These Snooping AVG and Avast Browser Extensions
We always recommend keeping your list of extensions lightweight, because you never know when something might be trying to intercept data from your browser – especially more data than it should be able to access. This is exactly the problem that Mozilla raises with four seemingly “good” extensions – Avast Online Security , AVG Online Security , Avast SafePrice, and AVG SafePrice – and you should remove them from your browser at least until they will not be fixed.
According to ZDNet , Mozilla removed the four extensions from its online gallery after AdBlock Plus creator Vladimir Palant reported that the extensions were collecting more data than they should. Palant writes :
“Snooping on your users is clearly a violation of the terms that Google and Mozilla require extension developers to sign. So yesterday I reported on these four Mozilla and Google extensions. Mozilla immediately disabled the extension lists, so these extensions can no longer be found on the Mozilla Add-ons site. However, Mozilla did not blacklist the extensions, saying they are still communicating with Avast. So for existing users, these extensions will continue to be active and will continue to spy on users. “
You can read more about Palant’s general findings here , but here’s an excerpt from his findings:
“When the Avast Online Security extension is active, it requests information about the websites you visit from the Avast server. In the process, it will transmit data that allows you to recover your entire web browsing history and most of your online behavior. The amount of data sent goes far beyond what is required for the extension to work, especially when compared to competing solutions such as Google Safe Browsing.
Avast’s privacy policy covers this feature and states that it is necessary to provide the service. The storage of the data is considered hassle-free due to the anonymity (I disagree) and Avast makes no representations explaining how long it will keep it. “
An Avast spokesman told ZDNet that it is working with Mozilla to fix its extension to make it “fully compatible and transparent.” You can still find all four extensions in the Chrome Web Store, but Opera has followed in Mozilla’s footsteps and has removed them from its extension gallery for now.
What to do with these extensions for now
If you’ve installed any of these four extensions in whatever browser you’re using, uninstall them. You probably don’t even need extensions to check the websites you visit, because it can all be done with a little common sense .
If you still feel like you need an extension to find out if websites are legal or not, you can try something like Windows Defender Browser Defender (for Chrome ) or the slightly more complex Application Guard extension (for Chrome or Firefox ), which dumps untrusted websites into an isolated instance of Microsoft Edge. (You also need to have Edge installed on your system for this to work.)
As far as price tracking extensions go, I can’t tell you when was the last time they actually saved me money on anything. If you want some little tool that informs you of potential deals on the items you are about to buy, Honey ( Chrome , Firefox ) is a fairly reputable extension. Although, if I were you, I would just do a little bit of searching to find the best deals.