Some more "data collecting" going on without our knowledge. This one, this time around is from and anti-virus maker to boot!
Avast & AVG - their respective browser extensions, apparently are doing some data mining. The following 4 extensions:
- Avast Online Security
- AVG Online Security
- Avast SafePrice
- AVG SafePrice
- Full URL of the page you are on, including query part and anchor data,
- A unique user identifier (UID) generated by the extension for tracking,
- Page title,
- Referrer URL,
- How you landed on a page, e.g., by entering the address directly, using a bookmark or clicking a link,
- A value that tells whether you visited a page before,
- Your country code
- Browser name and its exact version number,
- Your operating system and its exact version number
So, if you have AVG or Avast anti-virus, you more than likely have those extensions added on, as the installer automatically adds the browser extension. If you need to check, if you are using FireFox open a new tab, click on the little gear in the top right corner, then click on 'extensions and themes' , you will see a list of all the extensions that are active on your browser. From there, it is just a matter of clicking on the 3 ... and it will give you the option to disable.
For our Chrome users, click on the 3 vertical ... , and click on 'more tools', then simply 'extensions'. You will see a screen with all your extensions, with a little sliding button to enable/disable them, and also the option to remove.
If you don't disable these extensions, they will continue to collect and send your data to Avast.
I would like to credit The Hacker News for this article. Feel free to head over there for more info!
Once again, Stay safe fellow Internetters!
Sevenowl
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