Whenever you think about improving your PC’s data security, your mind may wander off to an antivirus program. Of course, not everyone can afford a premium antivirus, let alone a subscription-based one.

That is why free antivirus programs are quite popular. Avast Antivirus is one such popular antivirus program, and it is completely free, while still managing to offer enough coverage to make it viable on the market today.

However, no one ever sat down to think where exactly do the companies get their revenue from.

Unfortunately, new information has come to light that will answer that question, and it isn’t exactly something you may want to hear.

Avast! is selling your data

After a thorough investigation made by PCMag and Motherboard, it looks like Avast! is harvesting your data to pay for their expenses and the free anti-virus software.

Long story short, the antivirus records your clicking habits and the websites you visit.

Jumpshot, an Avast subsidiary, then repackages the data and sells it to major companies. These include Google, Yelp, Microsoft, McKinsey, Pepsi, Sephora, Home Depot, Condé Nast, Intuit, and many others.

According to PCMag:

What do you think about this sudden revelation about Avast? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and we’ll continue the talk.

The data collected is so granular that clients can view the individual clicks users are making on their browsing sessions, including the time down to the millisecond. And while the collected data is never linked to a person’s name, email or IP address, each user history is nevertheless assigned to an identifier called the device ID, which will persist unless the user uninstalls the Avast antivirus product.

If the advices above haven’t solved your issue, your PC may experience deeper Windows problems. We recommend downloading this PC Repair tool (rated Great on TrustPilot.com) to easily address them. After installation, simply click the Start Scan button and then press on Repair All.

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