Mozilla removed several popular security extensions from their extension store after privacy concerns were raised by security expert Wladimir Palant.
The removed extensions are Avast Online Security, AVG Online Security, Avast SafePrice, and AVG SafePric. Palant wrote an article saying that these extensions are the next best thing to spyware and cautioned consumers not to use them. The extensions upload detailed information about your browsing history to their makers.
These extensions are intended to add extra security to your browser.
Mozilla responded to his concerns by removing them as did the Opera browser. Avast claims this information is necessary in order to provide proper security measures for consumers browsing the Internet and says they don’t keep the data. However, in a statement, the company said they were working on new versions of the extension that met with Mozilla’s security requirements.
The extensions are still available in the Chrome web store. AVAST and AVG merged back in 2016 and between them are two of the most popular third-party security services available. Both offer free and paid versions of their services.
An interesting similar Avast problem: I installed the Brave browser when you wrote about it. When the installation was complete, I got a message that the Avast extension could not be added. This, in spite of the fact that I had uninstalled (completely, I thought) Avast from my computer some months before. Settings/Apps does not list Avast; what caused the attempt to install the extension? THANKS for all your work to provide useful computer information!
These antivirus people get their info from Microsoft.Why not just use MS’s security settings?