AVG free 2014 phones home, spys on users

Volare:, what planet are you on? step one read "post 1" step 2 think step three post

Cheers

Forgot to say as well all modules were not install in a custom install, only the anti virus was, and i truly would have to have mental problems before i use their all in one deal that comes with a firewall.

Agreed, though the Ubuntu\amazon problem is a drop in the bucket compared to whats going on in windows land of late.

Their everywhere bro ! *slaps on tin foil hat* run for the hills

Wise words Sr and yes i do know what im doing, only bin doing this since apple II, and agreed its why i use a test box, they can vampire everything off that for all i care and the only thing anyone will learn is that its a p4 dell junker worth $40 used, O'look a 40gig hdd, yay.
Hdd was wiped to US DoD standards before use\installing winxp sp3 and checked after the fact for bios virus problems. drive was clean.

I can do better "wiped to US DoD standards before use"

 

Just those we were speaking of---AVG ones. Yeah, I heard that.

 

I can understand when people want more valid info to verify accusations of products phoning home without permission. There's nothing wrong with that. But when it comes to products phoning home without permission it is very disturbing when the response is generally that 'they all do it, so what's the big deal?' That is a very cowardly response. It's a shame that there are some fanboys so color blind with certain products that they give them the ok, no matter what the company does. Certainly some companies are more reprehensible than others, and have done some pretty low life actions in the past. Although sometimes I doubt that even matters for some fanboys of certain products.

 

AFAIK AVG 2014's individual components do look up the cloud. The option for verification of detections in the cloud mainly applies to on-demand/real-time scan only and not to LinkScanner and Identity Protection.

I would recommend you to contact AVG and clarify your doubts before raising a hue and cry over some purported spy application.

 

http://oi43.tinypic.com/11buavl.jpg
http://oi42.tinypic.com/1yptfd.jpg

http://oi40.tinypic.com/ao2bsn.jpg
http://oi39.tinypic.com/33cmarl.jpg

http://oi40.tinypic.com/2r53vw8.jpg

http://oi40.tinypic.com/219dgxs.jpg

http://oi44.tinypic.com/2d92354.jpg

IP you can looks up for some fun.
You wanted wire shark and prof it douse more then just spam a bogus proxy ip, their you go.

anyways Im done with this topic my self seeing as their little more i can add to the topic and i know what AVG 2014 is, as for the pictures that speak a thousand words ill let them do the talking and let you all draw your own conclusions as to what it all means,time to move on my self to other parts of the forum, AVG and others like them aren't protecting you from spyware they are the spyware.

Case closed in my mind, everyone can go on talking about it as they see fit.

You know we didn't have problems like this with AV back in win98 for more then one reason, one of the big ones in my mind was people knew how to use a computer back then, now its windows 8 with a built in remote desktop\admin account backdoor for micro $oft and friends, and computer users that need help finding the power button.

Ps: AVG still owes me a $20 flash drive.

And ya i can see how some of the powers that be want to turn us all in to thin clients and little more then screens with keyboard's with them camping the master mainframe server dictating how its going to be with you the end user having ZERO exception of privacy or control over your computers, and less legal rights then a rock, because you are no longer a human being you are a slave to skynet and the one's in control of it,till the day comes were the humans lose control that is of it.

Skynet Admin: im sorry did you do something that displeases me ?
End user: fill in the blank

Do you know what a master mainframe distributed cluster server and terminal computer setup looks like ? that's right its called cloud

WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD ORDER !

 

It is easy to id potential trolls or Fanboys.

1) They don't show what security products they use themselves in their signatures.

2) They are active elsewhere as moderators or posters on vendor sponsored support forums.

3) If you have doubt just google them and up they pop!


3) New ones with few posts all on the same theme are suspect.


Solutions abound BUT don't help them by wasting time on their posts. Read other posts about other products.


The www is inherently unsafe on privacy and many products need to connect out to update BUT more than that indicates a vendor you really don't want.

 

you know i never understand those who complain about software phoning home.
if you are afraid of it doing so, why do you install it, something you don't trust, in the first place?
isn't internet all about phoning here and there?

 

One thing has me stopped using AVG ever is that if you see some other software that scans shows adware or have PUP include avg web scanner bundled as part of their install package and that that when you uninstall avg it leaves tons of junks some are embedded so deep that no other cleaner can get rid of them and have to go manually and try to find all of them to delete.

This is a reason that I stay clear of AVG. Its just a headache to get rid of all its leftovers.

 

I don't know when was the last time you used AVG, but I need to set the record straight with regard to what amounts to misinformation if your comment is about the AV itself. Having used AVG the past two years, and having uninstalled it to trial other AVs, on occasion, I have never had an issue such as what your comment suggest. I simply download the AVG removal tool, boot to safe mode and uninstall. It is that simple! Now if you are speaking specifically about the AVG Secure Search toolbar, I wouldn't know of issues with uninstalling it since I personally never use that.

 

Why should it be necessary to go to that route in order to remove AVG? I have used several different av's over the years, some are more burdensome to remove than others. But the good ones usually are able to remove themselves without the need of some special tool and safe mode. If the removal tool is needed then why doesn't AVG have it as part of the av itself?

 

I am just pointing what works to uninstall AVG without issue. You can direct your question about uninstall functionality to AVG. And for the record, I uninstall every AV program I used with its removal tool in safe mode because it's a cleaner uninstall before the AV actually loads.

 

Yeah, it smelt like a moronic vendetta from the first post.

 

LoL, but do you even know what you are trying to demonstrate? Some wise users suggested to be careful in what you post and check well your claims.

You have sadly not followed it. The pictures indeed speak for themselves. I.e. no clue on what you are doing. Showing again DNS resolving queries + a very suspicious connection with 0 data exchanged... LOL and some other undetermined screens.

Again, think twice before posting as you are digging your own grave deeper and deeper. Probably a nice walk and some fresh air is in need

Close and out.

 

Although I'm not a great fan of AVG, I dislike even more libel.

Shouldn't this topic be purged prior to the demands from the AVG legal department?

 

Hopefully AVG did not notice this thread as it is a rather easy target for legal actions

 

K wasn't planing on posting anymore on this topic but i compelled for some reason to deal with this one troll post, guess i shouldn't have bin reading peoples comments after the fact.

Iv demonstrated the following

All auto updates and anything to do with letting AVG connect to any network were disabled in the options, with out consent it douse so anyways and will ignore all user preferences and options in regard to phoning home as well as data mine the target computer just like a zombie botnet infection would.
Only the AV part of AVG was installed, as well the web browser went wacky and wouldn't let me connect to 50% of everything on the net when tested.

Can you say browser highjacking ?

0 data was exchanged seeing as it was blocked by a firewall.
Even on the test computer i don't feel like letting AVG data mine It.

Test was ended the min it tried to send data over port 80.

btw what happens after a DNS check ? that right phoning home, you know all about that right seeing as your a official zone alarm representative, and in your book their is no such thing as prof.

Id follow your own advice on this topic Fax, but i do look forward to seeing your comments when i do my little history post in regards to zone alarm 6 to 9 and whats changed.

How to be just like FAX and other astroturfing AV representatives.
25 Rules of Disinformation: How to Fight Back

And btw vojta AVG did kill a usb flash drive, and no Escalader my name isn't fax and i don't work for check point software or anyone that makes AV.

Btw Fax in your book what construes prof of software phoning home with out consent ? this should be good

 

O'relly death to free speech hu ?

https://www.eff.org/

 

If you want to test communication of AVG why are you blocking exchanges? How can you then analyse what was supposed to be sent? i.e. Test looks ill designed, to say the least.

Again, no offense intended but you seem having little knowledge (= no clue) to be able to carry out these tests. Can you at least get some help of someone around you? This is getting ridiculous. lol

AVG spy on users? From what you provided there is 0/zero/nada/... to support it. May be time to go back to earth and study a bit more on security tools and communication protocols?

Of course, so everybody can post random junk on whatever and then claim freedom of speech

Last post from my side as it is just a huge waste of time

 

Taking a look at your more recent images, they would appear to substantiate an attempted HTTP connection to hbf.cloud.avg.com. Now perhaps a reader knows if that server is specific to a feature and will tell us. I don't know what it is used for. Do you? I'll assume not for the moment. You blocked that connection attempt and thus you didn't see what would have been exchanged in the (unencrypted) HTTP request/response.

You could setup an HTTP server/proxy to listen on a local port, point AVG at that server/proxy, configure the proxy to log HTTP requests, and if a proxy block it from establishing outbound port 80 connections. In that way seeing the HTTP requests and data without allowing them to reach the cloud server. Perhaps you will see something... a hostname or URL (since you mentioned this affecting your browser), a filename, or something else recognizable in that HTTP request. Something that will shed light on what would have been phoned home and the type of feature that wasn't actually disabled.

You could also briefly allow some requests/responses through and see them via Wireshark, but then the info would reach the AVG cloud.

 

Instead of disabling everything "cloud powered" in a product to reduce the protection and detection by probably over 50%. Use an On-demand product.

And I thought this was about "what" was sent to AVG when it phones home, not disable the product like a malware and be surprised to see that the product tries to connect out to possibly get assistance from the cloud in order to detect the malware that disabled it, since some products do that. (for good reasons)

The products are more advanced because the malware is more advanced.

Download an AV from pre 2000 and I am sure you will see zero attempts to connect out if you disable the Sig update function, since that's probably the only connection attempt these old products will do. Old and rather ineffective.

 

Of course, that's why I wrote:

You blame them for your loss and so you try to stain their reputation here.

Look, here we have another 'genius' that always pretend to resell the licenses of security software that he buys. As most software companies don't admit that practice he begins a slandering campaign every time that a developer refuses to grant him permission for the reselling of his license.

And so, one week an anti-malware program installs virus in your computer, the other an anti-virus spies your banking transactions, etc.

Why does the admin here permit so serious accusations without solid proof? I don't know, but it's clear that in internet it's always 'happy hour' for slanderers, liars, trolls and warez kids. It's always easy and cheap for them, it's always difficult and expensive for decent people.

Some people here tries to scare you but you have nothing to fear, you are on the winning side.

 

And on what are you basing conclusions? Based on a basic log from a firewall that doesn't really say what is being sent/received?

Seriously, it's 2013 (late one) and i don't know any AV that isn't cloud aware in some way. AVG is no exception. So, before you start waving with your hands in panic, why not learn a bit how AV's work? Because you clearly don't understand it at all...

 

The price of tinfoil just went up.

 

Indeed lol...

You can use avg or any other cloud based av with safety as long as there is nothing sensitive on your computer.

What have users to hide..?

Take me for example.I have absolutely nothing discriminating or of a financial nature on my computer at all.

My point being if you are paranoid about data being sent to a server etc then would it not make sense to just not have that data on the computer in the first place.?

Cheers.

 

I disable those "features" in Ubuntu. I use nothing that has cloud in it so if someone wants to read contents of my hard drive they have to break in and either steal my laptop or put in a linux trojan.