AVG 8.0 & Privacy: Should I be concerned?

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if this in the correct forum but hope it is. I have AVG Free 7.5 and was looking to update to version 8.0 when I read the usual licence agreement and came across the following: Is it harmless? Thanks.


Privacy.

i. You acknowledge that AVG Technologies collects certain information regarding the users of the Software, including certain personally identifiable information. You hereby consent to AVG Technologies' collection and use of such information, and agree that AVG Technologies' collection and use of such information will be governed by AVG Technologies' Privacy Policy, currently published at www.avg.com, as AVG Technologies may revise the same from time to time.

ii. BY PROCEEDING TO INSTALL THE TOOLBAR, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPT THAT, UPON ITS INSTALLATION, THE TOOLBAR WILL MODIFY VIA THE SETTINGS OF YOUR BROWSER THE "DNS ERROR PAGE" AND "ERROR 404 PAGE". FURTHERMORE, ONCE INSTALLED, THE TOOLBAR MAY
COMMUNICATE CERTAIN BASIC USAGE INFORMATION TO VISICOM MEDIA INC. VIA ("APPLICATIONSTAT.COM") TO HELP VISICOM COMPILE GLOBAL STATISTICS CONCERNING USAGE OF THE TOOLBAR BY USERS (for example concerning the number of installations and unique users, the number of clicks which the Toolbar receives, the number of searches performed by users, etc.). Such statistical information will not include any personally identifiable information regarding users.

 

It doesn't sound good.

 

The main reason I'll never use a toolbar. The Google/Yahoo/etc toolbars do the same thing, they're designed to track your surfing habits and cater ads to you. Thank you very much, but no thanks.

 

Is installing that toolbar mandatory ? Or can you opt out ?

 

Is this AVG free only or the full version too?

 

You can opt out during the install. Afterward you can confirm by checking your installed BHO's.

 

Does the tool bar actually offer anything i.e. is it the linkscanner product they acquired?

 

AVG ruined theirself when they added a toolbar. Optional or not, the toolbar is still offered.

 

The privacy statement is just to cover all probable concerns especially with the US laws. Otherwise they can sue you for something you might not include. So it was made to cover a wide range.

Actually what it really does is prevalence (sending information to us about spread threats in the web.) This will help us to react faster and track origins of those threats so we can get those spreading sites down much quicker.

I can understand that this is confusing but it is a matter of laws and protecting ourselves against potential attacks by laywers.

Regards,
Vinzenz

 

Who is Visicom media, and what is their relation to Grisoft?

 

well I certainly won't ever be using AVG. the product is on the border line of being spyware.

 

Avg tool bar can be opt out by remove the checked Box upon the install. There not the only ones to add the tool bar option.I trailed Norton 2008 and had I believe it was yahoo tool bar option checked by default like avg does.My opinion this is a wrong approach for a security application.It is a mostly unwelcome addition, at least for the security conscious folks.

 

The Visicom Media Toolbar technology, known as Dynamic Toolbar, well demonstrates the company's capabilities in merging Web functionality and software development. The toolbar docks to users' browsers to let them access the resources of the Web site’s features at all times. It's the ideal solution for large and small portal sites looking to increase traffic, build user loyalty and branding. Today, lead companies in their own fields such as Yahoo!, Comcast, Verizon, Nasdaq, Yellow Pages, Netscape, United on line, Ford, Sony, T-online, Wanadoo, Walt Disney, Real Network, Mapquest, SFR, Mamma, Hewlett Packard…use Visicom Media’s acclaimed toolbar technology.


http://software.visicommedia.com/en/society/

 

You don't have to install the toolbar
I don't have it loaded.

 

What about the linkscanner?

 

For me the problem isn't that the installer includes a toolbar, as I install software daily and I face it very often.

What I prefer in this case is that the default option is to not install the toolbar and if the user agrees to install the toolbar (maybe after reading privacy statement) he just checks the (unchecked) checkbox.

This because more than half of the users that install software do it with the default options.