Your antivirus software is watching you. A recent study shows that popular antivirus applications like Avast assign your computer a unique identifier and send a list of all web addresses you visit to the manufacturer. If the antivirus finds a suspicious document, it will send the document to the antivirus company. Yes, your antivirus company might have a list of web pages you’ve visited along with your sensitive personal documents!
AV-Comparatives’ Data Transmission Report
We’re getting this information from AV-Comparative’s Data transmission in Internet security products report, released on May 8, 2014. AV-Comparatives is an antivirus testing and comparison organization.
The study was performed by analyzing antivirus products running in a virtual machine to see what they sent to the antivirus company, reading each antivirus product’s end user license agreement (EULA) 10 Ridiculous EULA Clauses That You May Have Already Agreed To 10 Ridiculous EULA Clauses That You May Have Already Agreed To Let’s be honest, no one reads EULA's (End User Licensing Agreement) - we all just scroll down to the bottom and click "I Accept". EULAs are full of confusing legalese to make them incomprehensible to... Read More , and sending a detailed questionnaire to each antivirus company so they could explain what their products do.
The study says “We gave higher weighting to our own measurements and the EULA (as we understand it) than to the replies to our questionnaire.” In other words, some antivirus companies responded with incorrect answers that contradicted what their products actually did!
We encourage you to check the study and consult the table on page 3 for yourself. You’ll be able to see exactly what your current antivirus product does. The study includes antivirus products by AhnLab, Avast, AVG, AVIRA, Bitdefender, BullGuard, Emsisoft, eScan, ESET, Fortinet, F-Secure, G DATA, Kaspersky Lab, McAfee, Microsoft, Panda, Sophos, Symantec, Trend Micro, Vipre, and Webroot.
A Unique Identifier And Web Addresses You Visit
All of the antivirus products in question — aside from products by eScan and Fortinet — assign your system a unique identification number and transmit this number.
Many products also transmit a list of visited URLs, or web addresses — both malicious and non-malicious ones. All of the products aside from AhnLab, Emsisoft, and Vipre transmit these URLs to the company. It’s unclear which types of addresses each product transmits. Some products may only transmit a malicious address you find to the company, while some products may transmit all addresses you visit to the company. Tied to a unique identifier, this means an antivirus company could have access to your browsing history.
Some products also transmit your computer’s name, local IP address, language, running processes, and Windows user name to the antivirus company.
![avast-security-statistics[4]](http://static.makeuseof.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/avast-security-statistics4.png "avast-security-statistics[4]")
Non-Executable Files, Including Documents
When an antivirus finds a “suspicious” file, it wants to send that file to the antivirus manufacturer so it can be examined for malware. The antivirus company can analyze the file and produce a virus definition to defend against the malware. This doesn’t just apply to executable files. Your antivirus may also send your personal documents to the antivirus company. For example, if you have a business document in Word format and the antivirus thinks the document is suspicious, it may send that document to the antivirus company. This means your antivirus company may be getting its hands on your sensitive documents.
Avast, Fortinet, Kaspersky Lab, Symantec, and Vipre all will transmit documents and other non-executable files. AVG, ESET, McAfee, Microsoft, Sophos, Trend Micro, and Webroot all won’t tell us if they transmit documents. It’s probably best to assume these products transmit documents, too. AVG, McAfee, Trend Micro, and Webroot won’t even allow you to opt out of sending these non-executable files.
Why All the Data Collection?
Antivirus companies want all the data they can get. However, we users don’t have an easy way of knowing and choosing what types of data we share with the antivirus company. The idea that the web pages we visit and our personal documents could be getting sent in the background is scary. We didn’t even think of this and didn’t have the option to make an informed decision. If this data is sent unencrypted, it’s also possible for people on the same local network — or intelligence agencies like the NSA tapping the internet backbone What Is PRISM? Everything You Need to Know What Is PRISM? Everything You Need to Know The National Security Agency in the US has access to whatever data you're storing with US service providers like Google Microsoft, Yahoo, and Facebook. They're also likely monitoring most of the traffic flowing across the... Read More — to capture this information.
According to the study, antivirus companies at least say they aren’t linking this information together to track you:
“Vendors tell us that the data gathered and transmitted by each product does not go to a single collection centre; rather, specific elements are transmitted separately to different isolated end points, without any connection between them. Thus e.g. licence-management data is sent separately from product-usage statistics. They say that as there is no connection between these systems, the data collected by one cannot be linked with the data collected by another. Consequently the privacy of the user should be safeguarded. “
The Most Privacy-Conscious Antiviruses
AhnLab sends the least amount of data according to this test. It won’t send URLs you visit, personal documents, or even executable files and other personal information to the antivirus company. It will transmit information about the antivirus product, a unique identifier for your computer, your operating system version, and hashes of files. A hash will let the antivirus company detect whether the file matches another file they know about, but it won’t actually let them view any of the contents.
Emsisoft also comes out looking good. They send a bit more information when you encounter malicious files — for example, they’ll send suspicious executable files to the antivirus company — but they’ll never send a list of websites you visit or your documents over the Internet
Both of these products are paid antivirus products. They’re the only antiviruses in the study that don’t send the most sensitive types of data to an antivirus company.
There’s no one free antivirus product that stands out from all the others in offering the best privacy features. Your best bet is consulting the table for more information when choosing an antivirus product. Along with checking antivirus test results The 3 Best Sites for Reliable Anti-Virus Software Reviews The 3 Best Sites for Reliable Anti-Virus Software Reviews Read More , this information can help you make an informed decision.
Image Credit: Cristiano Betta on Flickr
There is this thing called acceptable risk, and we all practice it
personally and unless we are living in a bubble, we run on faith; faith
that the next breaking security breach won't involve us, faith that "they"
are keeping our data secure, faith that the software only does what it says
on the tin and in the eula. That faith is shaken when say.. you go to a
telehone number identification website and what happens next is a pop-up
box from Avast kindly inquiring as to whether I am having a problem with
spam phone calls and would I kindly like to upgrade my software
subscription? First, I'm outraged, but as I think more about it, I've come
to the conclusion that I just have to keep the faith because I don't live
isolated on the top of a mountain, so what choice do I have? Submit or
withdraw..or create my own ecosystem?
Of course Avast knows what website I'm visiting! It used to be that it was
compared to whitelists that resided on my computer and were updated along
with the signatures of new threats, but that day is past. Like everything
else, we are losing control and ceding it to our masters, as well as our
servants. SAAS is replacing traditional software that you tweak to your
heart's desire. Sure, you may still have an interface and install a
program, but what is presented and what is possible is carefully curated on
their end. This may help increase security and reliability and integration
and maintain compatibility, but it does one other thing very well, and that
is take control of the experience away from the end user. Windows 10 is a
prime example. You no longer pick and choose from a list of updates,
deciding on your own what is best to for you in your situation. Now it's
decided for you and presented in one package. It's easy now. It either
works or it doesn't. You can't keep the wheat and throw away the chaff.
You just have to shut up and eat the bread. Undercooked, overcooked, it
doesn't matter and your only choice is to wait for a hotfix resolution,
delay the update and be vulnerable, create a workaround by hacking Windows,
or switching your whole operation to some flavor of Linux. Now why should
it have to be so hard? It used to be you could tailor it your unique
needs, avoid the worst bugs, but we're all pegs now. Windows 10 is an
Operating system as SAAS and you will obey. It's not the first OSaaS
(Apple walled-garden comes to mind), but the most impactful when you
consider the Win X upgrade-ready (Windows 7) user base and entrenched
personal and business infrastructure. It's a shame that the Windows
OS, rather than being the foundation on which to run everything else and
then get out of the way (European legislation notwithstanding), has become
an app in its own right.
So no surprise here, really. We have been groomed for the time when we
could not opt out, where nothing is free because you are the product, and
where you could not control your software, rather it would attempt to
control you. That time has arrived. Do not expect to be able to receive
paper bank statements much longer. That little bit of local control is
going away too and no clicking of a check box can stave it off for long.
NOW we know why the powers that be invented viruses - so we would have to install antivirus programs that track our every move!
Thanks for the heads up.
Start using linux everyone ..........
http://www.ubuntu.com/
Well, I guess that sooner or later they'll end up installing a webcam in every toilet (with the full blessing of Governments, Authorities, Polices, Secret Services and Holy Inquisition, of course) presumably quoting the old refrain "the one who has nothing to conceal has nothing to fear".
In the world I was born in, reading other people's mail without their explicit consent was considered a felony and a court order was needed to search one's private documents, but that's history now.
I was sent here by Emsisoft, which suggests that they are more correct than the others, thus I shall switch to their software in no time.
Yet the best protection is still to say good bye to the social media, unplug the internet cable and work stand-alone on a freshly installed OS, the way we used to do a few decades ago. Pretty sad, isn't it?
Using Emsisoft already, such a relief.
sending visited urls to home base...!!!?
i am so fv<ked off about this i have uninstalled AVG who the fv<k do these companies think they are?
i looked at eset and they do it too!! i thought they were good!
Are European users better or worse with antivirus software? I want to know how to stop this intrusion!!!
rricmmanw@yandex.com
intersting.
btw, EFF Privacy Badger sez these sites are tracking us on YOUR page:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/antivirus-tracking-youd-surprised-sends/
Detected trackers from these sites:
---
main. makeuseoflimited....
www. google. com
0.gravatar. com
apis.google. com
platform.twitter. com
themes. googleuserconte...
accounts.google. com
ssl.gstatic. com
http://www.youtube. com
oauth. googleuserconten...
t0.gstatic. com
t1.gstatic. com
t3.gstatic. com
cdn.syndication. twimg....
s.ytimg. com
http://www.gstatic. com
fbstatic-a. akamaihd. ne
---
cute, no? (No.)
Excellent comment!!
why am i not surprised...
I do not see that you ran any tests for Norton which comes bundled, if you want it, with Comcast. I can only assume that they are at least as FUBAR as all the rest. Anyone know how they operate?
"AVG, McAfee, Trend Micro, and Webroot won’t even allow you to opt out of sending these non-executable files."
This is not true at least for AVG. It is possible to opt-out either at the end of the installation or through Advanced Settings -> Privacy Preferences.
...And everytime AVG does a minor or major update, at least one of the two checkboxes gets checkmarked again. So you constantly have to check it. AND, that doesn't stop them from still transmitting a lot of sensitive information, even if you have both boxes uncheckmarked.
In Sophos it is a simple setting whether or not you want samples of suspect files, which can be both executables and documents containing scripts (Office, PDF, etc) sent to the SophosLabs.
Assuming the setting actually does anything, or just makes you feel better about it.
Check your connexion and you'll see all the nice data sent by SophosWebIntelligence - with the feature enabled or not.
"or just makes you feel better about it." => spot on.
I use SandBoxie, Mozilla and never had virus infection. I am uninstalling AVG from wife's lappy soon as I get home tonight. To hell with these corporations.
I know for a fact that AVG Antivirus (different than Avast, but also very popular) has a team team that analyzes the data their antivirus collects from their customers (what websites they visit, what software they have on their computer) in order to use it for marketing purposes. They justify that it's ok for them to do it since Google does it too. Go figure.
They do that? Can I have a link please? I would like to read deeper into that...
In AVG it is possible to disable this from Advanced Settings -> Privacy Preferences. If you are performing a new installation, it is possible to opt-out at the of setup wizard.
You wrote, "The idea that the web pages we visit and our personal documents could be getting sent in the background is scary. We didn’t even think of this......." Are you serious? That’s very naïve…..like a clueless sheep walking through a field of wolves. I use McAfee Site Advisor. I have never needed a study to tell me that when McAfee throws a warning flag on my screen, their servers know WHERE I am, and WHO (me) has just triggered their tripwire. (This is true even when I always UNcheck the "participate" option.)
C’mon people, WAKE UP!
Sure, I know my location and 'preferences' etc., are being tracked, but the problem NOW is that my antivirus is *somehow!* finding sensitive data on my hard drive - by sensitive I mean SS# sensitive, and alerting me that it is 'vulnerable'. How the #@! does my Antivirus (Avast) know the CONTENT of my private protected files to determine whether or not they are, in fact, sensitive??
[ Smiles ] My goodness! I never thought that my own antivirus would be performing data mining.
Thank you for brining this to my attention!
I am a Linux User...No such worries ...I suppose people could encrypt their Document Folder and prevent their data from being compromised or save all sensitive files to a flash drive either way I am happy that this is at least one less headache I have to be concerned about.
Also from the report:
"We asked whether special updates are delivered to users with specific IDs. This could theoretically allow authorities with a suitable court order to monitor e.g. specific terror suspects without the monitoring software being detected by the antivirus product. All updates would however be supplied to all other users, ensuring that their PCs were still fully protected. Most of the vendors responded that they do not do this, although a few (mostly from the USA and UK) did not reply to this question. "
Anglo AV companies: we protect against root-kits, etc . . . . . unless it's government root-kits, then we'll look the other way.
Yea, that's correct ..privacy is the top factor..That increases the priority of the migration to opensource operating systems like Linux for office works
Iiii....ngeri dach, ga pake AV aja kalee
This definitely bothers me... But what could be the course of action? I don't plan to change my AV
Considering most of them actually traces the "website", does that mean they're sent what is written on it as well? Then I'm scared for life :(
Thanks for this!
My anti-virus is names Linux.
It does exactly what I tell it to.
Puppy Linux for me. Great OS, and it's never yet melted to a virus.
It's not virus proof, it's just not virus worthy, what with such a small share of the user base and the higher level of technical understanding required to use it probably going hand-in-hand with better security awareness and practices. If a whole bunch of clueless teenagers started using Linux for posting social media, you would see more Linux viruses start popping up. As long as Linux remains obtuse for the casual user, it will remain a niche OS, and it's not worth the time to write a virus for such a small "audience" although it's been done for lulz, of course.
It's disingenuous to claim that Linux is immune to viruses or similar statements and it would be irresponsible to run Linux without A-V software and without using best practices because no OS that isn't air-gapped and sealed in a vault is immune to active attacks and security flaws exist in all code that does something useful. Some of them haven't been found or exploited yet, is all. Even if your Linux fortress doesn't get taken down, your system may still allow the malware to propagate.
I'm using the free version of Avast!,along with Sandboxie.I have be tempted to ditch my antivirus program,as I always run my browser and email client sandboxed.
Software with source code that isn't available for inspection is likley to have hidden undesirable "features".
Interesting article, but the Orwellian doom is 30 years late and will be, until Armageddon and these bastards are sent to Hell !!!!!!!!!!!
I am uninstalling aVast now. It is terrible !
Ive got a laptop i decided to use for a test. I scan once weekly with MBAM to see if its clean i use the extra tool like the root kit scanner too, other than that it has had no Anti-Virus installed since 2011. The only time it got an infection was after plugging an external hard drive in that had made the rounds in India. I think with sensible browsing , common sense with regard to email attachments and making sure security patches are applied straight away it seems to me alot of these products are making money for nothing.
I think it funny we are trying to protect ourselves from the hackers but who is protecting us from the companies we freely invite into our devices to do the protecting?
I totally agree with you and do exactly what you have said - Regular MBAM sacanning besides using firefox with NoScript and AdBlaock addons and no auto image loading as default in emails while using Windows. I too got infected once by plugging a USB falsh drive, but recovered without any problem by restoring a drive image. . I mostly use Linux for web surfing.
Sensible browsing and common sense constiture the best defense.
I use no Antivirus on my PC, since I started using Windows 7.
Then Redmond is tracking you. :-)
Wow...this is scary. I'm gonna give Emsisoft a try. Thanks for the article.