So now that some companies are trying to sell you their anti virus products for Linux. Not that you really need Anti Virus on Linux for most general home use. This seems like a good reason not to touch some security products that claim they are for the benefit of their customers.
Interesting to see this, as I am sure that AVG was one product supporting Linux.
Quote,
“Avast closed down data brokerage operation Jumpshot in 2020 after a joint investigation by Vice and PCMag revealed that its antivirus programs were selling browsing data to some of the world’s largest companies, including Home Depot, Google, and Microsoft (and, disclosure, Ars Technica parent company Condé Nast). The data included Google searches, GPS coordinates on Google Maps, and searches on various sites, including YouTube and PornHub. Jumpshot touted itself as “the only company that unlocked walled garden data,” and, in a now-deleted tweet, touted its ability to collect “Every search. Every click. Every buy. On every site.”
In 2019, the creator of AdBlock Plus dug into Avast’s Online Security browser extension (and a similar one from AVG, which Avast acquired). The extension was sending extensive details about the pages visited, activity on those pages, and other data that made de-anonymizing people fairly easy. Google soon after removed Avast and AVG’s extensions from the Chrome Web Store.”