![]() However, Avira for some reason decided that they want full control over this feature without having to release a new extension version. And a bunch of other antivirus vendors also offer shopping extensions, without these being considered problematic as long as users install them by choice. Ciuvo has their own browser extension sharing some code with Avira’s. Monetizing a product in this way isn’t unusual. Not directly of course but via their partner Ciuvo GmbH which appears to provide the technology behind this feature. Whenever some user takes advantage of the offers, the shop owners pay Avira. So even if you already were at this shop and selected the product you wanted to buy, if you then wandered off to a coupon deal website and had it send you back to the shop – the owner of the coupon deal website gets paid a certain percentage of your spending.Īnd that’s the reason why users of Avira Browser Safety, having installed that browser extension for protection, will occasionally see a message displayed on top of a website. ![]() If you ever asked yourself what these are getting out of it: the shop owners are paying them for referring customers to the shop. Or maybe you’ve even used browser extensions doing the same. You’ve probably seen some of the numerous websites offering you coupon codes for certain shops to help you get the best deal. ![]() How does this monetization approach work? You can find a summary of their clarifications at the bottom of this post. Update (): Avira reached out to me to discuss the issues. Again, Avira’s privacy policy is severely lacking and won’t make any clear statements as to what happens with this data. In addition to that, the security part of the extension is implemented in a suboptimal way and will upload the entire browsing history of the users to Avira’s servers without even removing potentially sensitive data first. In theory, this allows Avira or anybody with control of this particular server to target individual users, spy on them or mess with their browsing experience in almost arbitrary ways. It is also risky however, as Avira chose to implement it in such a way that it will execute JavaScript code from Avira’s servers on arbitrary websites as well as in the context of the extension itself. This functionality is underdocumented, particularly in Avira’s privacy policy. The Avira Browser Safety extension is identical to Avira Safe Shopping and monetizes by offering “best shopping deals” to the users. How does this monetization approach work?.If you did install the browser extension, you should uninstall it now. We recommend not using your antivirus’s browser extension, as they can make you less safe online. Modern versions of Chrome and Firefox won’t allow applications to install extensions without your permission, but you may have agreed to install the extension anyway. RELATED: Don't Use Your Antivirus’ Browser Extensions: They Can Actually Make You Less SafeĪvira tries to install browser extensions in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. You probably don’t need a system cleanup tool, but if you must, try the popular CCleaner tool. If you want a virtual private network service, try one of our recommended VPNs rather than relying on Avira’s. To permanently stop these tools from displaying notifications and prevent them from harassing you for money, we recommend heading to Control Panel > Uninstall a program and uninstalling both the “Avira Phantom VPN” and “Avira System Speedup” tools. ![]() RELATED: How to Choose the Best VPN Service for Your Needs To add insult to injury, Avira’s Free System Speedup tool won’t even let you “Enable silent mode” without paying for the Pro version. If you just have the free version, these tools won’t actually do much unless you pay for the “Pro” version. Get Rid of Avira Phantom VPN and System SpeedupĪvira’s Phantom VPN and System Speed-Up tools aren’t part of the Avira antivirus software itself, but may come installed alongside it.
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