Your Antivirus Is Watching You

Isn't it illegal to collect data without our consent? I always thought it is, because it should be..

Or is this "feature" mentioned in those long texts noone ever reads but accepts, fooling people into this?

It is a bit worrying they are watching us, aren't the government and spy agencies enough?

Aaaand now you know one way through which the government does it.

When you install the software, you have to agree with the EULA, or it won't install or might install a lower feature version of the software than what you thought you were getting.

Therefore, READ.

I've been without a AV program for months now, I use a on-demand AV solution that does not phone home. Good thing I do.

Just because you use an on-demand solution that claims it doesn't 'phone home' doesn't mean there is no data collection/transmission of any kind going on.

For instance just by visiting a website/forum you have transmitted your browser, its version information etc., your OS, its version and patch-level for certain frameworks such as .NET, Java, Flash etc. and other system identification information.  This type of information is transmitted without your explicit consent to any/all websites one actively visits and even those contacted in the background by addons and/or security software seeking to update definitions or on-demand scanners etc. using cloud definitions to identify and root out threats.

There is no way to connect to something residing on the internet these days without offering up such information (which can be used to identify individual systems and/or users).

And why should I care about all of that info being transmitted? I have nothing to hide. And how do they know it's me using the net and not one of the other people living in the house?

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Someone said that.

Your IP? Everything about your machine, the hashes of the files you transmit...and who knows, maybe more. You care, kona. Thake a look at the table I posted and the article (pdf).

Let's see here. Nope, I really don't care. I don't have a bank account, and visit the same 5 or 6 sites everyday. I have nothing to hide. Don't care who knows what Windows version I am using or my machine specs. So yeah, I don't care.

And even if I had anything to hide, no one can prove it's me physically using the machine and not someone else.

Everyone seems to expect a free and open internet as well as personal privacy. These two concepts are mutually exclusive!

well...you can do a lot better than the existing situation.

I recommend you read this. In fact, I recommend you all read this:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/05/you-are-not-a-digital-native-privacy-in-the-age-of-the-internet

Yeah, I get it. There is no such thing as true privacy on the internet. I'm simply telling you I don't care because I have nothing to hide, and nothing to steal.

Thinking is hard, why do it?

They don't have to know who is using it. Your IP tells them everything, including where you live. Plus......they can ID the machine and who it is registered too. So......what's your point.

Uvah, I believe kona meant, "How do they know it's me or someone else using my machine?".

What kona perhaps didn't is that an unscrupulous vendor could use that data against him...or sell it to someone who would or even be hacked and have that data stolen.

The point is that they vacuum your computer and do who knows what to ensure the security of the data they obtain.

funny you emphasise the "free av" when half the list up there ain't free (not literal half.. if you are actually counting)

all products do it to various degree. even the ones you paid for. in fact, i would suggest the ones that you pay for... by virtue of having more features (url screening with their cloud, for example) will send more stuff.

To whom are you directing this? The table belongs to AV-Comparatives. Check out the link to the pdf.

as i said. your emphasis on free av. by definition, using a cloud url scanner is submitting data, for example. you have to agree to eula on basically any and all software. they are all at it.

Now to be fair Doc is providing information that he or others find on the internet that may or may not be of interest to the community.  It's up to us as individuals to, if we choose to, look at or click on the links that are provided and come to our own conclusions.  I find that a majority of the information presented is pretty much common sense when it comes down to keeping you internet surfing as safe as can be.

I will tell you that I don't read all of them but have found some good links to software/programs that I currently run.  Again, we as individuals have to make some informed and yes educated choices as to how we protect ourselves when using our computers and other smart devices. 

I'm a firm believer though that no amount of software or information will be helpful if the user doesn't stay alert and aware when using their IT devices.  That would be the bottom line that most folks talk about.  

alaknebs:

I deliberately put the whole table up.

I used an example of free software simply because:

1. When you buy a product, a set of features are guaranteed.

2. When you get freeware, the devs make money somehow and if you decline to opt into the data sharing, you might well get less than the advertised features.

3. The table I posted clearly shows who's doing what according to AV-Comparatives.

So, 

is hardly a revelation about the cloud or the products in the table. 

Good luck. I don't have any money to steal and no one wants my online reputation.

don't be so naive.

the major problem is not people wanting to steal something from you.

but soon (very soon) it will no longer people but algorithms that decide whether you get a loan (when you or a family member needs medical treatment for example), whether you get insurance from a company, whether you get a job, whether you qualify for benefits, etc.

and those algorithms wont listen to stories, and they wont care whether you or a friend used your computer.

wake up, you just have a few years left (less than five)

And if that happens there will be lawsuits to repeal such actions because it's unfair.

Since when did unfair make a difference.

There will come a time when if you choose not to have an electronic presence which can be tracked, you will be considered a potential enemy of the state, assumed to be up to something less than good.  If you're not willing to relinquish your privacy entirely, you will be suspect.  The only way to escape the trap will be to (somehow) become one of the elites who can control who has access to your personal information.

The government already has the means to use the US Military against its own citizenry; in fact, it is more prepared to do so than to intervene outside the US.  All that's left is for someone in power to have the balls to throw the switch.  Knowing what virtually everyone is up to will provide the justification for throwing the switch; fabricated, trumped up, whatever.  At some point the temptation will prove to be too great to resist.  They'll believe they have to kill the Republic in order to protect it from itself.

On a (slightly) lighter note, the Pacers are toast.