Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: Rundvleeskroket on September 13, 2018, 06:00:56 PM
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A few minutes ago my firewall popped up with a request for overseer.exe to connect to the internet. I always remove overseer.exe and the task scheduler entry after a manual Avast Free update. I've stated before that I don't like extra executables suddenly trying to phone home without knowing what exactly it wants to send.
So, I'm used to overseer.exe staying gone until a new version of Avast is released. But just now it reinstalled itself, without having gone through a program update, and immediately started connecting to an external address. So it was pushed in a Definition Update. And that is new behavior!
(And yes, it is a new version with a different file size from the executable in the Avast installation folder)
Stop. Please, just stop. Give users the choice to opt out of this monitoring and don't go behind my back sneaking it onto my machine. You're again undermining my trust in Avast as an AV i want to use.
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-> https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=210028.0
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The issue is that it now installs itself with a Definition Update. That is new behavior.
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The issue is that it now installs itself with a Definition Update. That is new behavior.
For me it's a simple decision. If I trust Avast then I need to allow what makes it function to access the system
and the internet. If I don't trust the AV installed in my system then I find something else.
I certainly don't intend to nit pick every part of the overall program. If I was able to do that, I would have written my own AV.
My only question is did this Overseer.exe catch the problem when so many users had a conflict with Malwarebytes ??? ??? ???
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Personally, I don't care how (overseer.exe) it is installed, it's part of (another component) the Security Software and as such is trusted. As mentioned, you either trust what you have installed or Install something you do trust.
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The issue is that it now installs itself with a Definition Update. That is new behavior.
I believe Igor mentioned that virus definitions (and engines) don't just update the definitions, if other files get updated, then they too would be updated. So if there is a new update of overseer.exe then that too could be delivered by the update so you have it back again.
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It is an unnecessary component. Just like most of the components of Avast which I also don't have installed. At least I can choose those, but overseer is forced onto my system. It should be optional. "Would you like an extra layer of clutter for the possible benefit of catching problems with the AV, Yes/No?" Make it opt-out or something. Have most of the users run it, but not those that don't want it.
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It is an unnecessary component. Just like most of the components of Avast which I also don't have installed. At least I can choose those, but overseer is forced onto my system. It should be optional. "Would you like an extra layer of clutter for the possible benefit of catching problems with the AV, Yes/No?" Make it opt-out or something. Have most of the users run it, but not those that don't want it.
Personally, making a background check to confirm that the program is working properly isn't useless.
It's a part of Avast. As stated before, if you don't trust your AV, why is it on you system ???
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It is an unnecessary component. Just like most of the components of Avast which I also don't have installed. At least I can choose those, but overseer is forced onto my system. It should be optional. "Would you like an extra layer of clutter for the possible benefit of catching problems with the AV, Yes/No?" Make it opt-out or something. Have most of the users run it, but not those that don't want it.
Personally I don't have a problem with what is essentially an integrity checker to ensure avast is running as it should to protect the user.
Just check the forums for things like the UI or Behaviour Shield not running, this could:
1. detect this and report the condition to avast.
2. ultimately correct it by a repair, etc.
You have the ultimate opt-out, uninstall.
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1. detect this and report the condition to avast.
Report what exactly? What is sent along? That is still not clear. And that is the point.
This information isn't available so I'll keep deleting overseer.exe, and Avast runs just the same as always. So I don't need it. And if ever Avast doesn't work, I'll find a fix. Don't worry. Even if I have to reinstall or even re-image my boot drive. Still, even though my Avast currently runs fine, overseer.exe finds it necessary to connect to the Avast servers.
I don't like software that phones home with unknown info. Just like I don't allow Windows telemetry/crash reports. Just like I keep killing Nvidia driver telemetry. A reputable company would be completely transparent about exactly what is sent. Even have the option to review every byte before sending. Or to opt out. This whole 'if you don't trust your AV' argument is false. It isn't very realistic to run without an AV these days. That doesn't mean I have to blindly trust it. I can ask questions, and I can reasonably expect them to be answered honestly. Because that is what trust requires. Otherwise I am forced to limit functionality wherever possible to minimize 'reporting'.
This also goes for the main Avast program of course. Since it sends stats every time it updates its definitions. Do I need to worry? Maybe. Maybe not. I can't tell. I don't have the information to make an informed decision. That itself is cause for concern.
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As an avast user like yourself, I don't know the details. But there have been responses by Igor and drake127, Avast team members in the other topic about overseer.exe that you have been involved in, https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=210028.0 (https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=210028.0). I suggest that you have another read of that.
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As an avast user like yourself, I don't know the details. But there have been responses by Igor and drake127, Avast team members in the other topic about overseer.exe that you have been involved in, https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=210028.0 (https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=210028.0). I suggest that you have another read of that.
+1
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That thread contains no actual information. Re-reading won't get me anwers that weren't given.
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That thread contains no actual information. Re-reading won't get me anwers that weren't given.
If you did not get any answer so far, is very unlikely to get one reposting.
overseer.exe is a telemetry program (nice name for a spy program) designed to send back info about your PC and your behavior on the internet and cannot be removed.
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Overseer is not a telemetry program - its task is to ensure the Avast installation is working correctly (attempting repair when specific corruptions are detected); the common term might be "watchdog".
Does it submit some telemetry as well? Probably (I really don't know myself).
Does it submit any more telemetry than the rest of the program already does? I doubt that.