Avast Update bundled with spyware?

[Thomas123]

When I read the reviews about Avast Home Edition on Download.com,
I found a mysterious opinion on Avast.

Richard Carde                                                       25-Jan-2005 06:10:00 AM

I loved Avast for the past six months, A very good residential scanner with goog detaction, was considering upgrading for the paid version, however their latest update is bundleld with a spyware, nane:LOPDOTCOM a med. Risk that places adds under your browser, can read your Key strokes and change your security settings at well, This folks is a contridection of sorts, I'm back to old symantic! WEBROOT found the spyware, I would advise anyone to go to Webroot, look up the name of spyware given, and have a free aduet scan, It will remove though your residential scaner for online protectin, you will lose the avast icon system tray, I-only say this because some folks don't give a dam about spyware.

I think that guy was lying and trying to threaten other people not to use Avast because of loading with spyware. Anyway, I want someone to comment on that review.

[lee16]

Thomas123,

Please see the links below: (from recently)

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=10438.0
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=10549.0

Hope this helps.

--lee

[Eddy]

however their latest update is bundleld with a spyware, nane:LOPDOTCOM a med.

That person never mention what is he/she used.
So what application is detecting it as malware?
I am sure about this, Avast does not have any malware! After about 24 years of experince with computers I know what I am talking about. (if I may say so).

Only thing that person is saying is:
Some malware removal/detection application 'flags' Avast as malware. Not mentioning the name of the application and not having any knowledgd about how things are working. So he blames Avast while he should blame that application.

[lee16]

Eddy, the person mentioned that WEBROOT (Spysweeper)  found the malware  , there was a topic on this the otherday, should be fixed now.

--lee

[DavidR]

There has been a false positive by SpySweeper that has been incorrectly identifying ashdisp.exe as lopdotcom. A recent update of the signatures of spy sweeper corrects this false positive.

avast! doesn't have any spyware, adaware, spybot S&D and HiJackThis confirm this.

[Lisandro]

Richard Carde: I think that guy was lying and trying to threaten other people not to use Avast because of loading with spyware. Anyway, I want someone to comment on that review.

Thomas, can you bring that poor guy to the truth?
He'll be glad to discover the truth... It's well known it's a false positive of SpySweeper 

[Pavel Baudis]

Although I never wrote the review to CNET, this accusation is so serious, that I wrote the official "Developer reaction" there. Although the false alarm is removed now, it could cause a lot of troubles to many users and damage the avast! name 

Pavel

[szc]

Finally Pavel !!! Someone has to say something and to do something regarding those stupid accusations... some people don't have a clue about these things, and how everything actually works, but they just feel like they have to say something (or anything) and spread their s**t all over the internet... And worst of all, people responsible for publishing texts on those dignified web sites, don't take a minute to check accuracy and actuality of those information... bad picture for them too... 

[RejZoR]

O boy, what a moron. Such stupid comments can have very negative effect on avast! popularity. Sure icons dissapear if you delete crucial registry values for avast! to operate normally

[lee16]

Yes, this is very bad, places like Download.com, CNET etc should get some proper moderation on them, so moronic comments can be removed.

When i was reading about a review on download.com about Firefox before some guy was insisting it was Trojan infected and you can't change the default download location, did he even check the options is what i was wondering. 

I mean look at the idiotic comments on avast here: http://www.download.com/3302-2239_4-10353376.html?pn=1&fb=2

Although if you switch t the positive ones they are quict nice.

--lee

[RejZoR]

Now columbus and Amber are real smart asses. Man, claiming something that they don't have a clue about is really pathetic. Some expect 120% detection rate (yeah right ),others claim it contains spyware,next one is ranting about avast! "calling home" every 5 minutes (em autoupdate anyone?). Gosh,this rating system should be dumped since it does more damage than good. Or get them properly moderated.
Very very bad.

[FastGame]

Gosh,this rating system should be dumped since it does more damage than good. Or get them properly moderated.
Very very bad.

Yep that kind of stuff hurts but its that way on all software reviewed "CNET User Opinions "

Being a mod at a popular Tech site I see lots of people making funny (dumb) statements about all kinds of things, I can't use mod powers and start deleting things that may be misleading or I disagree with. "Or get them properly moderated."

Nope, the only thing I can do is make sure I present info that counters the misconception or explain why they may of had a problem & here's the solution. All of us can do the same on the behalf of AVAST, we can write a review "CNET User Opinions " say how we love AVAST and also explain how the negative reviews are misleading.

The hardest thing to over come is what I call the "Parrot Syndrome", these parrots (people) read something and all of a sudden they're experts on the subject and do nothing more than repeat what others have said whether its true or not, they breed more parrots in doing so

I belong to a bunch of regular tech sites and I promote AVAST, the hardest thing I have to overcome is someone always jumps in with "Oh yeah" "go to this 100%VB and you'll see AVAST is no good". I try to explain how I don't care about what AVAST did years ago, what is it doing now ! I then give them a link to some serious Security sites and tell them "show me where they bash AVAST" haha they can't, AVAST is promoted by people in the know...

I suggest everyone here go to CNET and give your "User Opinion" hopefully the parrots can learn a new phrase AVAST !

[szc]

Hahaha... Parrot Syndrome ! Hahaha... that's exactly what is happening out there... so many kids, they have no clue about those things, but they like to be "IN", so they just repeat what they have heard from some other people, and that's 100% true... it's happening all around us. Worst of all, it's very hard to make those parrots spreading good word about some great products such as avast!, and it's much easier to find them bashing and talking trash about some products... that's weird, but true... 

Haha FastGame, "Parrot Syndrome", I like this phrase so much... 

[RejZoR]

Maybe we should patent it Patenting stuff is IN in these days Parrot syndrome again hehe
I'll patent it along phrase "Kitchensinkware" (similar expression for bloatware).

[StyleWarz]

Richard Carde: I think that guy was lying and trying to threaten other people not to use Avast because of loading with spyware. Anyway, I want someone to comment on that review.

Thomas, can you bring that poor guy to the truth?
He'll be glad to discover the truth... It's well known it's a false positive of SpySweeper 

lol, yes one of the many many false positives of SpySweeper