My PC has been under attack by a virus - and it is named AVAST!

[allenergy11]

SHAME on YOU avast! for using these fear based marketing techniques!! 

• Twice Avast!  has TAKEN OVER my active installed Avast! internet security program twice and UNINSTALLED it to give me a screen that tells me my protection has expired and I have no protection and I am at risk - Big RED banner yells RENEW OR PURCHASE NOW!!!!!!
• 5 times or more over the last 6 months Avast has sent me harassing emails telling me they want me back as a customer giving me discount after discount to come back.  I never stopped being an Avast customer!
  

Recent History of bullying and harassment from Avast! marketing is as follows:

Sept 2014 - Avast starts sending me urgent emails to one of my email accounts telling me they want me back as a customer (meanwhile i am running a computer with Avast Internet security on it and paid with 2 more months left on the active subscription)

Oct 2014 - Discounts keep getting LOWER AND LOWER  all the way down to $19.95 for one year - so I renewed under the link in the email at that rate.  Renewal on Oct 30 for 1 year, 1 pc INternet Security.
Order ID: 9670425438
Order Date: October 30, 2014


In January of 2015 the emails START AGAIN  - this time to a different email address!!  We want you back as a customer
I SPENT MY VALUABLE TIME creating 2 tickets (they ignored the 1st one) at SUPPORT included my order number from Oct 2014 and told them I already renewed under a different email account and have an active Avast.  Got a reply to the 2nd post and they acknowledged the existence of my order and my active subscription for IS - 1 year, 1 PC.

WE WANT YOU BACK EMAIL CONTINUE  WITHOUT CEASING.

Finally I decided the only way to STOP them would be to renew using the discount and add this time to my existing (OCT 30 subscription) I used the link in the email and purchased Internet Sec for 1year, 1 PC AGAIN on Jan 27 2015:
Order ID: 15941891442
Order Date: January 27, 2015

Avast RIPPED ME OFF and did not combine this additional subscription with the one purchased on 10/30/14 - and i lost all the remaining time on the 10/30/14 subscription. I submitted tickets to Avast support about combining the 2 purchases - I WAS IGNORED AND RECEIVED NO REPLY.
   Ticket ID: HNW-708-76614
   Subject: Avast & Digital River just STOLE 303 days of paid Avast Internet security from me!!!!!!
   Department: .Complaints
   Type: Issue
   Status: Received
   Priority: ReplyNow

The harassing emails from Avast!  arrive again in FEB 24 of 2015 - "Massive Discount Enclosed" -  I ignore these emails  -- I am busy and  AVAST SUPPORT ignored my request to correct my records.

Dear Amy,

We want you back! Clearly, we have lost your trust, and we'd like the chance to earn it back.

Since you left, we have continuously worked toward making our products better. Check out the improvements in the latest Avast Internet Security 2015 and the special "come back" offer that we have for you!

Get a full, one-year Internet Security license with a 60% loyalty discount!

APRIL 19 2015 -  Duplicting malware, virus behavior Avast!  TAKES OVER MY ACTIVE, FULLY PAID FOR INSTALLED INTERNET SECURITY PROGRAM - shows I have NO TIME remaining (I had 283 days left from January 27 purchase!!) and turns off my protection leaving me exposed! 

I was frantic as I had to be LEAVING FOR AN APPOINTMENT - I HAD NO TIME FOR THIS!    I could not leave my PC vulnerable so I quickly renewed using the (poorly laid out) chart to buy/renew tht Avast showed me inside my desktop avast!.   UNFORTUNATELY I CLICKED THE WRONG THING - I CLICKED ON THE PRO!!   The price for 2years was low, so I opted for that figuring I would sort out finding out what happened to my remaining 283 days once I returned later that night. 

I renewed (thinking it was the Internet Security I was purchasing) Avast made me reboot and installed the PRO (I wasn't sure what this was and thought maybe the IS was renamed PRO now) and activated it so I could run out the door.  I  DID NOT REALIZE I WAS LEAVING MYSELF OPEN WITH NO FIREWALL!  (discovered this when I returned 5 hours later!)

The following day I spent 3 hours on the phone with Digital River reps in Philippines (not able to get a US rep) sorting this out.  I got REFUNDS FOR THE
 OCT 30 PURCHASE OF Internet Security  - 1 YR
 APRIL 19 PURCHASE OF PRO - 2 YRS

Digital River kept active the IS purchase from January 27 2015 for 1yr IS.  They even sent me a NEW activation key to make sure AVAST would recognize it. 

TODAY (4/22)  I RETURN TO MY COMPUTER AFTER BEING OFF IT FOR 14 HOURS TO DISCOVER THAT AVAST HAD TURNED OFF MY PAID FOR, ACTIVE INTERNET SECURITY PROTECTION AS OF 10:35PM EDT THE NIGHT BEFORE (4/21)  I found an email from sales@avast!

--- This is an automated message, please do not reply. ---

Dear Amy,

We herein confirm, that refund of avast! Pro Antivirus - 1 user, 2 years, Order No.11180234647 had been sucessfully processed.
Your payment will soon be returned back to your account.

Please note that as a result of your refund, your avast! Pro Antivirus - 1 user, 2 years license had been disabled,
which, with regret, will stop your avast! antivirus from being updated.
The only way to rectify this issue is to purchase another license key.

We strongly recommend that you obtain alternative protection as a matter of urgency
to protect your computer from current and future virus / malware threats.

Best regards,
AVAST Software a.s.

AGAIN LEAVING MY PC COMPLETELY VULNERABLE for 14 hours from the time of this email and deactivation of my ACTIVE IS program! 

Like a VIRUS once again avast had turned my installed program into a big WARNING  telling me my protection was cancelled and i was exposed.  It had converted my installed IS BACK TO THE PRO (WHICH HAD BEEN CANCELLED) which was displaying the warning.
--- SO WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO MY PAID FOR AND INSTALLED INTERNET SECURITY?  Avast UNINSTALLED IT!


I called Digital River to have ALL this put into my file and confirm what was active.  Meanwhile I had to REINSTALL THE INTERNET SECURITY, REBOOT MY PC  and REACTIVATE WITH THE KEY DIGITAL RIVER PROVIDED ME WITH ON April 20 for the ACTIVE IS program (purchased on Jan 27 2015)


AS of NOW I have the Internet Security installed and active with 280 days remaining on my PC. 
I HAVE ZERO CONFIDENCE THAT AVAST AND DIGITAL RIVER WILL LEAVE ME ALONE AND NOT UNINSTALL MY EXISTING PROGRAM AGAIN.

THIS is Avast!'s NEW AGGRESSIVE MARKETING BEHAVIOR AND TECHNIQUES.

SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU AVAST! 

THIS FEAR BASED AND BULLYING MARKETING BEHAVIOR IS DEPLORABLE AND A DISGRACE!   ALL AVAST! USERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF IT!



I expect and need my computer protection to SHUT UP and operate in the background bringing me PEACE OF MIND.
i do NOT expect my protection to send me harassing emails, uninstall itself and cause me undue grief, stress and wasting of my valuable time!

SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU AVAST!

[Para-Noid]

Sorry to hear about the misunderstanding you have with avast.

1) The license runs from the time of purchase and "not" from inserting the license into the software. It is not added to an existing license.
2) To find out more about your purchases and products you now have check your "my(dot)avast(dot)com account".
3) You may try using the proper department from https://support.avast.com/tickets/submit
4) Most important is for you to understand we (forum members) do not work for nor are we paid by avast. We are volunteer helpers.
5) Please calm down and don't use caps or bold fonts as this is considered as yelling which is rude.

[Rednose]

Hi allenergy11,

I think the problem is that two different email addresses were used.
As far as I know he license system will see that as two different customers.
I will put this forward.

Greetz, Red.

[allenergy11]

Para noid - I WAS and AM yelling after 6 months of grief yelling is the only way to be heard!

I did submit a ticket, several times, re-read my original long post please. 

Rednose - I am aware the issue was due to using different email addresses, HOWEVER, I submitted  a ticket to the support group at avast! telling them the 2 different order numbers and email addresses and requested they update my records to show that my protection was active, combine the email addresses into one account and to stop the emails.   They replied acknowledging my subscription was active and that the emails would cease.  (they did not)  Avast marketing continued to harass me with emails.

After renewing the second time in 5 months (in an attempt to stop the emails), I submitted another ticket because I wanted the time from the October 2014 renewal and the January 2015 renewal to be added together.  I received no reply. 

NOTHING explains the appearance of the next batch of marketing emails in late Feb through March (to the same email address I had renewed under on January 27 2015) nagging me to renew, begging me to come back as an Avast customer.  I was active under this email address

And NOTHING explains the takeover by avast! of my active, current installed Internet Security program,  on April 19 by Avast marketing telling me I had ZERO time left and my avast! had expired, I was at risk and to RENEW NOW!   (Where did my 283 days left evaporate to?)

This aggressive marketing behavior is why I am publicly shaming avast!  - marketing shoots first and looks second.  At NO time was I going to run out of active coverage and at NO time did I require such disruptive, aggressive marketing behavior, some of which put my computer at risk!

I have been a loyal avast! customer for 4-5 years, all but one year of that as an Internet Security paid customer.   There is no justification for avast's behavior.  None.   One hand (marketing) does not know what the others are doing (digital river) and end-user (installed system).  And support doesn't do what they say they are going to (update my records combining my records into one email address). 

Avast needs to be responsible for it's business practices because these business practices are deplorable!

[Rednose]

Hi allenergy11

I am no Avast! employee, but an Avast! user and forum member like you.
The best thing I can do is trying to help you to sort things out, with the possibilities/contacts I have.
I already have put this forward in the forum system, and I will keep on monitoring this topic.

Greetz, Red.

[allenergy11]

i know  you are not an avast! employee Red.  I appreciate your putting this forward in the forum system and monitoring it.

Avast management needs to reply to this topic and this issue.  Avast management needs to speak to their marketing department about it's aggressive marketing behavior and put a stop to it.  Twice within the past 4 days, avast has pulled out a fully paid for install and left my computer with  ZERO protection and at risk ALL in an attempt to get me to renew (when I didn't need to anyway).  This is ALL 100% marketing driven and it is a disgrace.

As I said, this behavior is deplorable.  No "uber-evangelist" can make it any less so.  I have always loved avast and recommended it - after this?  I am not so sure I'm going to stick with avast after my current protection expires and I am certainly not recommending it right now.

Thank you Red for anything you can do to get avast management's attention to this post.

Best,
allenergy11 :-)

[lukas.hasik]

Hi Amy,
this is the case that should never happen. There are mistakes on our side (avast support), on system side(licensing) etc. Thank you for sharing your feelings about it. It helped us to review the process to make it easier. Let me comment about it

1) different email addresses means different licenses - I'm sure it might be done in better way on our side however we identify a user with email address. If there are two purchase orders with two different emails then it ends with two different (separate) licenses.
2) but we are able to merge such cases per request - unfortunately your request for that was lost in our system (our mistake!). And we merged those orders NOW.
3) I'm escalating the flood of emails that you received in last months to our marketing team. That's a nightmare - please accept my apology about it. It seems more as a bug to me than planned marketing campaign...

I'm sending you a personal email with more details.
thank you
Lukas

PS: I'll close this topic to avoid spammers to add more comments to it