AOS or WebRep ?

[Eddy]

In the UI under components it is called webrep, but in the browsers the add-on/plug-in is called AOS.
Seem to me this will be confusing for users.

[DavidR]

It is called Security Browser Extension in my avastUI > settings > components. Only if you expand the information, then you get it being called WebRep.

In the avast Custom Installation screen it is also called 'Security Browser Extension,' and only AOS (Avast Online Security) in the browser, which further confuses the issue.

[MartinZ]

yes, the description is outdated. it's AOS

[A. User]

Might be offtopic, but i was thinking about this for maybe a year or so. Why don't you cooperate with Web of Trust? They'll give you an accurate database of users opinions and they'll receive 400 million users more to vote sites. The current Avast WebRep database is not to be rude but stupid. In bad website there is no reason for Phishing, Fraud, Porn, weapons etc. I think it will be good for both companies.

[CraigB]

Might be offtopic, but i was thinking about this for maybe a year or so. Why don't you cooperate with Web of Trust? They'll give you an accurate database of users opinions and they'll receive 400 million users more to vote sites. The current Avast WebRep database is not to be rude but stupid. In bad website there is no reason for Phishing, Fraud, Porn, weapons etc. I think it will be good for both companies.

As WOT is currently in disarray after privacy issues ( selling user data ) and with many program/developers who incorporate WOT are removing or disabling their services so at this stage that wouldn't be a great idea.

Never liked WOT anyway, users opinions are mostly biased and totally inaccurate.

[A. User]

I thought about that. It was said that they will reapply when they update the Privacy Policy. For this reason i guess that they still keep the database of useful site ratings on their servers and haven't deleted it. I guess that Avast will only exchange site ratings and not user's information. This is just an idea, but i think it will be good to be at least taken into consideration by the Avast team. I haven't seen a better web reputation system till now than theirs. IMO AOS is useless in its current form. 

[polonus]

Hi liubomirwm,

I think WoT as things stand is not a likely candidate to empower AOS.
WoT lost it's T, and with it also it's teeth.

As a silver WoT member I knew about the qualities of the fellow member report's there,
and the weaknesses thereof.

Also had WoT a very active and sympathetic Russian user-base. 

Read here about the scandal and why we cannot support it:
https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=192618.0

Another candidate that also uses their own version of the WoT web rep classification is Webutation (browser extension).

Other vendor's that have similar free web rep extensions that stand out are:
DrWeb's URL Checker and Bitdefender's TrafficLight.

It is remarkable that DrWeb's one and Avast's AOS do not overlap,
so what Avast flags,  DrWeb may not flag and v.v.

polonus

[A. User]

I am a bronze member and i have to agree with you on all the things you mentioned. I too have though why there are so much Russians there, i mean, they are ok as people, but where are the other nationalities represented? But i have to disagree with you about Webutation and Bitdefender Traffic light. I have used both of them. Here is what i have to say about them: 1st - I did not like Webutation at all when i tested it with some links. It basically doesn't have it's own database but fetches from Google Safebrowsing, WOT and some others which i have not heard of. Phishing links were flagged in WOT but this was not reflected by Webutation. Strange when they fetch the info from WOT. 2nd - Bitdefender TrafficLight is very good, but has a flaw: the extension blocks a page only after it has loaded. Enough to load a malicious iframe or script but ok for phishing. Once again, great database with not timely block on Chrome. Maybe Firefox offers better capabilities to block the page sooner, but i don't use Firefox. I cannot comment Dr. Web as i have not used it. The extension that i really like is Avira Browser Safety: very good database and it really blocks the pages before even connecting. Even before the Chrome block shows.


Now after everything of this: none of that extensions are like WOT. No comments with reviews, no categorization by crowd intelligence. Only Avast's one is like WOT but it lacks categories and i really don't like it for now.

[bob3160]

For many of us WOT stood for World Of Trouble because of the user bias toward some very safe sites.
I participated but certainly wasn't a fan.

[RejZoR]

I liked WOT because of the way how it remembered what pages were already rated by me so I wouldn't re-rate them continuously after every reinstall. And because of commenting. It was very useful when shopping so I was able to post comments on shops with no info so others knew if they are cool. AOS has none of that and while there is anti-phishing and anti-tracking thingie, it just doesn't help me as much as WOT did. Until they well, F it up.

[A. User]

Just a word... WOT is back along with all of its data and a clear link to the Privacy Policy + an option to turn off the data collection (not sure if it will protect you if you do it though). And the privacy policy states that it doesn't share any personal info with 3rd party vendors.

[bob3160]

Just a word... WOT is back along with all of its data and a clear link to the Privacy Policy + an option to turn off the data collection (not sure if it will protect you if you do it though). And the privacy policy states that it doesn't share any personal info with 3rd party vendors.

IOBIT is also back. I still don't use their products.

[A. User]

Just a word... WOT is back along with all of its data and a clear link to the Privacy Policy + an option to turn off the data collection (not sure if it will protect you if you do it though). And the privacy policy states that it doesn't share any personal info with 3rd party vendors.

IOBIT is also back. I still don't use their products.

Everyone has a choice to select the products to use and that is very good. Peace now.    Maybe i just want to see the features of WOT inside AOS. Someday. Maybe.

[Eddy]

I don't never liked "tools" like wot.
Let's face it.
The ratings are done by users and fact is that (as they say) 99,9% of them have no clue what they are doing/talking about when it comes to computer (and everything related).

[A. User]

I don't never liked "tools" like wot.
Let's face it.
The ratings are done by users and fact is that (as they say) 99,9% of them have no clue what they are doing/talking about when it comes to computer (and everything related).

In my opinion tools like WOT are not designed to be protecting users against technical threats like viruses, but against social engineering. For example such tools can be useful against phishing and scams, against bad practices from online shops and against sites that contain nude pictures/videos. People are not so stupid. Plus Avast knows a thing or two (and i'm sure better than WOT) about AI algorithms and data science/analytics. I am not defending WOT as a company but as a useful tool.