Using Free Avast for the first time in a long time and it loves scare tactics

[EmoHobo]

"Someone may be spying on you right now!"

"Your Location and IP are visible!"

"You have tracking cookies on your computer right now!"

Which like isn't fully true, but I'm just not using their software for protection.

[DavidR]

Well you have three options:
1.  Ignore as I do.
2.  Every possibility you have tracking cookies as almost any cookie could be tracking. Take action in your browser.
3.  You can obviously purchase an avast paid product and get rid of those nags.  If you don't want to do that work on options 1 & 2.

I use Cookie monster add-on for firefox, I don't accept third party cookies and you can also clear cookies on closing your browser.

[EmoHobo]

Well you have three options:
1.  Ignore as I do.
2.  Every possibility you have tracking cookies as almost any cookie could be tracking. Take action in your browser.
3.  You can obviously purchase an avast paid product and get rid of those nags.  If you don't want to do that work on options 1 & 2.

I use Cookie monster add-on for firefox, I don't accept third party cookies and you can also clear cookies on closing your browser.

Oh, I plan to ignore it and I plan to purchase Avast again in the future, it's a good product, I had just not seen these current string of Ads before and found them a little ridiculous for an Antivirus company to be doing.

[DavidR]

They have been doing this for some time now.

[EmoHobo]

They have been doing this for some time now.

I'm so out of touch.

[schmidthouse]

Well you have three options:
1.  Ignore as I do.
2.  Every possibility you have tracking cookies as almost any cookie could be tracking. Take action in your browser.
3.  You can obviously purchase an avast paid product and get rid of those nags.  If you don't want to do that work on options 1 & 2.

I use Cookie monster add-on for firefox, I don't accept third party cookies and you can also clear cookies on closing your browser.

Oh, I plan to ignore it and I plan to purchase Avast again in the future, it's a good product, I had just not seen these current string of Ads before and found them a little ridiculous for an Antivirus company to be doing.

I don't know about ridiculous but if the purpose is to "scare" people into purchasing something then I personally believe its inappropriate!

[DougCuk]

One way to avoid some of the pestering is to only install the modules you want to use.
The Free version has Custom Install so you can deselect things like VPN, Passwords, Cleanup
- these mostly just show advertising for the paid for versions (see Custom Install screenshot attached)
You can also remove unwanted modules that are already installed - go to Settings->Components.

I also add a Windows Firewall rule to block all Outgoing traffic from AvastUI.exe
This has very few side effects - all normal functions still work.
Just have to temporarily disable it once a year to reactivate the licence.

[Giraffe]

After many years of using Avast (with brief trials of other AV - no good) I got so fed up of all this, plus the RAM taken up, that I turned the Comodo Firewall into the full protection.
I do miss some of Avast, though having >300MB of RAM is handy; also some apps. are a bit slower to open, but now no nags at all and no sneaky 'offers' that don't mention £££!

[bob3160]

Your computer, yours choice.
Obviously not most users choice.