I hope avast/avg gets removed off every single AV test page. I hope PC mag continues to tell people to move away from the product avast and it's employees deserve to suffer the heat after this stunt. Please continue to uninstall the product lets teach these unethical's a lesson.
As much as I may dislike Avast!'s recent tactics (this is not the only one I'm against), Avast! employee's do not deserve to take the heat for the latest stunt. They get paid to do what they're told, nothing more. The people who DO deserve to take the heat for this are the stakeholders, and senior leadership who (presumably) either voted to made this happen.
Think of it this way: You refuse to do the job you were hired to do for.
What happens to you? You. Get. Fired. They hire someone to replace you. What happens to you? You're out of a job, and (like the average American might be) living paycheque to paycheque. You're fucked, Avast! keeps moving on without you, and would never notice the difference.
Don't blame avast! employees. Blame senior leadership. Enough with that horseshit.