I sincerely hope that the principals of Avast never lose sight of the fact that trust in their type of software (meaning AV & AS) is the most important thing of all. Any anti-virus, anti-spyware or anti-malware company crawling in bed with scare-ware, ad-ware and any other sleazy marketing firm gimmick will, IMO, lose far more than they'll make in any incremental income.
Shame on Avira. I hope they suffer what they deserve from these business arrangements. I will do what ever I can to make sure anyone and everyone I run into knows how they can no longer be trusted!