I know anyone can boast anything. Thats fine but I do implore you to understand some things are not boastful, but simply facts. the local and state agencies in my area are using your solutions partially based on my opinion and history with your product. My best friend since grade school is one of the lead sheriffs here in my county. He is also aware of the works I did while serving the Armed Forces and the experinced gained. Over the past month or so, Avasts direction has become a concern. Recent findings have led me to draft the following statement to be sent if things within Avast support and product remain ‘stagnant’:
To Whom It May Concern;
I understand that you have chosen Avast in order to protect the local computers within your agency. While I will admit myself that for the most part Avast is one of the most secure scanning software apps for viraltic and illicit code propagation; are you aware that some of its tools are being manipulated by parties that would mean to mislead users of its services and protection?
For instance, one of our most relied upon tools within Avast is its ‘WebRep’ feature. This was, in its design, to be a great mediator when doing searches within websites that would carry a higher level of ‘trust worthiness’. Some of your employees have even been instructed to rely upon it for their browsing habits. However, it has become a fact that this tool is manipulated by a community which rates such sites as www.fbi.gov as ‘BAD’ (to the largest degree a bad rating can be given) while sites for illicit ‘warez’ and illegal downloading have a ‘GOOD’ and/or ‘GREAT’ rating.
Another issue within a product designed with security in mind, is its lack of being able to connect an Avast account (https://my.avast.com/) via a more secure,complex password. While one is able to set a secure, complex password within the webportal itself; the Avast GUI seems to not allow for special charcters to connect to this ‘monitoring account’. In today’s world of internet crime, can one honestly feel comfrortable over this when it has been repeatidly reported to the Avast team, without effect?
As well, I can attest to the fact that there have been a number of concerned users such as myself that have tried to bring current ‘security risks’ of the program to the attention of Avast developers on their support forums. This has led to nothing more than some of their top-level posters seemingly trying to either sway the conversation away from its main point or insult us in general. These ‘abusers’ of the forum policy seem to have established some sort of immunity to its rules and guidelines. When I have brought problems to their Techical Support Team, I have only been met with misunderstadnings or just simply wrong/inapporpriate fixes that never address the initial support query. A huge deciding factor in the obvious direction of this once, great tool for web protection.
The last imprtant issue I would like to cover, although it is no longer a support option, was Avast’s choice of using iYogi for phone support. It took nothing more than a well-worded Google search for this user to see that iYogi had very deceptive tactics and practices; yet Avast seems to have chosen them without any research into this. A search on the Avast forum reveals many users atttempted to being ‘tricked’ into purchasing separate support prrograms when calling this service. Again, the team at Avast could have discovered these practices with a simple search on google. All of this from a product/company that supposedly prides itself on security.
In closing, I would simply like these facts to be considered upon any renewal to Avast and its services… even as a free scanner. If its ‘WebRep’ tool can be transformed into a tool showing sites that provide illicit, and virus filled sites as ‘trustable’; what other measures has Avast let their design be compromised? I can say, in full confidence, that in the past this company has been a leader in web protection and scanning techniques, however, their recent direction has brought more than a passing concern just for my home use.
I would hate to think things such as described above affecting my local and state government offices and compromising the citizens information those computers/servers protect.
With Hestisation,
While Im sure some users simply view my posts as an arrogant American, or this is at least the feeling Im left with. I know that sometimes drastic steps need to be taken. I love that Avast is fast becoming the standard for web protection and services; but at the same time, with my 60+ yr old mother trusting many of your features, I have become increasingly aware that things cant be as they currently are.
Please do not interpret this as a threat or even as speaking out against forum moderation; but simply insight in a method not veiwed yet. This will wait one month before mailing to see if that can be avoided. But as stated in the letter, I do not support the current methods being implored within the community as far as a device to protect the securities/persoanl information of the indiviuduals on servers your software is installed upon.