Sales promoting popups in the Free version erode trust in Avast.
The popup says “You have 4 privacy issues. Resolve.”
What it might more helpfully say is “You have 4 privacy issues. Buy the premium version of Avast to resolve.” It might helpfully also add some details about what the privacy or security issues actually are.
It is completely fair that Avast uses popups to make sales pitches to Free users but without making it clear that it is promoting the premium version makes it look underhand. The user’s concentration is interrupted in the middle of his/her work and so all the popup achieves is to distract and irritate the user because of its sudden surprise appearance. The result is that they simply dismiss it and so the opportunity for benefits from the premium version is temporarily lost both for Avast and for the user.
It could be done much better by making it clear to the user what the true purpose of the popup is and so also promote mutual trust between Avast and its users. Many users are already suspicious of popups because they are aware that similar popups are attack vectors for malware thus turning the popups into own goals.
For me Avast is the best antimalware/system security solution. It deserves better from its sales promotion popups.