Technical

Ha, is this not a good reason to bring back the Avast Remote Assistance function ???

Absolutely, I still wonder why it got removed in the first place. It was quite handy, imo.

I have just posted a comment in the blog and show the potential error in removing avast’s own remote assistance. This move essentially pushed some avast users to team viewer.

I’ve just added my 2 cents. :slight_smile:

Yes, totally agreed.

I think they may be considering their position, possibly not about a return of the avast remote assistance tool, but to allow comments on the blog :wink:

I’ve regularly, and for quite some time, commented on the Avast Blog. :slight_smile:

Microsoft has now started to block Windows 7/8.1 updates on PCs with recent processors

https://www.onmsft.com/news/microsoft-has-now-started-to-block-windows-78-1-updates-on-pcs-with-recent-processors

About TeamViewer, I beg to disagree. It was a feature used by less than 1% of the users (most only ourselves and advanced users).
If we keep, or add, features that have security issues in other 3rd party apps, we’ll see Avast being everything but a security app.

I know you’ll be angry with me, but when people talk about “bloatware” and “keep only in security field” we clap-clap them…
Remote Assistance is not security in 1st place. It’s convenient, it could be there, but it was gone and technical team needs to be focused :slight_smile:

  1. Does it really matter if it is only used by a small percentage, it was essentially a unique feature to avast, not it isn’t there what other unique feature is there to have people choose/switch to avast. I have no idea how much of an overhead it was, but I can’t imagine it being massive.

  2. You talk of bloat, well avast is still full of it, components that I will never use and that is why so many people get rid of the cr4p using a custom install or the minimum install. Fortunately people can uninstall or not install components they don’t need or want, the same would be true for the avast remote assistance function.

People are more worried about components that are installed against their wishes (even though the EULA may cover that), just cast your mind back to when the safezone browser was introduced. Also all of the in your face ads for other avast products. These I would say are much well received than the avast remote assistance function.

So you think it is OK that avast removed this function, in light of the blog article about the team viewer vulnerability/exploit. If that were me I certainly wouldn’t have released a blog article that highlighted the lack a remote assistance function that was driving avast users to team viewer and leaving them potentially vulnerable to exploit.

Sorry Lisandro, I totally disagree with your opinion on this topic.
Securing your computer via remote assistance to make it safe, is certainly security related.
If everything was purely based on the number of users, lots of useful programs wouldn’t exist.
I’m all for eliminating bloatware but this isn’t one of the items that belongs in that category.

No need to be sorry Bob. We just disagree :slight_smile:

I did not say (neither think) that this feature is bloatware. I’ve put the word into quotes. I just think that is not a popular and imho it’s not security related. It’s convenient only.

Mysterious Microsoft patch killed 0days released by NSA-leaking Shadow Brokers
https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/04/purported-shadow-brokers-0days-were-in-fact-killed-by-mysterious-patch/
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/04/14/protecting-customers-and-evaluating-risk/

Chrome and Firefox Phishing Attack Uses Domains Identical to Known Safe Sites
https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2017/04/chrome-firefox-unicode-phishing/
https://www.xudongz.com/blog/2017/idn-phishing/
https://www.reddit.com/r/netsec/comments/65csdk/phishing_with_unicode_domains/

Statement concerning the arrest of Dmitry Bogatov
https://www.debian.org/News/2017/20170417

Statement regarding Dmitry Bogatov
https://blog.torproject.org/blog/statement-regarding-dmitry-bogatov

No password, phone sign in for Microsoft accounts!
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/enterprisemobility/2017/04/18/no-password-phone-sign-in-for-microsoft-accounts/

Abusing NVIDIA’s node.js to bypass application whitelisting
http://blog.sec-consult.com/2017/04/application-whitelisting-application.html

Android Spyware SMSVova posing as system update on Play Store
https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/research/android-spyware-smsvova-posing-system-update-play-store

Analyzing the DOUBLEPULSAR Kernel DLL Injection Technique
https://countercept.com/our-thinking/analyzing-the-doublepulsar-kernel-dll-injection-technique/
http://blog.binaryedge.io/2017/04/21/doublepulsar/
https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/04/10000-windows-computers-may-be-infected-by-advanced-nsa-backdoor/
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/04/21/windows_hacked_nsa_shadow_brokers/

NSA backdoor detected on >55,000 Windows boxes can now be remotely removed
https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/04/nsa-backdoor-detected-on-55000-windows-boxes-can-now-be-remotely-removed/
https://github.com/countercept/doublepulsar-detection-script

New update options for Windows 10, version 1703
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsitpro/2017/04/24/new-update-options-for-windows-10-1703/