Although we are still evaluating Avast, I have to comment on the fact that with each subsequent update, Avast! is becoming increasingly more invasive. With the most recent release (version 12.3.2515, release date 08/25/2016), a Chrome extension was force installed, and my users are now being prompted to enable the Avast! Chrome browser extension.
It is not viable to deploy a product that changes settings, installs programs, and prompts users without any sort of administrative override. We cannot risk updating or continuing to use a program that is going to repeatedly prompt, force installations, create icons, or otherwise affect our 20,000 users. Please remedy this in your upcoming releases… I really want to like and continue using Avast, but it’s not going to work if Avast! keeps forcing changes like these.
It simply generated the update task. When the task completed, the computer was rebooted, and the prompt appeared in Chrome notifying me that an extension had been installed. Much in the same way that when the system was updated before this, SafeZone browser was silently installed. No prompts to customize the installation at all.
If there is a way to customize what components are installed when systems are updated, please inform me.
I don’t mean to be argumentative here, but that is simply not true. See the screenshot below, taken from one of our testing systems. As you can clearly see, we are running Avast Business Security v.12.3.2515, and the Avast! SafeZone Browser is installed. It was not installed with our interaction or permission.
We very thoroughly test all software in multiple settings before deploying it across our ~20k systems, and the SafeZone browser installation and the Chrome extension repeatedly occur and are easy to reproduce.
We’re sorry for the troubles. Yes, the extension is installed during program update, but it was not intentional, it’s a bug.
There were some changes in how this plugin is installed and now there is a switch set to “Do not install in business edition”. Unfortunately this switch is not working correctly during the update and the plugin is installed anyway. After a VPS update check is performed, this setting is also checked and the plugin is uninstalled again.
We definitely don’t want to force on you anything you don’t want and it will be fixed in the next release.
Will this be automatically removed in the next update for the affected users?
On my own machines it was easy to manually uninstall but i dont have an idea who got this installed unwantedly.
Even worse one of the machines got the price comparison bloatware as well.
The plugin is removed even in this version after the client checks for VPS update. (You can check for yourself, just give it some time and than look in your browser extensions and the plugin is gone)
In the next release it will be fixed so that it’s not even installed in the first place.
We look forward to future updates remedying these issues. Please do keep in mind that when things like this happen, they have the potential to affect tens of thousands of our users and create an enormous headache for us.
One of the things that we appreciate most about Avast! is being able to get ahold of the developers/administration team through the forums.
I have gotten additional reports from users this morning that they are being prompted for the Avast Chrome extension when launching Chrome. I physically checked their machines and they are running the most current build and have the most current VPS definitions.
Having the same issue. Is there a way to turn this off so that my students do not get prompted to install it? It will confuse my students, and set my teachers into a panic.
Please do something to remedy this… allow us to disable installing these extensions, etc through the policy rules or something.
Like I mentioned in my first post:
[QUOTE]It is not viable to deploy a product that changes settings, installs programs, and prompts users without any sort of administrative override. We cannot risk updating or continuing to use a program that is going to repeatedly prompt, force installations, create icons, or otherwise affect our 20,000 users. Please remedy this in your upcoming releases… I really want to like and continue using Avast, but it’s not going to work if Avast! keeps forcing changes like these.
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Thanks
Thanks
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Any news on this? Still happening here. We can’t have Avast automatically installing these extensions and no way to disable/control it.
Edit, apparently it’s STILL a bug and isn’t expected to be resolved until Q3/Q4 this year: