"Your storage is limited by x.xx GB of junk" message

system · 2017-09-27T17:44:26.000Z

I’ve begun seeing this message on numerous Macs running macOS 10.12. I’ve called Avast support and it took 45 minutes on the phone just to find out if this was actually coming from Avast. They first told me to call “Mac” and that my computer only had that much space left. I finally spoke to “MK” who said he was the “Technical Supervisor Avast for Mac and Windows OS” and he said he would get back to me with more information.

MK said that I can’t turn off the message and that he thinks it is an ad but wasn’t sure. He said I can’t turn it of in Notifications or in the Avast Security for Mac application. I mentioned to him that it was poor business practice to put something like that in the software. The customer doesn’t know if it actually comes from Avast other than the logo as there is no mention of this “feature” or functionality anywhere. It is impossible to know what will happen when you click on the only button named “Resolve” without clicking it. It appears as malware or a virus to those who have seen it pop up. There is also no mention of this error so far on Google searches.

I’m definitely not impressed.

Eddy · 2017-09-27T18:19:38.000Z

I doubt it was avast that you called.
To my knowledge there is no technical manager that oversees different platforms nor have I’ve heard about someone called MK who works at avast.
Besides that, people from avast are almost always mentioning their first name.
What number did you call and where did you get it from ?

system · 2017-09-27T19:00:06.000Z

I called the number from their support website screen capped below.

Eddy · 2017-09-27T20:37:03.000Z

As I thought.
That is not avast but a third party that only handles a small amount of things for avast.

system · 2017-09-28T18:53:15.000Z

How does one contact Avast via phone other than the number they have on their website? This doesn’t make much sense.

Pondus · 2017-09-28T20:20:29.000Z

You use the support ticket system https://support.avast.com/support/tickets/new

lukas.hasik · 2017-10-03T13:52:02.000Z

Hi RSVP,
we launched a new product for Mac last month - Avast Cleanup Pro. The mentioned popup is a promotion of the product to our free AV users. So far there is no way how to turn the popup off(we’ll consider it). But we show it only once a month if there is something to clean on your computer (keeping your Mac clean will help to not trigger it ;))
The new product cleans clutter from your Mac, of course. Log files, caches, trash etc. We plan to add more and more features in near future.

I understand that the it may seem confusing - a popup from nowhere. It has Avast logo but you are right that the call to action button might be improved e.g. “More details” instead of “Resolve”. And Google doesn’t know about it because ithe promotion was launched last week.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Lukas

PS: Eddy+Pondus have provided a way how to complain about the phone support already…

RSVP post:1:

I’ve begun seeing this message on numerous Macs running macOS 10.12. I’ve called Avast support and it took 45 minutes on the phone just to find out if this was actually coming from Avast. They first told me to call “Mac” and that my computer only had that much space left. I finally spoke to “MK” who said he was the “Technical Supervisor Avast for Mac and Windows OS” and he said he would get back to me with more information.

MK said that I can’t turn off the message and that he thinks it is an ad but wasn’t sure. He said I can’t turn it of in Notifications or in the Avast Security for Mac application. I mentioned to him that it was poor business practice to put something like that in the software. The customer doesn’t know if it actually comes from Avast other than the logo as there is no mention of this “feature” or functionality anywhere. It is impossible to know what will happen when you click on the only button named “Resolve” without clicking it. It appears as malware or a virus to those who have seen it pop up. There is also no mention of this error so far on Google searches.

I’m definitely not impressed.

system · 2017-10-06T17:54:44.000Z

The sudden appearance of the Avast “Clean-up” window looks like malware.
I note that the one I saw (for the first time ever) today at least had a “Cancel”
button. (small comfort).

What the f— does the “Resolve” button actually do:
–Take you to the website to download the actual app???
–Actually delete files from my machine???

Definitely bad manners all around and definitely, from a marketing stand-point, a real turn-off.

lukas.hasik · 2017-10-10T10:27:47.000Z

Sorry for confusion! It wasn’t planned. We changed the Resolve button to “Show Details”. Because that’s what the “Resolve” button does. It takes you to a page with more details about what the Avast Cleanup Pro product can clean on your computer.

The product cleans your computer only when you have a valid license. There is no trial of the product yet - we plan to launch it soon.

The flow (from screenshot) "Continue"s to eshop where you can purchase the product. When you finish the purchase product installs, activates and launches the GUI. The main motto of the Cleanup is “Nothing will be changed without your permission” - we always show what should be cleaned, and user confirms.

lukas.hasik · 2017-10-10T10:35:15.000Z

I forgot to share a screenshot of the Avast Cleanup Pro !

system · 2017-11-24T14:24:06.000Z

Reboot the computer and the message disappears.

system · 2018-03-06T19:42:36.000Z

Does anyone know if this message is present in the paid version of Avast, or only in the Free version?

I’ve been considering buying but I first want to ensure I don’t continue to get advertisements.

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