The Avast scandal about selling Google user data and others uploads is a benefit for Brave

A recent investigation by PCMag revealed that the Avast antivirus program was and still is selling all user information about browsing. Avast clients also include companies such as Google, Microsoft or Pepsi.

A secret market for your data

The report shows that the Avast antivirus program, used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, sells highly sensitive browsing data to many global companies. The investigation was conducted by Motherboard and PCMag.

Avast is a subsidiary of AVG, which according to their official website has more than 435 million active users per month. Current subscribers include Google, Microsoft, Pepsi, McKinsey and many others. The report shall state:

“DATA INCLUDE GOOGLE SEARCH, LOCALITIES AND GPS COORDINATES ON GOOGLE MAPS, PEOPLE VISITING LINKEDIN, SPECIFIC YOUTUBE VIDEOS, AND VISITING PORN PAGES.”

After the discovery of social networks, a wave of criticism of the antivirus software provider.

If you're using Avast antivirus, remove it IMMEDIATELY — it is now MALWARE. https://t.co/ZSwtSJCV8u

— just adrienne for now (@adrienneleigh) January 27, 2020

The history of intrusion on privacy

This silent interference with our online privacy is nothing new. Four years ago, the world was hit by the activities of Cambridge Analytica to obtain information and influence elections from websites, including Facebook.

However, there is a new kind of web browser that doesn’t spy on your internet activity. Blockchain and decentralization have the potential to change the way we control our sensitive data. The best candidate is the browser Brave.

In addition to the Tor browser, which anonymizes your behavior on the Internet, built in Brave, it also seeks to disrupt the annoying method of advertising on websites. Brave blocks ad timers for data collection. Last October Brave even designed a VPN system.

In addition, Brave allows you to earn Brave tokens (BAT) for using the browser. The main selling point is the effort to protect your personal information online.

Summary

Brave is a good starting point if you were thinking of keeping control of your own data. The fight for the protection of personal data should be the primary goal for Internet users. Decentralization and cryptocurrency-related technologies can be a solution.