SCAM or BOGUS Warning - Avast FREE Anti Virus

[SilvrT]

I have been using Avast FREE A/V for many, many years and I've installed in on many computers over those years. It has always served me well .... until recently.

 

A couple weeks ago I noticed a charge against my credit card in the amount of $49.95 from Avast-Nexway. WHAT??? Apparently for renewing my subscription to their full version.

 

So I did some investigating and discovered I was not the only one getting charged for something they did not purchase from this company.

 

How they got my cc info is beyond me as I never, ever purchased their product nor did I ever provide them with my cc info.

 

What I found out is apparently when you go download the free version, somewhere there is a indiscriminate check box signing you up for their full version. Again, how they get the cc info I don't know but they did.

 

So my friends, be warned .... this could happen to you.

 

Meanwhile, I have disputed it and have been reimbursed. I've also removed Avast from my computer and have purchased and installed Kaspersky with NO automatic renewal.

 

On top of that I've had my cc cancelled and replaced with a new one (different account #). That is a pain because now I have to go and update all accounts that legitimately auto-renew as well as places like PayPal, Amazon, etc. etc.

.

[GAWildKat]

That sux. Thank you for the heads up. Will investigate further.

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

[BlueSky]

As I understand it, Kaspersky is a Russian program if that means anything?????

[videoarizona]

In seems, at first glance, Nexway is a distributor. I have always purchased from Digital River... Another distributor. My gut feeling is Avast is not at fault with this... But will suffer from the adverse publicity.

Either that or Nexway has purchased Avast.

Regardless, how they got your cc info is a very good question.

I own two paid subscriptions to Avast and two free ones. Will watch my account for similar issue. BTW, there is a notice telling how to get rid of auto subscription...i googled Avast Nexway.

[SilvrT]

As I understand it, Kaspersky is a Russian program if that means anything?????

 

Yup ... and IMO, it's a good A/V. I use an enterprise version at my work.

 

(from wikipedia)

 

Kaspersky Lab ranks fourth in the global ranking of antivirus vendors by revenue.^[3] It was the first Russian company to be included into the rating of the world’s leading software companies, called the Software Top 100 (79th on the list, as of 6/29/2012). Kaspersky Lab is ranked 4th in Endpoint Security segment according to IDC data for 2010.^[4] According to Gartner, Kaspersky Lab is currently the third largest vendor of consumer IT security software worldwide and the fifth largest vendor of Enterprise Endpoint Protection. Kaspersky Lab has been named a "Leader" in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms.^[5] Analysts say suspicions about the firm’s Russian roots have hindered its expansion in the United States.

The Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) has discovered sophisticated espionage platforms such as Equation Group and the Stuxnet worm. Various covert government-sponsored cyber-espionage efforts were uncovered through their research. Kaspersky also publishes the annual Global IT Security Risks Survey.^[6] As of 2014, Kaspersky's research hubs analyze more than 350,000 malware samples per day.^[7]

[SilvrT]

In seems, at first glance, Nexway is a distributor. I have always purchased from Digital River... Another distributor. My gut feeling is Avast is not at fault with this... But will suffer from the adverse publicity.

Either that or Nexway has purchased Avast.

Regardless, how they got your cc info is a very good question.

I own two paid subscriptions to Avast and two free ones. Will watch my account for similar issue. BTW, there is a notice telling how to get rid of auto subscription...i googled Avast Nexway.

 

I'm not totally certain about this; however, according to them I signed up in Sep 2015 with an introductory offer of $14.95 for the first year. (I just found that out). It was somewhere on that signup where the "auto renewal" was pre-checked or pre-authorized. This could be correct although I sure don't recall doing it and it baffles me that I would not have caught that if I did sign up as I'm super cautious of such things.

 

Oh well, $hit happens and $50 bucks won't break me but it's the "sneaky" method that gets my dander up and apparently many others.

 

https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=111949.0

 

https://www.scambook.com/search/reports?search=nexway

 

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/nexwaysoftwarecom-avast-renewal-without-permission-c710969.html

 

Just some of the links I found.

[Max]

We've been using AVG free version for Android on our cells for a year without issue. Also using AVG free version on our laptop for 5 years and desktops for about 15 years without issues. Free version protects web, software & email only. AVG was aquired by Avast this year and software ratings are generally ok. Since the Avast acquisition we've been getting AVG-ZEN 'Maximize with PRO' pop-up dialogue, but the basic is still free...for now.

Thanks for the heads up. We'll keep a close watch for AVG/AVAST shenanigans.

[SilvrT]

We've been using AVG free version for Android on our cells for a year without issue. Also using AVG free version on our laptop for 5 years and desktops for about 15 years without issues. Free version protects web, software & email only. AVG was aquired by Avast this year and software ratings are generally ok. Since the Avast acquisition we've been getting AVG-ZEN 'Maximize with PRO' pop-up dialogue, but the basic is still free...for now.

Thanks for the heads up. We'll keep a close watch for AVG/AVAST shenanigans.

 

I used to use AVG but switched to Avast as it did not use as much system resources (at that time).

[Kretz]

Thanks for the "Heads Up, Silvr T.

I hate signing up for anything with auto-renewal. Magazines, subscriptions, stock market quotes etc

It really bugs me "Get one full year for only $9.99!) They don't tell you & it's often very difficult to find the "regular" price which is often 5, 10 or more times the cost of what you originally signed up for.

[SilvrT]

Thanks for the "Heads Up, Silvr T.

I hate signing up for anything with auto-renewal. Magazines, subscriptions, stock market quotes etc

It really bugs me "Get one full year for only $9.99!) They don't tell you & it's often very difficult to find the "regular" price which is often 5, 10 or more times the cost of what you originally signed up for.

 

Not only that but they "conceal" the Auto-renew or at least make it inconspicuous. Then there's the one's that tell you it will auto renew but at the fine print on the bottom of the page tell you you have to advise them 15 days before it renews that you want to cancel it (or something like that). The fine print of course is so small you need a magnifying glass to read it and is generally out of visibility (more than a screen down).

[camos]

Shaw offers McAfee Security Center for free to their subscribers. It has firewall, virus scanning and automatic updates for free as well. Shaw used to supply a custom version of F-Secure before changing to McAfee. Both packages seem to work very well. I have never subscribed to Telus so don't know if they offer any free A/V software.

[Flyinfool]

I ran into one place where the Fine print was concealed on another page. the link to that other page was just the period at the end of the sentence about how cheap it was. It is really tough to notice that just the period is blue instead of black to tell you it is a link. I had to search that page a very long time to find it.

[yamagrl]

Most of the time there is no box to check or uncheck for auto-renewal. It is usually part of the "terms" and you can't avoid it. When you click "accept" you are now signed up for auto-renew and you then have to go searching to turn it off. They hope you will just give up looking.

 

When signing up for things with auto-renew if it has Paypal (many have it) use it. You can turn it off on the PAYPAL website. That's what I do...Angie's List, my website, etc. As soon as I sign up I go right back to Paypal and turn it off right then. When the renewal period has expired I can turn it back on if I wish and then turn it right back off if I wish.

 

CITIBANK MASTERCARD has a feature called "Virtual Account Numbers" which creates a unique CC number and 3 digit code that is assignd to a ​single merchant. You set the expiration date and spending limit. This is a bit more cumbersome to set up for each merchant but it is almost impenetrable/hackable/stealable. It can only be used online or over the phone because no actual card exists and it allows only that merchant. It is also very easy to cancel.

 

We use PC MATIC for our internet security. It allows for 5 computers... ANY FIVE. If you get a new computer you add it and remove the old one. It's 50 dollars per year or $150 forever... LIFETIME. It's called PC Matic Evergreen. That's what I have. PC MATIC is made in the "Good Ole' USA". As a Veteran that's important to me. Kaspersky and many others are made somewhere in the former USSR... you know... the old "Trust me" routine. Sounds like the "Fox guarding the hen house" to me.

 

I do not trust free security. If there is a breech... ​you got what you paid for...NOTHING.

 

YG

[SilvrT]

As an IT professional I am always open to new and evolving technology. As a Canadian I am not a subscriber to "made in the USA" although if it's a Canadian product I would favor it as long as it was better and/or equal to or less expensive to something made elsewhere.

 

I have done my research on PC Matic and ruled it out as a possible A/V solution simply because it uses a "white list / black list" method of prevention and it's high rate of false positives.

 

Every A/V program out there has their pros and cons and few if any at all will catch all virus/malware all of the time. People who develop viruses are always going to be one-step ahead of the A/V until a prevention can be developed and rolled out. Some are not as quick as others to do that.

 

I've had a few times over the years where I've had to run 2 or 3 different A/V cleaners in order to eradicate a virus from someone's computer and even had instances where it was totally impossible and only a full refresh including a low level hard drive format would work.

[yamagrl]

As an IT professional I am always open to new and evolving technology. As a Canadian I am not a subscriber to "made in the USA" although if it's a Canadian product I would favor it as long as it was better and/or equal to or less expensive to something made elsewhere.

 

 

Point well taken... my apologies.

[SilvrT]

Point well taken... my apologies.

 

thanks but no apology necessary. I "get it".