Advice Request Avast removed "old settings" and now Unable to choose between Moderate and Aggressive for Hardened Mode

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DSD27

Level 5
Thread author
Well-known
Apr 15, 2020
227
Nobody cares for the "scandal" other than a few more enthusiast users like us on forums. Everyone's doing what they did. If it is effective at protecting like you said, it's stupid not to use it.
 

Bryan320

Level 8
Oct 11, 2019
293
Don't you get tired of preaching the same old story, just because you saw some other guy doing it online?
Then you will have to quit windows, fakebook and google's products, big spoiler alert: They all sell your data to advertisement.
Avast is still one of the most used AVs worldwide and the best free one due to its hardened mode, but if you don't want to use it you're entitled not to.
Go use the one who sends data to russian government and was even banned in USA.

Avast will never be usable ever again.. you can preach that other services do it to.. but you know what??? at least they are truthful about it! Avast's CEO knew he was wrong by doing it. This is not avasts fist time. Love how you go about talking about kaspersky yet do you know any of the truth behind that story? An NSA agent was careless and had NSA malware uploaded to the laptop kaspersky did it's job in uploading the malware like every antivirus software vendor does including crappy avast. It's not kaspeskys fault that agent was careless. so you can go back to editing you're comments on you're posts thinking that i wont see the edits. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: You sound like BOB on avast forums L0L...
 
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Chuck57

Level 9
Verified
Well-known
Oct 22, 2018
433
You're really mixing things up. "Crappy" Avast? Avast is one of the top free AVs in the world. If it's crappy because of what they did, that's one thing, but it doesn't make their performance crappy. They're a top antivirus, like them or not and they're always near the top - even their free version compared to pay.

I just vowed never to use them again after the scandal, but I'm not going to criticize them forever because of it.
 

DSD27

Level 5
Thread author
Well-known
Apr 15, 2020
227
Avast will never be usable ever again.. you can preach that other services do it to.. but you know what??? at least they are truthful about it! Avast's CEO knew he was wrong by doing it. This is not avasts fist time. Love how you go about talking about kaspersky yet do you know any of the truth behind that story? An NSA agent was careless and had NSA malware uploaded to the laptop kaspersky did it's job in uploading the malware like every antivirus software vendor does including crappy avast. It's not kaspeskys fault that agent was careless. so you can go back to editing you're comments on you're posts thinking that i wont see the edits. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: You sound like BOB on avast forums L0L...
Millions and millions of people using it, and will never be usable again, ok genius.
Of course, Kaspersky has a story behind to explain it all, of course. Kaspersky is perfect and all angels, Avast is devil.
Maybe you sound like BOB form Kaspersky's forum now.
Have you ever thought that the ones with a better scheme to cover their tracks and appear innocent, are usually the more guilty?

yeah I do edits to fix spelling errors and add something I forgot. if you're personally attaching me because of my edits, you're clearly some kid with zero credibility.
 
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Chuck57

Level 9
Verified
Well-known
Oct 22, 2018
433
Millions and millions of people using it, and will never be usable again, ok genius.
Of course, Kaspersky has a story behind to explain it all, of course. Kaspersky is perfect and all angels, Avast is devil.
Maybe you sound like BOB form Kaspersky's forum now.

yeah I do edits to fix spelling errors and add something I forgot. if you're personally attaching me because of my edits, you're clearly some kid with zero credibility.

He's gone overboard, and is totally screwed up. Collecting and selling data which they did, has nothing to do with whether they catch malware.

It's old news now and no one cares any more, except I guess Bryan320.
 

DSD27

Level 5
Thread author
Well-known
Apr 15, 2020
227
He's gone overboard, and is totally screwed up. Collecting and selling data which they did, has nothing to do with whether they catch malware.

It's old news now and no one cares any more, except I guess Bryan320.
But Microsoft, Facebook, google, they all collect data for advertisement, why care just because it's Avast and make such a big deal out of it?
I bet other AVs are doing it too.
 

Chuck57

Level 9
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Oct 22, 2018
433
But Microsoft, Facebook, google, they all collect data for advertisement, why care just because it's Avast and make such a big deal out of it?
I bet other AVs are doing it too.

I've come to the conclusion that if you're online, somebody is collecting information about where you surf, what you're interested in, everything. He's got a burr up his butt about AVAST for some reason, or it's the only one he's heard of that was caught. They all do it, probably even our ISP.
 

Andrew3000

Level 11
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Top Poster
Malware Hunter
Well-known
Feb 8, 2016
516
All the stories about Kaspersky are and remain "speculation". Theories never confirmed and actually never proved.
 
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Gandalf_The_Grey

Level 76
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Apr 24, 2016
6,506
It's a matter of trust.
Do you trust Avast or any other AV company enough that you give them voluntarily access to all your data?
That's what you do when installing an AV.
If you do no problem.
If you don't there are other alternatives out there.
Can we now discuss other things?
 

DSD27

Level 5
Thread author
Well-known
Apr 15, 2020
227
I've come to the conclusion that if you're online, somebody is collecting information about where you surf, what you're interested in, everything. He's got a burr up his butt about AVAST for some reason, or it's the only one he's heard of that was caught. They all do it, probably even our ISP.
There you go... makes no sense not to use Avast. Maybe they were a targeted victim of the competition, that's why they got "caught" doing something everyone does.
It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of collective online stupidity from some "hey! I know better" users, youtubers and so on.

Kaspersky only has unproven suspicions, but unlike Avast that did something everyone does, Kaspersky has suspicions of doing something much worse and serious. That's where your trust issues should rely.
And they would always have a good plan to explain themselves and not to let actual proof against them.

The day Kaspersky has something on its free version that competes with Hardened Mode, maybe if they enable their Application Control in the free version, I will happily use KasperskySC free and say it's the best free option. Until then, I will keep using Avast free and recommending it to others.
 
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Chuck57

Level 9
Verified
Well-known
Oct 22, 2018
433
AVAST, Kaspersky, Comodo, AVG, or Norton, etc. It comes down to personal choice. What they do as a business is secondary to how their software performs on our computers. I did not like hearing what AVAST did, but the reality is, I haven't had them on my laptop in well over a year. I was using Comodo FW. I've used AVAST and Comodo almost since they came into being, alternating one or the other. I got bored with one and switched back and forth.

I've said I'll never use AVAST again, but that's like me saying I'll never smoke another cigarette or have another cup of coffee. I'm curious about their hardened mode, and I'm also waiting to see if the latest Comodo is stable enough to use. If AVAST hardened mode is as good as I've been reading, I might eat my words and give it a try at some point.
 

silversurfer

Level 85
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Aug 17, 2014
10,057
The day Kaspersky has something on its free version that competes with Hardened Mode, maybe if they enable their Application Control in the free version, I will happily use KasperskySC free and say it's the best free option. Until then, I will keep using Avast free and recommending it to others.
How many times someone here told you that your special "Hardened-Mode" works only for malware as .exe, so it isn't that much superior like you claiming almost daily here on every thread about free antivirus...
 

Bikeman0I17

Level 1
Verified
Sep 22, 2017
48
Used Avast from 2006 til early 2020, when the scandal info broke, i removed it from all household systems, as i felt it wasn't right for them to be selling user data. Doubtful i'll ever use again at this point.

Started using Avast after a serious system infection way back then, and while testing Windows Live One Care back then i stupidly did something and got so badly infected--local PC place at the time couldn't remove any of the bootkits, rootkits, worms, trojans, it kept having issues, lost some files to, shop ended up replacing PC motherboard, hard drive, ram, with lesser components, but all i could afford then.

Lately i do more PC backups, scans for malware every 2 weeks with Malwarebytes Free, Emisoft Emergency Kit, Windows Defender--so far all clean on each system
 

DSD27

Level 5
Thread author
Well-known
Apr 15, 2020
227
How many times someone here told you that your special "Hardened-Mode" works only for malware as .exe, so it isn't that much superior like you claiming almost daily here on every thread about free antivirus...
It isn't invincible, it's only for .exe and so? It's a very good protection. Surely better than not having it ;) It's similar to Kaspersky's Application Control, maybe better, and it's free.
I really can't believe you keep using "it's only for .exe" as an actual argument to say it's not worth it, makes completely no sense.
Your antivirus works only against 90+% of malware, so don't use antivirus. #silversurferlogic
 
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Chuck57

Level 9
Verified
Well-known
Oct 22, 2018
433
Used Avast from 2006 til early 2020, when the scandal info broke, i removed it from all household systems, as i felt it wasn't right for them to be selling user data. Doubtful i'll ever use again at this point.

Started using Avast after a serious system infection way back then, and while testing Windows Live One Care back then i stupidly did something and got so badly infected--local PC place at the time couldn't remove any of the bootkits, rootkits, worms, trojans, it kept having issues, lost some files to, shop ended up replacing PC motherboard, hard drive, ram, with lesser components, but all i could afford then.

Lately i do more PC backups, scans for malware every 2 weeks with Malwarebytes Free, Emisoft Emergency Kit, Windows Defender--so far all clean on each system

Backup is the key. I have a current backup, and my important documents are edited and run from the external. I don't keep much on the laptop but the software I use. If I add or remove something, I make a backup (O&O DiskImage 12).
 

Fuzzy_Bunny

Level 4
Sep 19, 2019
148
Forget about collecting info. What about scam ads like 'performance issue' and 'your pc is exposed' etc.. but if you pay them, they will fix everything.
I would like to know how many people they scamed that way
 

DSD27

Level 5
Thread author
Well-known
Apr 15, 2020
227
Forget about collecting info. What about scam ads like 'performance issue' and 'your pc is exposed' etc.. but if you pay them, they will fix everything.
I would like to know how many people they scamed that way
They all do it. I've used Kaspersky for a long time and got that. Activate now to be protected against this and that...
Avast's free version is the closest there is to a paid suite, others leave more stuff to paid costumers only. The rest is bs.
 

silversurfer

Level 85
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Aug 17, 2014
10,057
It isn't invincible, it's only for .exe and so? It's a very good protection. Surely better than not having it ;) It's similar to Kaspersky's Application Control, maybe better, and it's free.
I really can't believe you keep using "it's only for .exe" as an actual argument to say it's not worth it, makes completely no sense.
Your antivirus works only against 90+% of malware, so don't use antivirus. #silversurferlogic
I don't care what you believe or not, I just wrote once more about limitation of Hardened-Mode, so what is the problem, you still repeating how good is the protection of Hardened-Mode, so I can doing the same...

P.S. You can trying to argue with me but directly and don't editing later your comments like your # ;)
 
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DSD27

Level 5
Thread author
Well-known
Apr 15, 2020
227
I don't care what you believe or not, I just wrote once more about limitation of Hardened-Mode, so what is the problem, you still repeating how good is the protection of Hardened-Mode, so I can doing the same...

P.S. You can trying to argue with me but directly and don't editing later your comments like your # ;)
It's s stupid argument, just because it can't protect you from everything, it doesn't mean it's bad. Nothing protects you from everything. You should know that.

I only edit my posts to correct spelling and add something, I never change my statement, that's what the edit function is meant for and why it exists. I'm sad that you feel the need two play low ;)
 

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