Battle Privacy: ZoneAlarm Vs Trend Micro Vs AVG

[Ailean33]

between those 3 product which one is more secure in terms of privacy and telemetry data?

i want to install them on my father system he is lawyer and he have too much sensetive doc on his office pc so he want to keep them safe in terms of leaking and data gathering from antivirus software

i offer him emsisoft and f-secure but he not a fan of console of emsi and simple UI no firewall of f-secure (i know trendmicro not have firewall to but he like UI,and customazation).he use g-data for a year but he face bugs and problems and there dev are too lazy to push update and fixing those so he never want to try it even for free.also he want to know if he add those folders to exception list of those av will those av ignore them for good or they are still gathering data from those drive and folders.
link to privacy page of those av:

Zonealarm
TrendMicro
AVG

 

[Bot]

between those 3 product which one is more secure in terms of privacy and telemetry data?

i want to install them on my father system he is lawyer and he have too much sensetive doc on his office pc so he want to keep them safe in terms of leaking and data gathering from antivirus software

i offer him emsisoft and f-secure but he not a fan of console of emsi and simple UI no firewall of f-secure (i know trendmicro not have firewall to but he like UI,and customazation).he use g-data for a year but he face bugs and problems and there dev are too lazy to push update and fixing those so he never want to try it even for free.also he want to know if he add those folders to exception list of those av will those av ignore them for good or they are still gathering data from those drive and folders.
link to privacy page of those av:

Zonealarm
TrendMicro
AVG

All three of the antivirus programs you mentioned have privacy policies, which state that they comply with data protection regulations, and pledge to safeguard your personal information. However, if you're particularly concerned about privacy and data gathering, you may want to review their policies and compare them to see which one meets your needs best.

In terms of telemetry data, AVG's privacy policy states that they may collect diagnostic information, but they say that they will not collect any personal information without your consent. TrendMicro's privacy policy also states that they may collect non-personal diagnostic information, but they say that they will not collect personal information unless you give your consent or as required by law. ZoneAlarm's privacy policy states that they may collect usage data, but they will not collect personal data without your consent.

As for adding folders to the exception list, the antivirus software should ignore those folders and not gather any information from them once they have been excluded. However, it's always a good idea to check with the vendor to confirm the privacy policies and how they handle excluded folders and files.

Ultimately, I would suggest that you review the privacy policies of each antivirus program, compare them to your specific needs, and choose the one that best serves your requirements.

 

[Trident]

From the three that you have mentioned (only them), the most minimal data collection according to the policy is from ZoneAlarm.

 

[Stargazer_Steve]

I would trust AVG the least amount out of those 3, especially now it's owned by Avast who had that privacy scandal with their own product, and malware issues with their other product CCleaner. Which is a shame, I loved using AVG around 2012 ish. ZoneAlarm have a new release as well, although I have no idea how good it is, but I'd probably look into that product out of the 3 listed. Trend Micro is also based in the US I think, so their privacy laws would be a little more transparent (arguably).

 

[TairikuOkami]

Considering the history (Avast) and the country of origin (ZA in Israel), thus applicable laws, I would pick TrendMicro, US privacy protection laws are impeccable in this case.

 

[Trident]

Considering the history (Avast) and the country of origin (ZA in Israel), thus applicable laws, I would pick TrendMicro, US privacy protection laws are impeccable in this case.

There are many tech companies in Israel and CheckPoint/ZoneAlarm are Israeli-American. I am not sure where the data is processed (haven’t investigated) but in Europe they fall under the GDPR so no chance to play around really. Same goes for everyone else. Trend Micro not once or twice has been criticised for the level of data collection.

 

[Shadowra]

Trend

 

[RansomwareRemediation]

Considering the history (Avast) and the country of origin (ZA in Israel), thus applicable laws, I would pick TrendMicro, US privacy protection laws are impeccable in this case.

I think the Past is the same. Avast is another company currently. It was bought by Norton changing up its icon. What matters is the present.
Greetings.

 

[Ink]

i want to install them on my father system he is lawyer and he have too much sensetive doc on his office pc so he want to keep them safe in terms of leaking and data gathering from antivirus software

Data Encryption. Confidential and sensitive files should be encrypted for any digitally stored data.

If data is indeed (?) stored in the cloud, Cryptomator - Free Cloud Encryption can provide additional protection. Or NordLocker Personal offers 3GB with E2E and email support.

 

[Ailean33]

There are many tech companies in Israel and CheckPoint/ZoneAlarm are Israeli-American. I am not sure where the data is processed (haven’t investigated) but in Europe they fall under the GDPR so no chance to play around really. Same goes for everyone else. Trend Micro not once or twice has been criticised for the level of data collection.

so its mean trend micro is not safe for my father work because he deal with sensitive info from his client

 

[Ailean33]

Data Encryption. Confidential and sensitive files should be encrypted for any digitally stored data.

If data is indeed (?) stored in the cloud, Cryptomator - Free Cloud Encryption can provide additional protection. Or NordLocker Personal offers 3GB with E2E and email support.

he dont like online cloud data he stored on a encrypted drive also anoter backup ssd stored in safe in his room this is why he ask me find a good replacement for g-data with good privacy and non personal data gatering and this is why i come here to ask you are

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

There was only one proper "test" done about AV privacy/data transmission by AV-Comparatives is 2014:

https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/avc_datasending_2014_en.pdf

Trend Micro was the worst offender in this test.
Unfortunately Zonealarm was not tested.

 

[Ailean33]

All three of the antivirus programs you mentioned have privacy policies, which state that they comply with data protection regulations, and pledge to safeguard your personal information. However, if you're particularly concerned about privacy and data gathering, you may want to review their policies and compare them to see which one meets your needs best.

In terms of telemetry data, AVG's privacy policy states that they may collect diagnostic information, but they say that they will not collect any personal information without your consent. TrendMicro's privacy policy also states that they may collect non-personal diagnostic information, but they say that they will not collect personal information unless you give your consent or as required by law. ZoneAlarm's privacy policy states that they may collect usage data, but they will not collect personal data without your consent.

As for adding folders to the exception list, the antivirus software should ignore those folders and not gather any information from them once they have been excluded. However, it's always a good idea to check with the vendor to confirm the privacy policies and how they handle excluded folders and files.

Ultimately, I would suggest that you review the privacy policies of each antivirus program, compare them to your specific needs, and choose the one that best serves your requirements.

@Bot as a AI and based on those links i send at first what you think between zonealarm and trendmicro which one YOU you suggest me?

 

[Ailean33]

There was only one proper "test" done about AV privacy/data transmission by AV-Comparatives is 2014:

https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/avc_datasending_2014_en.pdf

Trend Micro was the worst offender in this test.
Unfortunately Zonealarm was not tested.

its sad to see no one test all av in 2023 in terms of privacy

 

[Ink]

he dont like online cloud data he stored on a encrypted drive also anoter backup ssd stored in safe in his room this is why he ask me find a good replacement for g-data with good privacy and non personal data gatering and this is why i come here to ask you are

Do you mean the boot drive is encrypted (ie. BitLocker), or the files are encrypted?

 

[Ailean33]

Do you mean the boot drive is encrypted (ie. BitLocker), or the files are encrypted?

both

 

[TuxTalk]

AVG - 100%, transparant privacy and the scandal everyone is talking about, woke them up and they are now fighting for privacy.
So i go with Avast / AVG.

Privacy Policy | We are serious about your privacy | Avast

Learn about our commitment to protecting your personal data and information.

www.avg.com

 

[simmerskool]

There are many tech companies in Israel and CheckPoint/ZoneAlarm are Israeli-American. I am not sure where the data is processed (haven’t investigated) but in Europe they fall under the GDPR so no chance to play around really. Same goes for everyone else. Trend Micro not once or twice has been criticised for the level of data collection.

Trend Micro Inc. is a Japanese multinational cyber security software company with global headquarters in Tokyo, Japan and Irving, Texas, United States, and global R&D headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan.

Trend Micro - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Trident]

There was only one proper "test" done about AV privacy/data transmission by AV-Comparatives is 2014:

https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/avc_datasending_2014_en.pdf

Trend Micro was the worst offender in this test.
Unfortunately Zonealarm was not tested.

Trend Micro like ZoneAlarm (Sophos engine and many proprietary ones are cloud-based) and many other business products have high data transfer rate. Trend Micro by default keeps very small percentage of the virus definitions and the rest is all in the cloud. For approach different than this one, I suggest people have a look at Bitdefender.

 

[SeriousHoax]

Avast/AVG has several options to turn off some data collections, including Community IQ aka threat telemetry. Most products don't have such options. Another one that I can think of is ESET, which like Avast has several options to turn off data collection, including cloud submission of threat telemetry and cloud based protection.