AVG is one of the best known IT security companies in the world, which develops and provides one of the most widely used antivirus, both in free and paid versions. As in any respectable technology site, here too we have talked about how AVG Antivirus has been, for many years, an effective guarantee for the protection of your computer
Unfortunately, however, it has recently been discovered how the free version of the AVG antivirus has instead put at risk all the computers in which it is used due to an extension for Google Chrome that is automatically installed.
Practically, when you install AVG antivirus, the AVG Web TuneUp extension appears on Chrome which if in theory should protect internet browsing, in practice it is nothing more than an adware, i.e. an advertising program that changes some settings of the Chrome browser without ask the user for permissions .
A VG Web TuneUp independently modifies the home page, the new tab page and also the search provider in both Chrome and Firefox using its mysearch.avg.com site (which also uses results from Yahoo).
Furthermore, the extension requires eight permissions, including permission to " read and edit all data on all websites ", " manage downloads ", " manage applications, extensions and themes ".
Basically, the installation of AVG Antivirus brings with it a real unwanted software (those called PUPs) that acts as a user data collector for advertising and statistical purposes .
The reason for the existence of this extension are not security, but are related to the money that the AVG company takes on clicks in searches.
To this we must add that AVG declares to collect and sell user data (even if in an unidentifiable way).
Once the AVG Web Tuneup extension is installed, it is also difficult to restore the various changed settings, such as the homepage or the default search engine, which remain blocked if you do not disable the extension.
The problem with AVG TuneUp was also reported on December 15, 2015 by a Google employee, according to which the 9 million users who use it on Chrome have a huge security hole caused by AVG because it uses an unsecured connection (not https) .
In practice, AVG Web TuneUP goes to disable the SSL protocol on all sites, including banking, Facebook, Paypal etc.
At the moment this problem has been solved by AVG itself which corrected the problem, but the fact remains that the data of 9 million users have been put at risk.
Going practical, since this AVG Web TuneUP extension is completely useless and is nothing more than an adware, let's see how to remove it or disable it .
At present, those who use AVG can check the Chrome settings by clicking on the three lines at the top right, noting that in the choice of the home page you can not change anything, as well as in the search option.
However, you can press the button to deactivate the extension and then restore the preferred homepage, the empty initial tab and the Google search engine.
To delete the extension completely, from the settings page, click on the Extensions menu from the left column, locate the AVG one and remove it.
While we're at it, check if AVG Web TuneUP is also on Firefox by clicking on the three lines button at the top right and then going to add-ons> Extensions .
If so, delete it using the remove button.
Finally, go to the Windows Control Panel, open the programs and features utility and uninstall, if any, AVG Web TuneUP from your computer .
If this news has bothered you enough, remove AVG Antivirus and install another program from the list of the best free antivirus (for example Avast)
