"Extensions have only ever been removed from the Chrome Web Store after considerable news coverage," he added. "I used that one of course, but previous experience shows that it never has any effect. "The only official way to report an extension here is the 'report abuse' link," he said. The four extensions are still available on the Chrome Web Store, according to Palant. "These will be available as usual on the Mozilla store in the near future." Extensions still available on Chrome Web Store "We have already implemented some of Mozilla's new requirements and will release further updated versions that are fully compliant and transparent per the new requirements," the Avast spokesperson said. Avast does this without collecting or storing a user's identification. "It is necessary for this service to collect the URL history to deliver its expected functionality. "The Avast Online Security extension is a security tool that protects users online, including from infected websites and phishing attacks," an Avast spokesperson told ZDNet.
Seeing that his original blog post didn't get the traction he hoped, and neither browser maker intervened to take down the extensions on their own accord, Palant said he reported the extensions to Mozilla developers yesterday, hoping that the organization would take action - which, it did, removing all four add-ons within 24 hours.Īvast told ZDNet they are working with Mozilla "to resolve the issue." He published a blog post on October 28, detailing his findings, but in a blog post dated today, he said he also found the same behavior in the Avast and AVG SafePrice extensions as well. Palant analyzed the Avast Online Security and AVG Online Security extensions in late October and found that the two were collecting much more data than they needed to work - including detailed user browsing history, a practice prohibited by both Mozilla and Google. Mozilla removed the four extensions from its add-ons portal after receiving a report from Wladimir Palant, the creator of the AdBlock Plus ad-blocking extension. The first two are extensions that show warnings when navigating to known malicious or suspicious sites, while the last two are extensions for online shoppers, showing price comparisons, deals, and available coupons. The four extensions are Avast Online Security, AVG Online Security, Avast SafePrice, and AVG SafePrice. Mozilla removed today four Firefox extensions made by Avast and its subsidiary AVG after receiving credible reports that the extensions were harvesting user data and browsing histories.
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