Though the major privacy scandal broke in 2019/2020, the roots were in this era. It was later revealed that Avast was harvesting user browsing data through its plugins and selling it to third parties for market analysis. While the company claimed the data was anonymized, it was a devastating blow to the brand's trust, leading them to eventually shut down their "Jumpshot" subsidiary.
| Component | Function | Performance Impact | |-----------|----------|--------------------| | | On-access scan | Medium (cached scans) | | Behavior Shield | Heuristic detection | Low (in-memory hooks) | | Web Shield | HTTP/HTTPS MITM scanning | High (decrypts TLS) | | Mail Shield | POP3/IMAP/SMTP | Very Low | | Firewall | Packet filter + app rules | Low | | CyberCapture | Unknown file upload to Avast cloud | None until trigger | | Software Updater | Scans installed versions | Medium (enumeration) | | Data Shredder | Overwrite free space/files | Disk I/O bound | avast premier 2017
Settings → Components → Web Shield → Customize → Exclusions → enter URL (e.g., *.bank.com ). Though the major privacy scandal broke in 2019/2020,
Open UI → Settings → Troubleshooting → (saves ~50 MB RAM). | Component | Function | Performance Impact |
Upgrading to Premier provided three specific tools not found in the lower "Pro" or "Internet Security" versions:
Avast 2017 retained the visual identity that made the brand recognizable but refined the user experience.