A while ago I already looked into Avast Secure Browser. Back then it didn’t end well for Avast: I found critical vulnerabilities allowing arbitrary websites to infect user’s computer. Worse yet: much of it was due to neglect of secure coding practices, existing security mechanisms were disabled for no good reason. I didn’t finish that investigation because I discovered that the browser was essentially spyware, collecting your browsing history and selling it via Avast’s Jumpshot subsidiary.
But that was almost five years ago. After an initial phase of denial, Avast decided to apologize and to wind down Jumpshot. It was certainly a mere coincidence that Avast was subsequently sold to NortonLifeLock, called Gen Digital today. Yes, Avast is truly reformed and paying for their crimes in Europe and the US. According to the European decision, Avast is still arguing despite better knowledge that their data collection was fully anonymized and completely privacy-conformant but… well, old habits are hard to get rid of.
Either way, it’s time to take a look at Avast Secure Browser again. Because… all right, because of the name. That was a truly ingenious idea to name their browser like that, nerd sniping security professionals into giving them free security audits. By now they certainly would have addressed the issues raised in my original article and made everything much more secure, right?
Note: This article does not present any actual security vulnerabilities.[...]