Jun 09, 2023 08:00:00

'Extension that automatically erases pop-ups asking for cookie permission' was acquired by Avast and became a low-rated storm

Many people are annoyed by pop-ups asking for 'cookie permission' that are frequently displayed when browsing websites. As a result of the acquisition of `` I don't care about cookies '', which automatically deletes notifications asking for such cookie permission, by security company Avast , it has developed into a situation in which a large number of low-rated reviews of 1 star are attached. Hacker News, a social news site, has sparked a debate as to whether the browser should notify the user when the owner of the extension changes.

Reviews for I don't care about cookies – Add-ons for Firefox (en-US)
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/i-dont-care-about-cookies/reviews/

Tell HN: 'I don't care about cookies” extension bought by Avast, users jump ship | Hacker News
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36233068

'I don't care about cookies' is a browser extension made by a developer living in Croatia that automatically erases pop-ups asking for cookie permission displayed while browsing websites. How to use 'I don't care about cookies' is summarized in the following article.

I tried using the extension ``I don't care about cookies'' that can automatically hide ``Please allow cookies''-GIGAZINE

And in September 2022, it was announced that security company Avast would acquire 'I don't care about cookies' and become an Avast branded product. 'I don't care about cookies' is available for free even after being acquired by Avast, and can be used with Chrome and Firefox at the time of article creation.

The extension ``I don't care about cookies'' that automatically executes ``Please allow cookies'' joins the Avast brand-GIGAZINE

However, after being acquired by Avast, the 'I don't care about cookies' review has seen a sharp increase in low 1-star ratings. If you check the review ratio of Firefox, you can see that there are 598 star 1 reviews out of 1539 reviews, which is quite a high rate of star 1.

If you select 'Show all reviews', you'll see that the most recent reviews are mostly 1 star.

Many users are reluctant to buy Avast because it was discovered that Avast had sold user data to Google and Microsoft without permission. Avast, through its affiliated data sales company, commercialized and sold user data collected by the antivirus software 'Avast Antivirus'. Avast has already stopped the business of a data sales company, but it seems that there are still many Internet users who hate Avast in this matter.

Clearly that free antivirus software 'Avast' sold user data to Google and Microsoft - GIGAZINE

One user commented , 'It used to be a great extension, but it was acquired by Avast (known for stealing user data) and is no longer secure.'

Another user

said , 'WARNING: This extension was acquired by Avast and will spy on you and sell your data.'

This matter has also become a hot topic on Hacker News, and there is a heated debate over whether the browser should notify the user when the owner of the extension changes.

“This is very disappointing and shows the weakness of this kind of platform,” said user woodruffw. may find that you are upgrading your extension to something controlled by an organization that you don't necessarily trust without saying anything.” Firefox and Chrome have enforced policies regarding automatic upgrades of extensions in these scenarios. I think it should be changed, if the extension discloses owner changes, the upgrade should require user approval, if the extension does not disclose owner changes, the user should be able to do it It

should be reportable as malicious activity.'

It is

pointed out that similar problems are not limited to extensions, and people should be aware that they become dependent on specific products and services. It was permanent and was tied to physical tokens such as discs and flashy stickers.'

There is also

an opinion that ``people should turn off automatic software updates and switch to manual updates,'' but ``because there was no automatic update in the original Windows XP, many users did not apply security patches. As a result, malware such as Sasser and MyDoom spread,' he said , pointing out that automatic software updates also have the advantage of protecting users.