Avira AntiVir has long been a favorite provider of free antivirus
protection. The product has also received acclaims for the quality of
protection. Unfortunately, Avira has made several changes, resulting in
removing the product from the "recommended list".

Avira AntiVir had replaced the Avira Personal Free edition notifier. It
is no longer suggesting upgrading to Avira premium or the security
suite. Instead, the notifier is advertising Uniblue "Registry Booster".

Licensed users of Avira Premium are receiving e-mails advertising the
same Uniblue "Registry Booster" product.

The addition of a toolbar with the pre-checked option to include the
Ask Toolbar (AntiVir WebGuard) and change the default search provider to
Ask.

Although some people have referred to Uniblue's "Registry Booster"
product as a rogue, based on descriptions of how it works, the product
is better described as scareware. Scareware products are those that
provide scan results that imply there are serious issues with the
computer. However, the only way to fix the issues is purchase the product.

To add to the computer owner's confusion is that Uniblue proudly
displays the Microsoft Partner logo. This gives the impression that the
company has any close relationship with Microsoft. It is important to
understand that there is no vetting to become a registered Microsoft
partner. All it means to be a Microsoft Partner is that the company
employs the requisite number of certified professionals and has
completed the registration process, nothing more.

In my opinion, as well as that of many members of the security
community, it is deplorable when a security vendor adds a pre-checked
option to include an unnecessary add-on and change the user's
preferences. A responsible security vendor should provide a clean
installer, focusing on improving the product, fixing any bugs and
continuing to improve the product.

If you are using Avira AntiVir antivirus software, I encourage you to
read the articles listed in the references section below and decide for
yourself if this is a product you wish to continue using.

Read more:
http://securitygarden.blogspot.com/2...#ixzz1PHRJCi1l