What software really does
Every finding proven by binary decompilation — not privacy policies, not marketing claims, not trust scores. Actual code.
Recent Reports
CCleaner Online Installer
Gen Digital Inc. (Piriform)
The CCleaner installer collects 21 SMBIOS hardware identifiers, system specs, and behavioral telemetry. A Shepherd configuration request containing tracking identifiers fires before the user consents. All data goes to analytics.avcdn.net. No Google Analytics or third-party sharing, but the hardware fingerprinting is aggressive — reading serial numbers from motherboard, CPU, RAM, disks, battery, and power supply.
Avast Free Antivirus Installer
Gen Digital Inc. (Avast Software)
The Avast installer is significantly more aggressive than CCleaner (same parent). It integrates Google Analytics with a hardcoded API secret in plaintext, performs IP geolocation before consent, fires 5+ pre-consent network requests, and once installed deploys kernel-level DNS-over-HTTPS interception and deep packet inspection across 17 protocol handlers. The FTC fined Avast $16.5M in 2024 for selling 8+ petabytes of browsing data through its Jumpshot subsidiary.
How We Know
Decompile
We reverse-engineer the actual binary. Every function, every string, every network call — extracted from the executable itself.
Analyze
We trace data flows from collection to transmission. Hardware fingerprints, analytics payloads, telemetry endpoints — all documented with code evidence.
Grade
Each product gets an A-F grade based on consent, data minimization, transparency, security, and policy adherence. The rubric is public and reproducible.