funny you emphasise the "free av" when half the list up there ain't free (not literal half.. if you are actually counting)

all products do it to various degree. even the ones you paid for. in fact, i would suggest the ones that you pay for... by virtue of having more features (url screening with their cloud, for example) will send more stuff.

To whom are you directing this? The table belongs to AV-Comparatives. Check out the link to the pdf.

as i said. your emphasis on free av. by definition, using a cloud url scanner is submitting data, for example. you have to agree to eula on basically any and all software. they are all at it.

Now to be fair Doc is providing information that he or others find on the internet that may or may not be of interest to the community.  It's up to us as individuals to, if we choose to, look at or click on the links that are provided and come to our own conclusions.  I find that a majority of the information presented is pretty much common sense when it comes down to keeping you internet surfing as safe as can be.

I will tell you that I don't read all of them but have found some good links to software/programs that I currently run.  Again, we as individuals have to make some informed and yes educated choices as to how we protect ourselves when using our computers and other smart devices. 

I'm a firm believer though that no amount of software or information will be helpful if the user doesn't stay alert and aware when using their IT devices.  That would be the bottom line that most folks talk about.  

alaknebs:

I deliberately put the whole table up.

I used an example of free software simply because:

1. When you buy a product, a set of features are guaranteed.

2. When you get freeware, the devs make money somehow and if you decline to opt into the data sharing, you might well get less than the advertised features.

3. The table I posted clearly shows who's doing what according to AV-Comparatives.

So, 

is hardly a revelation about the cloud or the products in the table. 

Good luck. I don't have any money to steal and no one wants my online reputation.

don't be so naive.

the major problem is not people wanting to steal something from you.

but soon (very soon) it will no longer people but algorithms that decide whether you get a loan (when you or a family member needs medical treatment for example), whether you get insurance from a company, whether you get a job, whether you qualify for benefits, etc.

and those algorithms wont listen to stories, and they wont care whether you or a friend used your computer.

wake up, you just have a few years left (less than five)

And if that happens there will be lawsuits to repeal such actions because it's unfair.

Since when did unfair make a difference.

There will come a time when if you choose not to have an electronic presence which can be tracked, you will be considered a potential enemy of the state, assumed to be up to something less than good.  If you're not willing to relinquish your privacy entirely, you will be suspect.  The only way to escape the trap will be to (somehow) become one of the elites who can control who has access to your personal information.

The government already has the means to use the US Military against its own citizenry; in fact, it is more prepared to do so than to intervene outside the US.  All that's left is for someone in power to have the balls to throw the switch.  Knowing what virtually everyone is up to will provide the justification for throwing the switch; fabricated, trumped up, whatever.  At some point the temptation will prove to be too great to resist.  They'll believe they have to kill the Republic in order to protect it from itself.

On a (slightly) lighter note, the Pacers are toast.

Since there were laws already in place to prevent what we are talking about, especially the 4th amendment of the Constitution.

If you don't care about your privacy; which certainly seems to be the case (considering you've reiterated how little you care several times in this thread now), can you not at least concede the point as to why others might, and agree that there may in fact be circumstances where there may be reason to?  Even if (as you've exhaustively pointed out) you yourself don't.