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This is your cue to remove the extension from your browser immediately. I've been developing extensions for years, and I've never seen an extension acquisition

This is your cue to remove the extension from your browser immediately. I've been developing extensions for years, and I've never seen an extension acquisition done by a company like Avast not transform the extension into a data harvesting operation. Judging by the size of the user base the author was paid at least 100k USD, all for an open source project that is free to fork. Avast has acquired you, the user, and the original maintainer continuing to work on the project is just a ruse, the new owners prefer to do it this way to reduce user loss until the business end of a future extension update is pushed out to your devices.

duxup 4y ago
It's kinda sad what the browser extension ecosystem has become. Seems like a neat hobbyist / handy tool space that quickly turned into a sorta predatory space.
- dessant 4y ago
  It's not just browser extensions, but any popular software project that has no stable funding source. This extension has been maintained for years, and it requires a lot of effort to keep updated because it interacts with websites. These developers are then offered funds for perhaps a new home, and they can hardly be faulted for taking the deal. This issue can only be solved by finding better ways to fund the development of popular software projects that serve the public good. https://armin.dev/blog/2019/08/supporting-browser-extension-developers/ https://armin.dev/blog/2019/08/supporting-browser-extension-...
  - duxup 4y ago
    So true. Rando popular freeware suddenly has an installer from hell and so on.
  - munk-a 4y ago
    I actually prefer the funding model where occasionally these free software developers do receive a big payday without any shame or stigma and a fork of their project is almost instantly launched under different branding. So Avast gets a one time user network buyout but the functionality of the tool persists in availability. Better funding for the project while it remains free is never a bad thing though, if you get a lot of value out of some free software you use please never forget to tip or even patreon/other-subscription-payment-plan its continued development!
    - account42 4y ago
      Would you still feel the same way if you were hacked because of such a sale? Linux distros manage fine without such sales - and this kind of behaviour would get a maintainer kicked and probably marked for life. Too bad that Browsers have chosen a free for all store model instead a maintained distro model. Meanwhile Mozilla keeps locking down installing extensions outside their store for "security".
      - munk-a 4y ago
        > would get a maintainer kicked and probably marked for life For trying to cash out and retiring for maintenance they'd be excluded from ongoing development? This is precisely what I meant by not shaming people for selling off their product. There are a lot of assholes out there that are far more worthy recipients of your ire - I'm sure this extension wasn't acquired for 1.2 billion.
        account42 4y ago
        For selling out users they'd be excluded from positions that require user trust, yes. I'm all for rewarding open source developers and maintainers but let's not destroy the software in the process. And yes, there are always bigger assholes - that's never an excuse.
        dessant 4y ago
        How would you reward open source maintainers? Donations can rarely sustain a project, so my own solution was to also start selling my work on app stores, but that may not work for everyone.
- stjohnswarts 4y ago
  This is why I generally only use ones that are approved by mozilla that I have researched. Of course I currently have 5 extensions because I'm pretty cautious.
citruscomputing 4y ago
Yep. Just import their filter list to uBlock Origin, and move on.
- LordDragonfang 4y ago
  And then switch to Firefox, apparently, since uBO filter lists are likely about to break on chromium.
  - autoexec 4y ago
    Hell, switch to Firefox anyways. It's pretty nice!
- jordemort 4y ago
  Thanks for the tip, I didn't realize this was possible. Even if the extension wasn't sold, I'm still happier running one less extension. For those looking for the list, here it is: https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/abp/ https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/abp/
  - austinjp 4y ago
    Amazing. Thanks to you and parent poster for this. Seems to work well.
- DavideNL 4y ago
  Unfortunately this does not work for many websites... it requires additional clicking which is done via javascript or something. I think the IDCAC extension would probably not even exist if it was just a simple filter...
b3orn 4y ago
Oh, I think in this case it's a match made in heaven. It's an extension for people who don't care about data harvesting.
- OrderlyTiamat 4y ago
  I use it to dismiss the popups, and the cookies get deleted after. So actually I do care about data harvesting, but I also care about a popup free internet.
  - munk-a 4y ago
    There exist uBlock origin lists to block most of those popups from ever popping up if you want a safer approach.
    - londons_explore 4y ago
      A lot of sites are non-functional till you either accept or reject the cookies. For example, video embeds rarely work because they need to know if you accept cookies before deciding which preroll ad to play.
      - MichaelCollins 4y ago
        When I see a youtube embed, the frame for which is blocked by default using umatrix, I right-click it and open it with mpv. With my configuration, mpv performs better at video playback than any browser, saving me battery life. It also lets me use keybindings I'm familiar with, easily screenshot the video with a single press of the s key, and make video clips of the video too. This also bypasses youtube's age gating, without requiring me to have an account. The same works for vimeo, dailymotion, etc. Even if the video embed doesn't even get created in the first place because I didn't run that page's javascript (I only run javacript on a whitelist basis), I can usually watch a video that would have been embedded in it by simply directing mpv to the hosting page itself. This even works for most local news websites (which seem to be the trashiest sort of pages on the web.)
MasterYoda 4y ago
I just turned of auto update for the "I dont care of cookie" addon, just as a precautionary measure to see how this ends and until there is an good replacement.
- no-reply 4y ago
  Me too.
- heresaPizza 4y ago
  You can still use the official IDCAC list or another one in uBlock. It’s not as good in big companies’ websites (like google) that show their own interactive multi page banners bc the filters can’t simulate clicks, but it’s still good enough for an uncluttered navigation in most websites.

duxup 4y ago

It's kinda sad what the browser extension ecosystem has become. Seems like a neat hobbyist / handy tool space that quickly turned into a sorta predatory space.

dessant 4y ago
It's not just browser extensions, but any popular software project that has no stable funding source. This extension has been maintained for years, and it requires a lot of effort to keep updated because it interacts with websites. These developers are then offered funds for perhaps a new home, and they can hardly be faulted for taking the deal. This issue can only be solved by finding better ways to fund the development of popular software projects that serve the public good. https://armin.dev/blog/2019/08/supporting-browser-extension-developers/ https://armin.dev/blog/2019/08/supporting-browser-extension-...
- duxup 4y ago
  So true. Rando popular freeware suddenly has an installer from hell and so on.
- munk-a 4y ago
  I actually prefer the funding model where occasionally these free software developers do receive a big payday without any shame or stigma and a fork of their project is almost instantly launched under different branding. So Avast gets a one time user network buyout but the functionality of the tool persists in availability. Better funding for the project while it remains free is never a bad thing though, if you get a lot of value out of some free software you use please never forget to tip or even patreon/other-subscription-payment-plan its continued development!
  - account42 4y ago
    Would you still feel the same way if you were hacked because of such a sale? Linux distros manage fine without such sales - and this kind of behaviour would get a maintainer kicked and probably marked for life. Too bad that Browsers have chosen a free for all store model instead a maintained distro model. Meanwhile Mozilla keeps locking down installing extensions outside their store for "security".
    - munk-a 4y ago
      > would get a maintainer kicked and probably marked for life For trying to cash out and retiring for maintenance they'd be excluded from ongoing development? This is precisely what I meant by not shaming people for selling off their product. There are a lot of assholes out there that are far more worthy recipients of your ire - I'm sure this extension wasn't acquired for 1.2 billion.
      - account42 4y ago
        For selling out users they'd be excluded from positions that require user trust, yes. I'm all for rewarding open source developers and maintainers but let's not destroy the software in the process. And yes, there are always bigger assholes - that's never an excuse.
        dessant 4y ago
        How would you reward open source maintainers? Donations can rarely sustain a project, so my own solution was to also start selling my work on app stores, but that may not work for everyone.
stjohnswarts 4y ago
This is why I generally only use ones that are approved by mozilla that I have researched. Of course I currently have 5 extensions because I'm pretty cautious.

citruscomputing 4y ago

Yep. Just import their filter list to uBlock Origin, and move on.

LordDragonfang 4y ago
And then switch to Firefox, apparently, since uBO filter lists are likely about to break on chromium.
- autoexec 4y ago
  Hell, switch to Firefox anyways. It's pretty nice!
jordemort 4y ago
Thanks for the tip, I didn't realize this was possible. Even if the extension wasn't sold, I'm still happier running one less extension. For those looking for the list, here it is: https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/abp/ https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/abp/
- austinjp 4y ago
  Amazing. Thanks to you and parent poster for this. Seems to work well.
DavideNL 4y ago
Unfortunately this does not work for many websites... it requires additional clicking which is done via javascript or something. I think the IDCAC extension would probably not even exist if it was just a simple filter...

b3orn 4y ago

Oh, I think in this case it's a match made in heaven. It's an extension for people who don't care about data harvesting.

OrderlyTiamat 4y ago
I use it to dismiss the popups, and the cookies get deleted after. So actually I do care about data harvesting, but I also care about a popup free internet.
- munk-a 4y ago
  There exist uBlock origin lists to block most of those popups from ever popping up if you want a safer approach.
  - londons_explore 4y ago
    A lot of sites are non-functional till you either accept or reject the cookies. For example, video embeds rarely work because they need to know if you accept cookies before deciding which preroll ad to play.
    - MichaelCollins 4y ago
      When I see a youtube embed, the frame for which is blocked by default using umatrix, I right-click it and open it with mpv. With my configuration, mpv performs better at video playback than any browser, saving me battery life. It also lets me use keybindings I'm familiar with, easily screenshot the video with a single press of the s key, and make video clips of the video too. This also bypasses youtube's age gating, without requiring me to have an account. The same works for vimeo, dailymotion, etc. Even if the video embed doesn't even get created in the first place because I didn't run that page's javascript (I only run javacript on a whitelist basis), I can usually watch a video that would have been embedded in it by simply directing mpv to the hosting page itself. This even works for most local news websites (which seem to be the trashiest sort of pages on the web.)

MasterYoda 4y ago

I just turned of auto update for the "I dont care of cookie" addon, just as a precautionary measure to see how this ends and until there is an good replacement.

no-reply 4y ago
Me too.
heresaPizza 4y ago
You can still use the official IDCAC list or another one in uBlock. It’s not as good in big companies’ websites (like google) that show their own interactive multi page banners bc the filters can’t simulate clicks, but it’s still good enough for an uncluttered navigation in most websites.