AVAST Software

Business in Russia

Main article: Avast Representative Office in Russia and CIS

In September 2017, Avast Software registered a representative office in Russia and the CIS, based in Moscow.

Performance indicators

2020: Revenue growth by 2.5%, to $892.9 million, net profit - $169.6 million, customer growth - by 6%

As a result of its work in 2020, Avast received revenue of $892.9 million, which is 2.5% more than in the previous year. Net profit during this time decreased by 31.8% and amounted to $169.6 million.

Avast ended the year with a net debt of $725.6 million, 18% less than a year ago debt of $884.5 million.

Avast also reports that by December 31, 2020, the company had 13.6 million users of products for personal computers, which is 7.9% more than a year earlier. The average revenue per customer increased by 4.5% (to $53.34), which generally fits into the company's forecast. Per user accounted for approximately 1.5 Avast products versus 1.45 by the end of 2019.

Avast revenue up 2.5% in 2020

In the United States and Russia, the number of Avast customers in 2020 increased by 6% compared to 2019. In Italy, the user base grew by 13%, in Brazil - by 19%, in Mexico - by 33%.

As noted in Avast, after a sharp increase in the number of downloads of the company's products and payment operations for them (due to the mass isolation of the population in conditions) coronavirus pandemic in the first half of 2020, the indicators returned to the levels that existed before, at the COVID-19 beginning of the second half of the year. This trend was especially pronounced in the antivirus market. In July-December 2020, the volume of orders from customers began to decline, in which Avast itself played an important role - the company began to move from multi-year subscriptions to one-year ones in order to "increase the customer's lifetime value," the vendor said in a statement.

Sales of consumer-grade mobile solutions (primarily Avast Mobile Security for iOS) at the end of 2020 amounted to $72.1 million, which is 4% less than a year ago. ^[1]

History

2024

Another fine - $15.08 million - for selling data to 100 million users

On April 15, 2024, the Czech Republic's Personal Data Protection Authority (ÚOOÚ) fined Avast 351 million Czech crowns (approximately $15.08 million at the exchange rate as of May 3, 2024) for illegally processing personal information of users of their software products. Avast is said to have sold information on 100 million customers.

The ÚOOÚ said in a statement that Avast was misleading users of antivirus products and browser extensions about the principles of personal data processing. Avast, in particular, spoke of the use of reliable anonymization methods, but in fact the information collected made it possible to identify users.

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According to the case file, in 2019 Avast transferred information about about 100 million of its clients to the Jumpshot subsidiary, which specialized in user behavior analytics. In particular, Jumpshot received a pseudonymous history of Internet visits, tied to the unique identifiers of users of Avast products.

The ÚOOÚ decision notes that Avast is one of the leading experts in the field, cyber security offering public tools for data protection and privacy. Customers could not expect that "it is this company that will transfer their personal information" to third parties. At the same time, at the beginning of 2020, Avast announced plans to stop providing data to its subsidiary Jumpshot and begin its liquidation.

The main task of Avast is to ensure the security of its users on the network and provide control over their privacy. Any actions that compromise user trust are unacceptable to Avast. We decided to shut down Jumpshot after it became apparent that some users were questioning whether Jumpshot's data provision was consistent with our mission and principles that are fundamental to us, the company said in a statement.[2]

Penalty - $16.5 million for selling these customers for advertising purposes

On February 21, 2024, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Avast $16.5 million for selling user data for advertising purposes. In addition, the developer of antivirus products is prohibited from conducting such activities in the future.

The department says that Avast Limited, based in Britain, has been collecting information about the user's actions on the Internet since at least 2014. This is, in particular, confidential data about websites viewed. Subsequently, the accumulated information was sold through the Jumpshot subsidiary structure to various interested parties, including consulting firms, advertising companies, etc. It is alleged that more than 100 different customers acquired data from Avast.

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The history of visits to Internet resources can reveal extremely confidential information - from someone's romantic interests, financial problems and political views to efforts to lose weight, find a job and play addiction, said FTC Chairman Lina Khan.

The Consumer Protection Bureau within the FTC emphasizes that Avast promised users to protect their privacy, and in fact practiced exactly the opposite actions. Moreover, Avast assured users that it would collect information only in an "anonymous and aggregated form," although this was not the case. The sale of personal information is said to have generated millions of dollars for Avast. The company itself says it disagrees with the FTC's findings and allegations. At the same time, Avast decided to agree to a settlement agreement in order to put an end to this issue and "continue to serve customers around the world." It is also noted that Avast voluntarily closed Jumpshot in January 2020, thereby ending the practice of selling user data.^[3]

2021

Purchase of digital verification technology developer Evernym

In early December 2021, Avast acquired Evernym. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Read more here.

Acquisition by NortonLifeLock for $8 billion

On August 10, 2021, it became known that the company NortonLifeLock announced the acquisition of Avast, a supplier and antiviruses Avast. AVG The transaction amount amounted to 8 billion. dollars

NortonLifeLock acquires Avast for $8 billion
Photo source: gazeta-today.com

The first reports of a possible takeover of Avast came in July 2021. At the beginning of August 2021, the deal became a valid fact. Avast shareholders will receive a combination of cash counterfeiting and NortonLifeLock shares. Other forms of possible remuneration are contemplated.

Founded in 1988, Avast produces information protection products for consumers and businesses. The company is best known as a provider of antivirus software for desktops, primarily Avast (which has a free version) and AVG. Avast bought the second antivirus platform in 2016 for $1.3 billion.

NortonLifeLock is a former Symantec corporation that changed its name after the sale of its corporate information security division to Broadcom in 2019. The sale was accompanied by the transfer of the Symantec brand to Broadcom.

Norton and LifeLock are brands of companies that Symantec acquired in 1990 and 2017, respectively.

In 2020, NortonLifeLock acquired Avira, another provider of custom antiviruses.

The acquisition of Avast and AVG, at first glance, significantly strengthens NortonLifeLock's position in the desktop security market. In fact, the company has collected under its banners some of the most famous names of antiviruses, including those known for their free versions. However, even the ex-Symantec's own history indicates that the information security market is not too predictable in terms of purchases and synergy: since the early 1990s, the company has bought out about two dozen other market players, but in 2015 and 2019 it was forced to sell its most significant divisions and even part with the Symantec brand, said Dmitry Gvozdev, CEO of Information Technologies of the Future.

According to some reports, in 2019 there were negotiations to sell NortonLifeLock to McAfee, but^[4] did not come to the conclusion^[5] transaction].

2020: Jumpshot shut down for collecting and selling user data

Avast logo in 2020.

At the end of January 2020, it became known that Avast collects and sells detailed data on the activity of its users on the Internet to large corporations. For this business, the antivirus manufacturer has established a subsidiary, Jumpshot. Read more here.

2019

The Group's revenue amounted to US $873.1 million.

• Adjusted income of the group amounted to 873.1 million. dollars US, with 9.1% growth driven by double-digit growth in the Consumer Direct Desktop business. Adjusted EBITDA margin at 55.3%.
• Growth in the PC segment was driven by cross-sales of privacy products such as VPN and AntiTrack and performance products such as Cleanup and Driver Updater.
• Expansion of subscriptions to multiple devices continued. Consumer Desktop is an important channel for promoting mobile-enabled products.
• The number of customers and market share increased both in established markets, such as the United States, and in new ones: in Southeast Asia, the number of customers increased by 19%, in Central and Eastern Europe by 13%.

Avast helped neutralize 850 thousand unique Retadup worm infections

On August 28, 2019, it became known that Avast, a company in the field of digital security products, in collaboration with the Center for Combating cyber crime The French the National Gendarmerie, destroyed harmful worm the Retadup program, which infected hundreds of thousands of PCs operating system Windows with in Latin America. Retadup is distributed by attackers specializing in. to cryptocurrency Sometimes they use Stop Ransomware and. Arkei More. here

Ondrej Vlcek - the new CEO of Avast

On March 13, 2019, Avast announced the appointment of Ondrej Vlcek as the new CEO instead of Vince Steckler, who led the company for about 10 years. Read more here.

Avast sells RMM business to Barracuda Networks

In early February 2019, Barracuda Networks announced the acquisition of the Managed Workspace family of solutions from Avast Software, as a result of which the buyer entered the remote monitoring and management (RMM) software market. Financial and other terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more here.

2018

Avast story on VentureBeat

In November 2018, VentureBeat published an article on the development path of Avast, a company that was a security project in the Soviet era and has now become a major manufacturer of solutions for cyber protection for business and consumers, which was valued at $4.5 billion at the IPO.

Avast was the result of the work of researchers at one of the laboratories in Prague. The company grew methodically without high-profile success. She has endured technological and political upheaval.

Avast's headquarters are a few kilometres south of central Prague and are considered one of the largest monuments in the region, which emerged after the Czech Republic left the Soviet bloc.

Avast Headquarters

This 7-storey office with an area of ​ ​ more than 15 thousand square meters was built in early 2016. In appearance and atmosphere, the building corresponds to those located in Silicon Valley, and it could well fit into this metropolitan statistical area of ​ ​ San Francisco, where a large number of large IT companies are based.

Dining room at Avast headquarters

Avast's headquarters have 45 meeting rooms, a dining room with free food, a fitness room, a hammock, pool tables, a golf simulator, a library, a children's room and an indoor picnic area. The interior, which is dominated by wide work areas and stairs, is designed so that employees often cross paths by accident and talk to each other about something. Also, the interior design was created with the hope of an energetic and innovative culture, writes VentureBeat.^[6]

Return to the stock exchange

On May 10, 2018, Avast returned to the exchange. The company's debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was not the most successful: at the beginning of trading, the shares of the antivirus manufacturer fell 2.6%.

On the eve of the start of trading, Avast set the value of its securities in the IPO at 250 British pence (the lower bound of the previously called range of 250-320 pence), and after the opening of the exchange there was a decline to 243.5 pence. At the same time, bankers usually assess the listing at such a level that the company shows slight growth during the first days, the Reuters news agency notes.

On May 10, 2018, Avast returned to the exchange

As part of the IPO, the company sold about 25% of the shares and raised about $816.6 million, including gross revenue of $200 million. This amount makes Avast's placement the largest on the LSE exchange since July 2017, when the Russian gold mining company Polyus entered the exchange, which was then valued at £6.3 billion.

Avast had a market capitalisation of £2.4bn. Banks Morgan Stanley and UBS were selected as global coordinators of the listing.

Listing on the London Stock Exchange is a natural step that will give us greater access to capital markets and provide further growth for our business in the years ahead, Avast CEO Vincent Steckler said, calling the IPO a "milestone" for the company.

Avast shares on the Nasdaq exchange began trading in December 2011, but in July 2012 the company left the site due to difficult market conditions. Then there were occasional rumors of Avast returning to the public market. In 2015, Vincent Steckler said that the company could cost more than $2 billion, and it would take several years to return Avast to the stock exchange.^[7]

2017

Opening of a representative office in Russia

In September 2017, Avast Software registered a representative office in Russia and the CIS, based in Moscow. Read more here.

British Piriform takeover

On July 19, 2017, Avast, one of the leading antivirus companies, acquired the British firm Piriform, whose products include applications for mobile devices and PC CCleaner (device memory cleaning service), Recuva (data recovery utility), Speccy (computer configuration analysis program) and Defraggler (hard drive defragmentation tool), BleepingComputer reported.^[8]

Both companies posted information about the takeover on their blogs, but vendors did not disclose any financial details of the transaction.

Piriform, founded in 2004, is a private company located in the capital. Great Britain London The developer is best known for his CCleaner application - one of the most popular programs for optimizing systems running the OS, and Windows. Mac OS Android

According to Piriform, more than 130 million people around the world use the CCleaner program, including over 15 million Android users. In November 2016, Piriform announced that the app had been downloaded more than 2 billion times, with monthly downloads topping 23 million.

Speaking about the takeover of Piriform, Avast clarified that it plans to continue to offer CCleaner as a separate product. The remark was made due to the fact that Avast has two utilities for a similar purpose - Avast Cleanup and AVG TuneUp.

Observers note that the new purchase will further strengthen Avast's market position.

2016: $1.3 billion AVG purchase

On July 7, 2016, Avast announced the purchase of rival AVG Technologies for $1.3 billion. Through this takeover, Avast plans to expand its business and geographical footprint.

Under the terms of the agreement, Avast will pay $25 for each AVG share, which is a third more than the exchange value of one share as of July 6, 2016. The transaction will be paid from cash and credit. Read more here.

2015: Plans to go public and acquire

On June 4, 2015, it became known about Avast Software's plans to go public, increase staff and make acquisitions that could strengthen the company's position in the information security software market.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Avast Chief Executive Officer Vincent Steckler said that the company is the only growing supplier of consumer antiviruses, while the business of competitors is declining or developing with varying success.

Our key business is really growing very strongly," Steckler said.

He also said that Avast is considering an initial public offering on the stock exchange in the United States or Europe. The head of the company did not name either the approximate timing of the IPO, or the amount of attracted investments expected under this procedure.

Head of Avast says the company is the only consumer antivirus provider with a growing business

Another topic of conversation between the journalist and Vincent Steckler was the takeovers. The top manager said that by the end of 2015, the company, observing the growing activity of users smartphones and tablets on the Internet, can acquire one and two firms to improve products in the field of mobile security and data privacy.

Due to high demand for its information security solutions, Avast expects in 2015 to increase revenue to about $300 million against $217 million a year earlier, when sales jumped by more than half.

As the business expanded, Avast decided to increase staffing. As of the beginning of June 2015, the company employs about 600 people, by the end of 2015 the number of employees may exceed 700 employees, Vincent Steckler said.

He also added that Avast is looking to increase the number of its customers in Asia, including India, Thailand and Vietnam. At the same time, it is not known whether it is planned to open offices there in addition to missions in the USA, Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, China and Taiwan.^[9]

2014

Revenue growth of 51%

On March 31, 2015, Avast Software announced its 2014 results. The Czech company increased revenue by half, and its user audience by 30 million people (up to 230 million).^[10]

In 2014, Avast sales amounted to $217 million, which is 51% more than a year earlier. EBITDA (earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization) reached $154 million. From 2008 to 2014, Avast's business grew by an average of 56% annually.

Innovation helped Avast increase sales to $217 million in 2014

In 2014, former Symantec President and COO John Schwarz became Chairman of the Board of Directors. It also includes former Vodafone Strategy and Business Development Director Warren Finegold, who as part of Avast oversees the strategic management of the company's mobile business.

Avast CEO Vince Steckler called 2014 "another great year" for the company. The top manager also reported the following:

"While competitors were trying to increase sales and attract new users, we were able to do both. Our success is fueled by innovative products such as the world's first home network scanner, the world's first free small business security solution, and an innovative mobile security app that has achieved 100 million downloads on Google Play faster than anyone else. "

The Avast post highlights the company's major achievements in 2014. The unique network protection system protected 120 million users from viruses and attacks. With the help of its products, the vendor discovered about 1 billion malicious files and scanned 8.5 trillion links to phishing attacks and viruses.

The upgraded Avast infrastructure processes more than 40 million simultaneous connections, and the company's cloud service processes over 150 thousand requests per second. Avast antiviruses are installed on almost every third consumer computer in the world, excluding the Chinese market (data at the end of March 2015).

Investment from CVC Capital Partners at a company valuation of $1 billion

Antivirus company Avast announced in February 2014 that it had received investments from the private fund CVC Capital Partners. The size of the investment is not specified, but it is reported that, taking into account their value, the company reached $1 billion. The funds received will go to expand the product line and geographical expansion.

According to a study by OPSWAT, Avast ranks second in the PC security software market with a 15.9% share. The first place in this rating belongs to Microsoft with a share of 23%, the third - AVG (9%), the fourth - Eset (8.1%), the fifth - Symantec (8%).

The peculiarity of the OPSWAT study is that analysts consider not sales of security programs, but PCs with real-time protection enabled. Therefore, free solutions from Microsoft, Avast and AVG are leading in it. According to Gartner for 2012, Avast is not in the top five in terms of revenue (Symantec - 19.6%, McAfee - 8.8%, Trend Micro - 6.1%).

Among the recently released Avast products: free antivirus for Mac (avast! Free Antivirus for Mac) and avast products! 7.0, among the innovations in which there is a remote assistance function, an overview of all personal devices with Avast protection installed, a cloud file reputation service, etc. It should be noted that Avast has achieved popularity through the release of free antiviruses.

2010: Renamed Avast Software

Лого компании до переименования в 2010 году

On June 1, 2010, the company changed its name from ALWIL Software to Avast Software.

2001-2009: New Business Model and Appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Symantec

In the hope of attracting more customers, Alwil's founders decided to try a new business model - freemium. In 2001, the company's main antivirus became free, and users could only pay for advanced features. This strategy was successful, as it led to an explosive increase in the number of users: in 2004 there were 1 million, and in 2006 - already 20 million.

The company's business was stable, but not very profitable. Against this background, a large number of offers to buy Alwil arose, especially after 2004, when the Czech Republic joined the European Union. Prague startups became attractive targets for the takeover by companies that were looking for not only promising products in these transactions, but also experienced IT specialists. Alwil retained its independence, but it was not without major changes.

View of Prague from Avast headquarters

In 2009, the co-founders brought in former Symantec top executive Vince Steckler as CEO. Under his leadership, Alwil was renamed Avast, raised $100 million in venture capital investments and began to spend more money on sales promotion, marketing and PR. In four years, the audience of users of Avast products has grown to 200 million people, and the staff - up to 350 employees.

1988-1995: Start of antivirus development and first successes

Pavel Baudish (Pavel Baudiš) and Eduard Kucher (Eduard Kučera) founded Avast (then called Alwil Software) in 1988, but the company was officially registered in April 1991 as a combined partnership. The velvet revolution and the new Czechoslovak independence brought economic freedom to entrepreneurs.

Baudis and Kuchera met at the Research Institute of Mathematical Machines in Czechoslovakia, in which Kuchera was developing a program to remove the virus.

Alwil Software products were developed and implemented since 1988 back in Czechoslovakia and were only available in Czech at the time.

At first, the company employed only 56 employees. At first, the company was not only engaged in the creation of antiviruses, but also worked on localization tools, as well as on  data backup systems. One of the first successful projects of the company was the creation of SUP (centralized tracking system), which  was used by the Czech Post  and Prague Metro. The company's specialists soon focused on creating a software product called "Anti-virus - Advanced Set." This name was later shortened to "avast!."

In 1995, avast! became the first antivirus program for Windows 95, as a result of which the company gained worldwide fame. The software received high marks for its outstanding technical capabilities at that time, but there was a problem - Baudish and Kucher did not have enough money for advertising and marketing. Businessmen were forced to rely on word of mouth when selling their software on discs.

See also

• Antivirus
• Malware

Notes