Browsing data in Windows could also be exposed if you use Trend Micro applications

Every day that passes we care more about the privacy of our data, especially when we see how security breaches are more and more numerous and the information related to our person and our daily habits circulates more happily without our knowing it.

Recently we echoed the warning that Vizio televisions will wear to try to compensate for the indiscriminate collection of data on their televisions. Only one case may seem and nothing could be further from reality, because now it is time to talk about another case of data collection, a fact that in this case does not affect computers running Windows.

MacOS and Windows

The company responsible is Trend Micro, which, through the different applications it has, has been collecting information from our browser and sending it to their servers. And all, of course, without our knowledge and without our consent, at least apparently.

In principle, only Apple users in the Mac range were affected and in fact, Trend Micro applications have flown from the App Store (Dr. Cleaner, Dr. Antivirus, App Uninstall…) . And now complaints have appeared and grown rapidly referring to the Windows ecosystem.

Apparently, or so Twitter user Ben Fox claims, those who have Trend Micro applications for Windows have also been subjected to this practiceso unedifying.The reason is that as you reveal in your account, the Trend Micro app communicates with the same domains that your macOS app uses to get browser history. The Windows version also sends parameters such as 'mac_os_version' and 'mac_identifier_model'.

Data that attract attention, since the company in the note published on its blog only talks about MacOS and does not mention Windows. An absence that according to Fox is due to the fact that the line where Trend Micro says that its Windows products do not have this feature has been removed.

The purpose of this data collection was to determine if a user had recently encountered _adware_ or other threats on their computer and based on the information received, improve its range of products. In fact, according to the company, users had given their consent in the EULA (end user license agreement) or end user license.Despite this, they now state that they will stop collecting data:

That yes, through the note published on their blog they make it clear that no, that the data was not sent to a server located in Chinaand that its destination was a US-based server hosted by AWS and managed and controlled by Trend Micro.

What is clear is for Mac users and apparently Windows, that data left the computer, even those generated before that the app was installed.

More information | Trend Micro Font | Twitter In Xataka Windows | A new, yet unpatched vulnerability puts the security of the entire Windows PC market at risk