Avira, the security software development firm has launched a new Windows 10 privacy tool called Privacy Pal.
According to Avira, PP is a program that will protect your digital privacy by modifying settings of the Windows OS. The new application consumes 20.1 megabytes storage memory and up to 23 megabytes RAM when it is active. Is the new program effective in safeguarding your privacy? Is it better than the existing privacy tools? Let’s find it out!
Avira Privacy Pal review
The program works in the following three modes:
Basic: This mode of the Avira application will fix basic privacy issues on our PC.
Enhanced: When you enable this mode, PP will block Windows applications from collecting your personal data and fix several issues related to privacy.
Personalized: If you turn on this mode, you’ll have full control over the application i.e. you can decide what files/data the program should remove, settings it should modify, etc. To see the options of the Personalized settings, click on the edit icon. When you do so, you’ll see a list of features and a toggle option to turn them on/off. Below the list, you’ll see an option to switch the view from basic view to expert.
The expert view interface boasts the following 5 tabs:
- Operating system.
- Network.
- User privacy.
- Browser.
- Apps.
Based on the settings/preference, Avira PP calculates your computer’s security score. The score will be 63% when you select the 1st mode and 100% when you opt for the 2nd mode. In the 3rd mode, the score will be within 50 to 61%.
When you select the 1st or 2nd mode, you’ll be asked to restart the PC. If you select the 3rd mode and click on the “Start” button, PP will find vulnerabilities in your system. The program will also find digital traces (data which can unveil your personal information to the malicious internet user).
Once it has finished scanning your system, Avira Privacy Pal will show the number of issues/traces it has found. It will also display an option to fix them.
The program groups the digital traces into the following categories:
- Browser cache.
- Download history.
- Cookies.
- Chat logs.
- Browser session and timeouts.
- Application usage.
Avira PP enables you to select/deselect the categories. To remove the digital traces, the user must click on the “Clean” button.
If you select all categories, Avira PP will take up 20 minutes to remove the taces. If you’ve selected one or two, the program will erase your digital footprint from your computer within a few minutes.
While it is cleaning the traces, Avira Privacy Pal will display some interesting facts about the computer and the internet.
Conclusion: Avira Privacy Pal is a powerful privacy control tool for Windows OS. It is a nice interface and several features. If you think that the Windows OS is sending sensitive data to Microsoft servers or an app has modified privacy settings, use Avira PP to find and fix the issues.
Download the program here from Avira’s official website.
