Antivirus Maker Avast Is Latest Overseas Tech Firm Blocked In China

Popular security software company Avast is the latest overseastechnology company to get caught in Chinas censorship net after users began reporting that its service and website were blocked inside the country.

Data from GreatFire.org shows that Avast.com has been unavailable in China since Sunday. Users of Avast which claims over 220 million global users of its antivirus and security products for Windows, Mac and Android posted screenshots on Weibo, Avasts forum and other sites showingissues.

Perhaps by coincidence, a recent Reuters report claimed that overseas antivirus firmsSymantec andKaspersky Lab had been removed froma list of approved anti-virus software vendorsfor state organizations.

We contacted Avast for comment but the company hadnot responded at the time of writing.

Update: We can confirm that Avast is being blocked in China and that we are actively investigating the situation, an Avast spokesperson told us.

Chinas so-called Great Firewall internet censorship system has treated overseas services and websites with increased hostility since the summer, when Google suffered an unusually log period of inaccessibility following the Tiananmen Square anniversary.

Gmail, among other Google sites, has yet to return to its usual levels, which has caused issues for business that rely on it for communications, while the blocking ofHSBCs online banking serviceandVerizons Edgecast networkhad repercussions.The blocking of Avast may also trigger similar frustrations from companies based in China that rely on its service (which includes a dedicated enterprise service) to maintain their security.

Image via Avast forum

It has been suggested that the crackdown on Avast could be related to a recent clamp down on VPN services, which letsusers access blocked websites from inside China. There is a VPN componentto Avasts software suite, but weve also heard unsubstantiated rumors that the company recentlyrefused to provide its source code to the Chinese government, as tech firms are now required to doaccording to a new draft law. If the latter is true, that may have led to its censoring.

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Antivirus Maker Avast Is Latest Overseas Tech Firm Blocked In China