Corrine's Blog information has confirmed that Avira has gone to the dark side - I would be livid if I was an Avira user. 
Looks like Avira has partnered with the highly questionable Ask.com, and Uniblue RegistryBooster, installing both by default with their free Anti-Vir AV. These programs are adware at best, possibly scamware, and have no place belonging in a security product. I once used, trusted, and recommended both the free and paid versions of Anti-Vir.  No more. Like Ad-aware, Zone Alarm, Comodo and AVG, they have lost my trust. [URL]
Avira Joins the Dark Side?