Quote Originally Posted by snowblizz View Post
I would assume it refers to the propensity for AV programs to play up their usefullness. I've seen them "overreport" threats, often you'll get the same kind of message for say tracking cookies as actual honest viruses.

And the whole spiel to sign up to ever more services. I get that AVG Free kinda has to bug me for upselling, but that can continue even if you buy a product.
I like to call it the Shareholder death spiral. Shareholders want more dividends, making a quality product and keeping up with the current threats takes a back seat to marketing and adding as much bloated "Added product value" as possible, until eventually the antivirus is so bloated it slows your computer down. As insult to injury, around this time it will also start displaying a dialog box that you can't get rid of, containing an advertisement the devs based on a "system optimizer" malware they saw a few weeks ago- with a little bit of customization detailing how it can speed up their shareholder earnings your computer for you if you just buy this one extra feature.