Only download Avalw Shield from official sources

Avalw Shield is a software that uses your camera. This makes it fundamentally different from most applications. If you download Shield from an unofficial source, you are not just risking a broken app. You are potentially giving a stranger access to your camera, your screen, and everything visible on your computer.

Why this matters more than with other software

When you install a text editor or a calculator from an untrusted source, the worst that can happen is malware that runs in the background. That's bad, but it's a general risk that applies to any software.

Shield is different because it requires camera access to function. That's how it detects your face and protects your screen. When you install the real Shield from an official source, the camera feed is processed locally and discarded immediately. No images are saved, no data is sent anywhere.

But a modified version of Shield, or a fake app pretending to be Shield, could do the opposite. It could use the camera permission you granted to record you, take photos, stream video to a remote server, or monitor your screen. You would think you're protected, while in reality you've given a malicious program full access to your camera and everything on your screen.

What to watch out for

There are websites and platforms that offer software with claims like "free download," "no license needed," "cracked version," or "free activation." These modified versions are dangerous for any software, but especially dangerous for an application that uses your camera.

Here's what a modified version of Shield could do:

• Record your camera and send photos or video to a remote server without your knowledge
• Take screenshots of your screen at regular intervals and upload them
• Install tracking software that monitors your activity, keystrokes, and browsing
• Create a backdoor that gives someone remote access to your computer
• Steal personal data from your device, including passwords, documents, and financial information

The irony is clear: you install what you think is a privacy tool, and it becomes the exact opposite. Instead of protecting your screen, it gives someone else full access to it.

How to verify you have the real Shield

If you downloaded Shield from the Mac App Store or the Microsoft Store, you have the real version. Both Apple and Microsoft review every app before publishing it and verify the identity of the developer. Apps distributed through these stores are signed with the developer's verified certificate and cannot be modified by third parties.

If you downloaded Shield from shield.avalw.ai, make sure you typed the URL correctly and that the connection is secure (look for the lock icon in your browser's address bar). Our website uses HTTPS and the domain is registered to Avalw.

If you downloaded Shield from anywhere else, delete it immediately and download it again from one of the three official sources listed above.

Why there is no "free" or "cracked" Shield

Shield is a paid product with a lifetime license. There is no free version beyond the 30-minute trial. Anyone offering Shield for free, without a license, or with a "crack" is offering you something that is not the real Shield.

Think about it: why would someone spend time modifying a security application and giving it away for free? They're not doing it as a favor. They're doing it because a modified version with camera access on your computer is valuable to them. Your camera feed, your screen content, your personal data, these are what they're after.

A $199 license is the price of knowing that the software on your computer is exactly what it claims to be. A "free" version from an unknown source could cost you far more than that.

If someone sent you a download link

If a friend, a colleague, or someone online sent you a link to download Shield, check where the link actually goes before clicking it. The only legitimate download sources are:

• apps.apple.com (Mac App Store)
• apps.microsoft.com (Microsoft Store)
• shield.avalw.ai (official website)

If the link goes to any other domain, do not download the file. Even if the website looks professional and uses the Avalw Shield name and logo, it is not authorized. Report it to us at business@avalw.ai so we can take action.

Go to Avalw Shield