Is my AntiVirus spying on me...? HELP!

I know I may seem paranoid,

but I know for a certain that my AntiVirus software (avast) runs in the background. I determined this by opening my task manager and seeing that their firewall was running. They also displayed an ad once.

I know Avast is thought to be a 'reputable' program, and I truly want to believe this.

Can/are they just tracking my web activity, and compromising my personal information? Perhaps like a keylogger?

Thanks for the help in advance.

You antivirus should run in the back ground. It should be running at all times or how else can it stop viruses?

I don't think avast is likely to be tracking your keystrokes. At worst they might collect anonymous usage data but that's about it.

Due to the nature of viruses and anti-virus software it's always running and is deeply involved with anything you do over the network. But Avast is a trusted name. If you had XYZ Free Super Awesome AntiVirus software you got for free after filling out a survey then I'd be worried, but if you bought it and it's legit Avast I would not worry at all.