This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN VPN Secure Connection is a VPN that’s built directly into Avast One. VPN Secure Connection eliminates the need for a separate VPN product and provides VPN protections along with the other protections…
Tag: blog.avast.com EN
Fleeceware Apps Posing As National Postal Sites | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN In March 2021, we wrote about “fleeceware,” mobile apps that aren’t malware but can charge subscribers steep fees, often unexpectedly. In March, we found a total of 204 fleeceware apps in both…
Avast And Diffbot Collaboration | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Rising consumer interest in digital privacy has increased scrutiny over companies and their data collection activities. In an effort to better understand what companies are asking their customers and site visitors to…
Sugar Daddy Scams | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN I’m a young woman in my 20s and am an active Instagram user. Recently, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and received a notification about a new direct message request. I…
Employees To Demand Remote Work In 2022 | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Forrester has released its annual prediction guide, in which it anticipates that 2022 will see an increased demand from employees to work remotely, so much so that 30% of the companies that…
What is Digital Citizenship? | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Citizenship, as more commonly applied to people belonging to a nation, comes with both rights and responsibilities. For example, people living in democracies have the right to representation — but also the…
Avast Data Summit 2021 | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN At this year’s Avast Data Summit, an internal event primarily intended for Avastians, a combination of Avast leaders and industry thought leaders gave seminars at the intersection of privacy, data, and security. …
Social Media Use And Covid-19 Vaccines | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN In July 2021, US President Joe Biden made headlines when he said social media platforms are “killing people” by failing to curb the spread of Covid-19 vaccine disinformation and misinformation. And while…
Introducing Avast Secure Browser PRO | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN We are all spending more time online. In a recent YouGov survey of more than 16,000 people in 17 countries, over 60% of all respondents in all age groups said they spend…
Premium SMS Scam Apps on Play Store | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Last week, I reported 80 apps belonging to a premium SMS scam campaign, which signs victims up for expensive premium SMS services that earn a bad actor or actors money while ultimately…
Malicious Cracked Games Pose Risks | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Reports of a new malware targeting gamers, along with Avast Threat Labs findings on Crackonosh, are reminders that targeting gamers can be big business for cybercriminals. They’re also a reminder that gamers…
Understanding The Facebook Outage | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN In early October, Facebook and their apps – including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger – effectively disappeared from the internet for more than five hours. Best estimates are that this outage affected over…
Offline NHS Vaccine Passport Strands Travelers | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN For four hours on October 13, the Covid-19 pass system used by England’s National Health System (NHS) went offline, stranding travelers at airports around the country who needed to show digital proof…
The Wildest Celebrity Hacks and How They Happened | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN “I got hacked!” Every time a celebrity gets caught posting something they shouldn’t, we hear this common refrain. But sometimes, they actually do get hacked — and the consequences can be disastrous.…
Generational Internet Use | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN There’s a common belief that kids are always on their phones. And we assume they’re on there because that’s where their friends are. Whether it’s the newest social media or “old school”…
Tattleware And Privacy | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, thousands of companies suddenly had to adapt to remote work. While many started relying more heavily on software they were already using — such…
Top IoT Devices Reported By Abuse Victims | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Tech abuse is a growing problem. Read the original article: Top IoT Devices Reported By Abuse Victims | Avast
Elders And Digital Burden Fears | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Jay McGowan, 83, spends about seven or eight hours a day online. He’s had the internet since 1995, but didn’t start spending so much time on it until he retired from his…
Learning Framework For Detection of Novel Malware | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN This post was written by the following Avast researchers: Viliam Lisý, Avast Principal AI ScientistBranislav Bošanský, Avast Principal AI ScientistKarel Horak, Avast Senior AI ResearcherMatej Racinsky, Avast AI ResearcherPetr Somol, Avast Director…
Digital Wellness and the Facebook Outage | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN “I liked this platform better when it was down,” snarked a friend of mine on Facebook, referencing last week’s surprise outage when Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire went dark for almost six…
Google Pulls “Stalkerware” Ads | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Google pulled several ads for violating its policy against promoting “stalkerware,” surveillance apps that encourage users to spy on their spouses or significant others. TechCrunch found five app makers skirting Google’s no-tolerance…
Gen Z Online Privacy And Security | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Gen Z — the generation born between 1997 and 2012 — is the first generation to grow up as true digital natives. They’ve never lived in a time without the internet; some…
MyKings Crypto Malware | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN There’s a lot of money in cryptocurrency these days. In addition to hobby traders, cryptocurrency has attracted the attention of legitimate investors and speculators. It’s also attracted the attention of cyber criminals,…
Prevent Business Network Failures | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN On October 4, Facebook was offline for about six hours due to human error. The company states that “configuration changes on our backbone routers” was the cause. In this post, I’ll explain…
Hacker Leaks Twitch Source Code and Contents | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN An anonymous hacker posted 125 GB of data to 4chan on Wednesday, claiming it was the entirety of live streaming service Twitch, from source code to member information. The hacker wrote that…
Avast Business Takes Home AV-TEST Top Rated Award | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN During July and August 2021, AV-TEST continuously evaluated 19 business endpoint protection products using settings as provided by the vendor. They focused on realistic test scenarios and challenging the products against real-world…
Is Free Wi-Fi Really Safe? | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN School is back in session, and for many colleges, this means a return to campus. After a full year of distance learning, preceded by a chaotic half-year of distance learning, both faculty…
Social Media Surveillance By Law Enforcement | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN A recent investigation by the Brennan Center for Justice into the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) found that officers have been collecting social media handles of people that they stop — even…
Warning Signs Of Student Loan Scams | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN On August 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced a final extension of the student loan payment pause until January 31, 2022. The pause includes the following relief measures for eligible…
Facebook Builds Metaverse With XR Programs | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Facebook announced this week that it will invest $50 million in global research and partner collaboration to build a responsible foundation for what it sees as “the next computing platform” – the…
Women In Senior Tech Leadership | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN I was recently asked to provide input for a colleague’s blog on why, in the tech industry, despite advancements in women representation, senior leadership remains dominantly male. My initial response was okay,…
Are user records of 3.8 billion Clubhouse and Facebook users for sale?
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Multiple reports of 3.8 billion Clubhouse and Facebook user records up for sale on the dark web are causing a lot of concern and confusion. Right now,it’s too early to tell if…
Epik Data Breach | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN A small domain registrar (a business that handles the reservation of domain names as well as the assignment of IP addresses for those domain names) by the name of Epik has confirmed…
Q&A With Daria Loi | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Daria Loi’s life has been anything but conventional. A lifelong lover of learning new things, Daria started her career in her homeland of Italy as an architect and industrial designer. But when…
Anonymization vs. Pseudonymization | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN In today’s environment, many people are aware that companies are tracking their online activity and mine that data for a variety of business purposes. These purposes range from personalization and advertising to…
Facebook Pausing Instagram For Kids | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN In March, Facebook confirmed a rumor that they were developing a version of Instagram for kids under 13 that included parent monitoring features. Earlier this week, under pressure from critics and lawmakers,…
OWASP Top 10 Vulnerabilities | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Last week was the 20th anniversary of the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), and in honor of that date, the organization issued its long-awaited update to its top 10 exploits. It…
Avoid Behaviors That Endanger Your Kid’s Digital Identity | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Identity theft is one of the largest and most common forms of cybercrime. When it comes to sensitive personal information, a child’s Social Security number, date of birth, name, and address is…
Epik Data Breach Impacts 15 Million Users | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Domain registrar Epik confirmed last week in a tweet that “unauthorized third parties” accessed and downloaded customer account information. “We have identified the cause of the incident and are working towards full…
Documenting Vulnerabilities Abused By Ransomware Gangs | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN A group of security researchers have put together a comprehensive schema to track common vulnerabilities of popular products. It’s an especially interesting resource because it visually documents how ransomware gangs are using…
National Diversity Awards | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN The Avast Foundation is fighting alongside global citizens for a more equitable and inclusive digital future. We stand firmly with those who are working to make the world a safer, more welcoming…
“Modern CTO” Features Avast’s Michal Pechoucek | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN This week Avast CTO Michal Pechoucek dropped in to talk with Alteryx CTO Derek Knudsen on the “Modern CTO” podcast. Throughout the 55-minute episode, Derek and Michal discuss the proper role of…
Importance of Access Revocation for SMBs | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Letting people go is never a pleasant or easy task for anyone. A recent court case underscores the importance of businesses ensuring that they have an effective — and fast — process…
Government Use Of Biometric Data | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN One of the important pieces of information that has come out of the US-led withdrawal from Afghanistan is that some of the equipment left behind was used for a biometric data collection…
Facebook Releases Video Capture Glasses | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN The newest wearable tech on the market is a pair of glasses that can record 30-second videos and take photos, the result of a collaborative effort between Facebook and Ray-Ban. The glasses,…
Protecting Digital Freedom For Everyone | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN I was just 13 years old in 1991 when the Soviet Union pulled its last troops out of what was then Czechoslovakia, my home country. I was spared living through the worst…
Introducing Avast One | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN 2020 changed the world. Globally and locally, our lives were turned upside down and locked down. In response, the internet transformed into a critical lifeline to services and our loved ones. It…
2021 Digital Citizenship Report | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN As connectivity and internet usage continue to grow around the world, so do people’s concerns about internet privacy and safety. Our experts at Avast worked closely with market research institutions YouGov and…
Authentic Brands Build On Fundamental Truths | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN I joined Avast in April of 2020, at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Millions of people had to quickly adapt to a new reality where everything they normally did — like…
Avast Hacker Archives Episode 10 – Keren Elazari | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN “I work in the most interesting field in the world – cybersecurity. I’ve been doing this since I was 14 and I’ve not been bored a single day!” Keren Elazari tells Avast…
Major Viruses That Would Have Been Stopped By A Firewall | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Computer viruses are code written to steal and destroy. They keep systems from functioning normally and they replicate relentlessly. Once inside your computers and devices, they can control programs, corrupt files and…
Startup Culture Was Boy Culture | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Tech has always been a man’s world. But for a period in the early aughts and teens, it was really more a boy’s world. As the second big tech bubble of the…
Differences Between Firewalls And VPNs | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN You’ve probably heard of a firewall. You’ve maybe heard of a VPN. But what’s the difference? Since we’re living in a time when most people are ultra-conscious of germs and what they’re…
Apple Pauses Photo-Scanning Plans | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN In an update on its Child Safety page, Apple announced last week that they are pausing plans to implement a feature that would scan iPads, iPhones, and iCloud photos for child sexual…
Avast Joins Tracking-free Ads Coalition | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN A public/private coalition formed earlier this year is gaining traction, including support from Avast. The Tracking-free Ads Coalition was initially created by 20 members of the European Parliament with a goal to…
Ignore Personal Quizzes on Facebook | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Which Hogwarts house best suits you?Who do you most resemble in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?What is your fancy-shmancy royal name?Where are you most likely to find true love? Read the original article:…
Internet Price Discrimination | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN The internet attempts to give every user a personalized, custom experience with each element designed with their preferences, needs, and desires in mind. Today, we live in a personalized digital world that…
Instagram Bans As A Service | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Cybercriminals are expanding their “services” by offering to ban an Instagram user for the low, low price of $60. This was recently reported by Motherboard, whose research showed that anyone on Instagram…
Back-to-School Tips For Safe And Fun Online Learning | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Covid-19 didn’t go away when school started. On top of that, new variants are being tracked because this virus isn’t done mutating and hasn’t been eradicated. Students and families could be facing…
BEC Scam Swindles $2.3M out of New Hampshire Town | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN “We have fallen victim to an internet-based crime that has defrauded our taxpayers of $2.3m,” reads an August 23 press release put out by the Town Administrator of Peterborough, New Hampshire. It…
FTC Bans Stalkerware Company SpyFone | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced a ban on the stalkerware company SpyFone and ordered them to delete all of the data they had illegally harvested from victims. Additionally, they…
White Hat Hacking And CDU | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Earlier this month, a hacker pointed out a security vulnerability in the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) political party’s election campaign app. The party responded by pressing charges against the hacker. The…
Covid-19 And Working Moms | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Ameena is a married woman with two boys, ages 8 and 10, living in California. She’s a Type A personality and her high end job in the biotech industry reflects that. But…
An Overview of Magecart Attacks | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Shopping cart malware, known as Magecart, is once again making headlines while plying its criminality across numerous ecommerce sites. Its name is in dishonor of two actions: shopping carts, and more specifically,…
Back-to-school Tips For A Surprise Quarantine | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN School is back in session. But for how long? The Delta variant has caused a significant rise in cases and has reversed the steady decline of Covid-19 infections since January. The variant…
Tech CEOs Attend White House Meeting | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, and Amazon’s Andy Jassy are among a group of tech CEOs that were called to a White House meeting Wednesday by President Joe Biden. The point…
Elder Scammers Indicted | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN On August 25, 2021, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in San Diego California announced indictments against eight individuals they claim stole more than $2 million from victims over the…
Q&A With Andrew Gardner | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Andrew Gardner, Ph.D., has collected comic books since he was a kid. Back then, his favorite character was Iron Man because — unlike other superheroes — Iron Man created his special abilities:…
How To Identify Phone Scams | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN I got a weird call this weekend. That’s nothing special — my phone blows up with robocalls all day every day, just like everyone else’s — but the caller ID for this…
Cyber Mindfulness Quiz | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN There are many things we do online without thinking too much about them. We are often in such a hurry to accomplish necessary tasks online, or engrossed in what we are doing,…
Exploiting Air Gaps | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Most of us are familiar with the primary methods for moving data into and off of our computers: think Wi-Fi networks, USB ports, and Bluetooth connections. However, there are additional, lesser known…
Memorial Health System Hit By Ransomware | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN In a bulletin posted on its site, healthcare facility network Memorial Health System, based in West Virginia and Ohio, said it was beginning the process of recovery and restoration after being hit…
Avast Hacker Archives Episode 9 – Heather Adkins | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN “She doesn’t just talk the talk, she also walks the walk every day in and day out for a service most of the planet has come to depend on,” says Avast CISO…
Machine Learning Explainability | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN This post was written by the following Avast researchers:Petr Somol, Avast Director AI ResearchTomáš Pevný, Avast Principal AI ScientistAndrew B. Gardner, Avast VP Research & AI The automated detection of threats —…
Reasons Why Firewalls Are Still Essential | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Even if you don’t know much about internet security, you’ve probably heard the term firewall, if only from movies and shows about hackers trying to break into computer systems. The term firewall…
Back-to-school Device Protection | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Did you know that out of the 8.9 million enterprise malware reports that Microsoft had in the last 30 days that over 60% came from education? The next closest industry is business…
Glowworm Attack Recovers Sound from LED Indicator | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev published a paper this week in which they outline how a passive form of the TEMPEST attack, called Glowworm, can reconstruct the sound passing through…
How to Enable 2FA in Facebook | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Angela McNamara, a Facebook user in Canada, got three bad surprises in a row. First, her Facebook profile was hacked and taken over. Second, the attackers activated Facebook’s two-factor authentication (2FA), using…
Digital Identity Q&A With Charles Walton | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Charles Walton joined Avast as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Identity in June 2021 to push the company forward in the digital identity space. He started off studying control…
AV-Comparatives Anti-Phishing Test | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN This just in — Avast Antivirus has been awarded the top score for AV-Comparatives’ 2021 Anti-Phishing Certification Test. Every year, AV-Comparatives publishes the results of their phishing protection test, which evaluate the…
The Privacy Dilemma | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN This piece was written by Joe Bosso and Juyong Do. Have you ever talked about a product with someone, only to have it show up in an ad online the next day…
Cyber Fraud Attacks on Professional Channels | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Over the past year, we’ve seen a new trend emerge among cyber threats: Professional Channel Attacks. In the past, you only had to worry about your personal email and social channel security.…
Unintended Risks Of Apple Child Protection Features | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Apple is taking steps to combat child sex abuse materials (CSAM), including implementing technology that will detect known-CSAM uploaded to iCloud; an iMessage feature that will alert parents if their child sends…
Chipotle Marketing Emails Hijacked to Spread Malware | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Mass-mailing service Mailgun had one of its larger accounts – the email marketing account for fast-food chain Chipotle – compromised and used to target USAA users, Microsoft users, and others with malware, according…
30th Anniversary of the World Wide Web | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Thirty years ago this week, Tim Berners-Lee published the first web page to the internet, kicking off a wave of excitement — and debate — about the potential for the world’s largest…
Back To School Protection, Privacy, and Security Software | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Last year, kids across the world became pros at digital learning. They became wizards at Wi-Fi, sorcerers on smartphones, and mere apprentices at internet privacy. Whether they are attending in person or…
What Amazon Knows About You | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN I’m old enough to remember a time when Amazon was just a cheaper way to get your (overpriced) college textbooks. “Prime” referred primarily to beef. Same-day shipping was a pipe dream. No…
Global Risk Report 2021 Snapshot | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN We recently released our Avast Global PC Risk Report H1 2021 Snapshot and there’s good information that small and medium businesses (SMBs) can use to better understand what the security landscape is…
“Garry on Lockdown” Episode 8 | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN It’s often bad news when an obscure tech term becomes mainstream. Think about “spam,” the plague of unsolicited mass email that threatened to “destroy the internet” twenty years ago. Or even the…
Global Risk Report 2021 Snapshot | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN We recently released our Avast Global PC Risk Report H1 2021 Snapshot and there’s good information that small and medium businesses (SMBs) can use to better understand what the security landscape is…
Back To School Protection, Privacy, and Security Software | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Last year, kids across the world became pros at digital learning. They became wizards at Wi-Fi, sorcerers on smartphones, and mere apprentices at internet privacy. Whether they are attending in person or…
Clubhouse Ditches Exclusivity with General Release | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Social media app Clubhouse, for which member invitations were highly coveted throughout the pandemic, has ditched its invite-only exclusivity with a general release last week that makes the platform available to all…
Crypto Exchange Scams | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN You may already have won! How many scams have begun with these words? There is a new breed of scammers gaining popularity, thanks to the wild swings in the cryptocurrency market. Avast…
Reviewing An Ugly Truth | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang have been covering the trials and tribulations of Facebook for the past several years, and they have used their reporting to form the…
Tech Support Scammer Language | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Have you ever gotten a call from an unknown number claiming that there’s a serious problem with your computer? It’s likely you have — these types of calls, called tech support fraud,…
Cyber Shield 21 | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Earlier this month, I had the unique opportunity to observe the National Guard conduct its cybersecurity exercises at Cyber Shield 21. This is perhaps the largest training effort of its kind, with…
Apple Hide My Email | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN We’re continuing to analyze and review the upcoming privacy features which will be included in Apple’s iOS 15 and Monterey OS, which will be released later this year. As we’ve previously mentioned,…
Instagram Introduces Sensitive Content Control | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN This week, parent company Facebook announced that it was rolling out Sensitive Content Control on Instagram, a filter to limit the amount of potentially upsetting content that the platform suggests to users…
Avast Receives AV-Comparatives Approved Business Product Award | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Following up on our big win at the end of 2020, we’re now excited to announce that Avast Business Antivirus Pro Plus has received the “Approved Business Product” award for July 2021…
Pegasus And Spyware | Avast
This article has been indexed from blog.avast.com EN Earlier in July, a group of security researchers revealed that they had been working together to uncover a widespread surveillance of journalists, politicians, government officials, chief executives, and human rights activists. The…