Author Archives: Avast Blog

Join the incredible Avast Cyber Adventure this Saturday | Avast

This Saturday, June 16, we are throwing open our doors at Avast HQ in Prague for an unforgettable all-day adventure, and you’re invited. Whether you’re a developer, engineer, security expert, amateur hacker, or just someone interested in cybersecurity and hacking, you’re more than welcome to attend.

How to fight sophisticated cybercrime | Avast

As all the pieces of our cyberworld — personal laptops, business desktops, smartphones, digital assistants, TVs, appliances — grow more connected, they also make us more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Both on the individual and corporate levels, cyberattacks have become big business, which in turn has made cybersecurity big business as well. The research firm Gartner  estimates that $96 billion will be spent on global information security in 2018, an 8% increase from 2017.

Remote working is on the rise | Avast

Where and how we work is changing

Call it the natural evolution of business culture, a newly-realized measure of sensible economics, or the inevitable result of an internet-dependent society — whichever you choose, you’re right. It’s the way of the world that an increasing number of us perform the duties of our jobs in the comfort of coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, and airports. Public Wi-Fi speedily raced past “luxurious convenience” and into the territory of “daily necessity” for much of today’s workforce. As the trend blossoms further, cybersecurity becomes ever more important for everyone.

Travel site phishing scam and genealogy site data breach | Avast

Booking.com users get phished

Some unfortunate travelers had their thirst for adventure rewarded with a steaming mug of scam. Users of the popular travel-booking site booking.com received bogus texts directing them to change their passwords “due to a security breach.” A malicious link in the text, if clicked, gave the phishers access to that user’s bookings. A second text then capitalized on the booking data by demanding bank info to “process payment” for the user’s specific trip. Booking.com is part of the hospitality magnate that includes priceline.com, kayak.com, and opentable.com. A spokesperson for the site states their system was not compromised, pointing to select hotel partners as the attack victims. The company claims all impacted guests have been notified and that any damages will be compensated.

Online shoppers and bankers, rejoice — Avast Secure Browser is here | Avast

Go ahead — make those online purchases, conduct your banking through your bank app, send funds to your friends, buy and sell cryptocurrencies, and pay bills on the web. With the new Avast Secure Browser, you can be confident that your privacy is protected and your data is secure. While every version of Avast antivirus software has had basic internet security built in, we have now taken that base and expanded upon it with extra layers of protection that combat today’s growing trend of phishing, tracking, and other cyberthreats. We added more cutting-edge tools, such as Bank Mode, and put all this next-gen web security and privacy functions into Avast Secure Browser.

IT managed service provider chooses CloudCare for security platform | Avast Business

The Company
Since 1995, The Guru has been serving the IT and security needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) throughout Southern California. Owner and Founder Richard Papasian brings over two decades of software, hardware, security, and net…

Routers at risk, Canadian chaos, and a Hidden Cobra | Avast

FBI advises Americans to reset their routers

Last week, we reported how the FBI had seized a key domain to the botnet VPNFilter. That story continued yesterday when the Bureau publicly asked all US residents to reboot their routers. The advice comes with the knowledge that while VPNFilter can take control of a router, part of the malware can be easily kicked off the system with a simple reboot — turning the device off for a moment. This renders the malicious program harmless, though the router can be reinfected. To prevent that, users are also advised to make sure the router’s security is fully up to date and the password has been changed from the default to a suitably complex one. The malware attacks many kinds of routers, most notably Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, and TP-Link. Each of those companies have posted further detailed instructions to combat VPNFilter on their websites.