Free Wi-Fi is great. It’s convenient when you are away from your home network and want to connect to the Internet using your mobile phone, and it saves money and data. But there is a dark side. Unsecured networks can expose you to a hacker who can easily read your messages, steal your logins, passwords, and […]
Hospitals are vulnerable to cyberattacks
The recent ransomware attack on the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles has spooked the healthcare community. Hackers installed *ransomware in the hospital computer system and held patient re…
The recent ransomware attack on the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles has spooked the healthcare community. Hackers installed *ransomware in the hospital computer system and held patient records hostage while demanding payment. The hospital eventually paid $17,000 to have their files unlocked. Attacks on major insurance and healthcare systems last year including Excellus […]
It’s that time of the year again – tax season is upon us. Recently, the Internal Revenue Service wrapped up its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams. This year, identity theft topped the list, but phone scams and phishing schemes also deserve special mentions. It’s important that taxpayers guard against ploys to steal their […]
Keeping my mind occupied without the Internet is not that difficult… but you need to learn how to live in this situation. Day 15. About 10 days to go… I have a lot of time and no worries. You should test this offline vacation idea for yourself. I’m reading Fiódor Dostoiévski much faster than when […]
We leave a huge digital footprint on Facebook. Did you ever think about what will happen with your data when you pass away? The social giant Facebook has existed long enough to realize that it is part of a human’s life events. We announce the most important milestones on our timelines by sharing with our Facebook […]
The social giant Facebook has existed long enough to realize that it is part of a human’s life events. We announce the most important milestones on our timelines by sharing with our Facebook friends the joy of getting married, having babies, or moving abroad. But what will happen with all that data when we pass away? Discussing your digital legacy isn’t pleasant, but it’s important is our reality. Don’t leave it up to your family member, friends, or even worse: Facebook itself. In this article I will guide you through all the options you have, so you can make a conscious decision about your data, using the tools that Facebook offers to its users.
Many people sell their used smartphones but fail to ensure their personal data is wiped away. A year and half ago, Avast mobile security researchers bought 20 used phones from online consumer-to-consumer sites, like eBay and Amazon, in the USA. Using easily available recovery software, they were able to access more than 40,000 personal photos, emails, […]
Avast Mobile Security researchers camped out at the Barcelona Airport, threw up a few fake Wi-Fi hotspots, and waited to see who would connect. That’s already an interesting premise for an experiment, but this was the weekend when attendees of Mobile World Congress, “the world’s biggest and most influential mobile event” were arriving, making […]
A year and half ago, Avast mobile security researchers bought 20 used phones from online consumer-to-consumer sites, like eBay and Amazon, in the USA. Using easily available recovery software, they were able to access more than 40,000 personal photos, emails, and text messages.
Since then, smartphone technology has progressed and numerous educational articles have been published to inform people about cleaning their phones before selling, so we wanted to see what would happen if we did a similar experiment now. This time, our researchers bought phones from pawn shops: Five devices each in New York, Paris, Barcelona, and Berlin — and again, used widely available free recovery software to detect the data found on the devices.
Install Avast Anti-Theft from the Google Play Store for free