Author Archives: Avast Blog

More cybersecurity predictions for 2015

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Yesterday, we looked at two hot areas to be aware of regarding your online security: Data breaches and mobile security. Today, we’ll look at two more areas that haven’t caused as much trouble or damage as the other two, but are likely to grow in importance. Internet of (Every)Thing at risk The “smart” home has […]

Linux DDoS Trojan hiding itself with an embedded rootkit

At the end of September 2014, a new threat for the Linux operating system dubbed XOR.DDoS forming a botnet for distributed denial-of-service attacks was reported by the MalwareMustDie! group. The post mentioned the initial intrusion of SSH connection, static properties of related Linux executable and encryption methods used. Later, we realized that the installation process is […]

Data breaches and more 2015 cyber security predictions

For a month now, I have been reading predictions for 2015. In the security field, something new and unexpected can always pop up – like the Point-of-Sale (PoS) breaches in early 2014 – but most likely what will happen is just a continuation, that is, a natural evolution, of what has already occurred. So let’s […]

We like the ‘Oversharing on social media’ message aired during Sugar Bowl

In last night’s broadcast of the Sugar Bowl, a showdown of two power-house college football teams in the USA, Allstate Insurance, aired a series of brilliant commercials about the risk of over-sharing on social networks. The social media team at Avast has been preaching this message for a while now, so we were happy to […]

Happy New Year 2015 from Avast!

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From our headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic to our offices in the USA, Germany, China, and South Korea, all of us at Avast Software wish you love, laughter, and peace in 2015. Looking back on 2014, we are grateful for the trust that our 220 million customers have placed in us. We thank you for […]

‘Worst virus ever’ POSTCARD hoax still circulating

During the Christmas holidays, my mother received this email from a well-meaning friend. Since her daughter works for the most trusted security company in the world, she immediately asked me about the authenticity of the message. Here’s the email: Subject: VIRUS COMING ! Hi All, PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS! You […]

Hackers claim Christmas day outage of Sony PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox networks

Earlier this month, as the Sony Entertainment breach was making headlines, Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) was knocked offline due to an alleged hacking attack. On Christmas morning, just as kids everywhere were unwrapping their new PlayStation and Xboxes, the PSN and Microsoft’s Xbox Live network were both disrupted leading to speculation that they were once […]

Avast revisits the biggest threats of 2014

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2014 has been an active year for cybercrime. Let’s start with the most recent and then take a look at some of the other important security events of the year. State-sponsored espionage We are ending the year with the most publicized and destructive hack of a major global company by another country – now identified […]

South Korea hit with banking malware using VPN connection

South Korean banks have been attacked by hackers again! This is not the first time we reported malware which targets Korean banking customers. In the past, we wrote about Chinese threats against Korean Windows users and last year we published a series of blogposts, Fake Korean bank applications for Android (part 1, part 2, part […]

Leave the tracking to the post office – not online advertising!

The holidays are here and many are opting to shop online for their holiday gifts, whether it’s to avoid the crowds or because time is running out. Online shopping is a convenient option, everything is almost guaranteed to be in stock, there are no lines and your purchase gets delivered to your doorstep. But, can […]