Author Archives: Avast Blog

The avast! 8 User Interface: A study of change

  Everyone knows that change is not easy. When a decision is difficult, people tend to go with the status quo or choose to do nothing. So when we decided to update the look of Avast for version 8, we first had to get through the challenge of change. One of the most important aspects […]

PIN numbers need protection too

      No Comments on PIN numbers need protection too

By now, avast! users are aware of the importance of creating strong computer passwords, and guarding their Social Security number like a trained Doberman. But what about the humble four-digit PIN number? Personal identification numbers (PINs) are security features just like passwords. They give access to your mobile phone, credit card, bank account, and numerous […]

Avast Browser Cleanup at work

      No Comments on Avast Browser Cleanup at work

Does this internet browser window look familiar to you? If so, you may be the victim of unwanted multiple browser toolbars. These browser add-ons have become a real problem in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, much free software nowadays comes with some unwanted add-ons; in most cases a so-called browser toolbar is installed. Many […]

Banker Omnia Vincit – A tale of signed Brazilian bankers

Let us present the long-term analysis of malware which was designed to steal credentials from more than 25 largest banking and payment systems in Brazil. The unique features of this banking malware include the usage of valid digital certificates, 3 years of evolution and stealing credentials from e-commerce admin pages. This feature opens doors for […]

Analysis of Chinese attack against Korean banks

In this blog post, we will look at the attack originating from hxxp://www.spc.or.kr/ and targeting several major Korean banks. The site, spc.or.kr, is a legitimate Korean website which belongs to Korea Software Property Right Council (SPC). After opening the site and showing its source code, we looked into the included script /js/common1.js. This script includes […]

Granny Scams target senior citizens

      No Comments on Granny Scams target senior citizens

The “Jamaican lottery scam,” also known as advanced-fee fraud, is made up of scam artists that trick people, mostly senior citizens, out of their money with a false notification of a lottery winning, inheritance or Publisher Clearing House sweepstakes prize. In these “granny scams”, the fraudsters convince the victim to send money in order to […]

We are looking for another Queen/Kings of AVAST FREEks to join the AVAST team :)

Part time job for a social media agent   Do you blog, comment, respond, post, chat, like, re-tweet, add to circles, pin…? Do you monitor what’s hot on social media in your language? Do you have 2 hours a day that you can fully dedicate to avast! social media? Can you be the eyes and […]

How do I get rid of annoying toolbars?

      No Comments on How do I get rid of annoying toolbars?

Question of the week:  A toolbar suddenly appeared in my browser. I tried to uninstall it through the Control Panel, but it’s still there. How can I get rid of it? Have you installed free software lately? Sometimes toolbars and other unwanted add-ons are included in free downloads. Most of the time, but not always, […]

Mobile Drive-By Malware example

      1 Comment on Mobile Drive-By Malware example

Several days ago we received a complaint about javascrpt.ru. After a bit of research, we found that it tries to mimic ajax.google.com and jquery, but the code is an obfuscated/packed redirector. After removing two layers of obfuscation, we found a list of conditions checking visitors’ user Agent. From these conditions. we got a clue and […]