Category Archives: Consumer Alerts

Facebook’s new privacy policies and your data security

2015 is arriving and, as usual, tech companies start to launch their updates for the new year. However, it looks like someone is sparking some debate with its recent policies that are to be implemented in less than a month. That someone is… Facebook. After all the controversy around the Facebook Messenger app last summer, […]

When it comes to dangers on the internet, we are our own worst enemies

Today’s biggest threat to the normal consumer is the consumer themselves. This bold statement was made by Avast CEO Vincent Steckler in an interview with German technology website Valuetech in Munich last week. That’s a daring position to take after this year’s revelations about NSA spying, the theft of tens of millions of customer passwords […]

Sony PlayStation Network down due to hacker attack

Poor Sony. They are getting it from all directions these days.  On Sunday, the PlayStation Network, the online store for games, movies, and TV shows, suffered a hacker attack and was knocked offline. Visitors to the store got a message that said, ‘Page Not Found! It’s not you. It’s the Internet’s fault.’ I just visited […]

Fake confirmation emails from Walmart, Home Depot, others in circulation

Cybercrooks target busy holiday shoppers with phishing scheme. After all that shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, consumers are reporting a bunch of phishing emails that look like authentic communications from poular stores. Malware-infected emails are reportedly coming from Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and Costco. The catch is these are not from the authentic […]

Fake free codes scam affects PSN and Steam users

Some webpages are giving away free codes for Playstation Network and Steam but, are they reliable? At Avast we discovered a lot of webpages offering free codes, with a value from $20 to $50, for Playstation Network and Steam, two of the most important internet-based digital distribution platforms. Those webpages look very suspicious so we […]

12 ways to boost your router’s security

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With the increasing number of network security breaches, we need to improve awareness regarding the security of your home network. We simply need to follow some rules to control and prevent system penetration and also bandwidth theft (and losing money!). Safeguard your valuable information available through your home wireless connection and do not be easy […]

Is backing up your data the same as exposing it? In this case – Yes!

Losing contacts from your mobile phone is highly inconvenient. There’s seems to be a solution –  You can find them online! The catch? Your contacts are in a publicly accessible place. Seriously. If you care for your privacy you should always be suspicious about “Cloud Backup” solutions you find in the Google Play Store. The […]

Donate generously on Giving Tuesday, but watch out for scams

#GivingTuesday is a day dedicated to give from the bounty we have received. After the shopping free-for-all of Black Friday, the local discoveries of Small Business Saturday, and the online click frenzy of Cyber Monday, people the world over have a day for giving thanks. On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, charities, families, businesses, community centers, […]

Network Security 6 – How to disable IPv6 support in your router settings

After the previous articles you should be convinced that router vulnerabilities are one of the major concerns in network security. As you already know, the new Avast 2015 version includes a security feature called Home Network Security (HNS) which scans your network and router for vulnerabilities and prevent threats. One serious problem occurs when when […]