Category Archives: Consumer Alerts

New York Education could save $2.5million with AVAST Free for Education!

New York City Department of Education could save as much as $2.5million this coming school year, just by using AVAST antivirus software. That’s a MASSIVE saving, money which could be better spent on upgrading IT hardware, or introducing new technology such as tablet computers to the classroom. In total, we are already protecting some 72,000 […]

Bitcoin Given Official Currency Status by Federal Judge

You can’t carry it in your wallet, or store it in a piggy bank, but Bitcoin is just as much a form of money as any physical bill or coin, so says the U.S. government. Just this week, a federal judge in Texas issued a ruling that declared Bitcoin—a digital currency with previously little legal Read more…

Your documents are corrupted: From image to an information stealing trojan

InfoStealer is a Trojan that collects sensitive information about the user from an affected computer system and forwards it to a predetermined location. This information, whether it be financial information, log in credentials, passwords, or a combination of all of them, can then be sold on the black market. AVAST detects this infostealer as MSIL:Agent-AKP. In […]

CALIFORNIA benefiting the most from AVAST Free for Education program

Dear Tom Torlakson (and the California Department of Education),   I’d like to personally congratulate you:  CALIFORNIA is now the number 1 state benefiting the most from our AVAST Free for Education program! (surpassing Illinois)   Over 160 Californian schools, school districts, libraries and universities – the most from any one State – use our […]

The truth about mobile phone malware

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Question of the week: I need my smartphone for work-related stuff, but I also have all my personal pictures and music on it. Tell me the truth – are viruses really being made for phones? Do I need to worry about it? Your question comes just as several companies have released mid-year studies confirming that […]

Top mobile phone apps snoop into your business

It’s easy and fast to download apps to your smartphone. They do everything from identify a song you just heard to turning your phone into a flashlight. But there are secrets beneath the fun apps. See how knowledgeable you are about the risks associated with free and paid apps for your smartphone. Answer the question, […]

Who’s watching whom? Is Your Smart TV Spying on You?

Like something right out of George Orwell’s 1984, it turns out that Big Brother, or Big Hacker in this case, may in fact be watching you—through your television. Recent research shows that Smart TVs are just as vulnerable to a hacking attack as your home computer. After months of research and working with Smart TV Read more…

What Are the Risks of Geo-Location?

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Using your mobile’s built-in global positioning system (GPS) functionality allows location-based services (or geo-location) to locate and publish information about your whereabouts. Applications like Foursquare, Facebook and Yelp allow you to “check in” at places using your mobile phone, and then share your location with friends or on social networks. The application knows where you Read more…

Spy? Where? Mobile Spyware Hiding Right Under Your Nose

Some days it feels like the whole world is going mobile. We tweet, we text, we browse the world from small devices that fit into our hands. People from across the globe can reach out to each other with one message. You can buy a plane ticket while on the bus. There are apps that Read more…