This morning at Mobile World Congress Barcelona, we announced the latest in protection from Avast — Avast Smart Life, a new Internet of Things (IoT) security services platform. Our strategy is to leverage our large, intelligent network to continue expanding the ways we protect you from today’s latest threats, no matter where you are in the mobile connected world we live in. Whether at home, the office or on-the-go, Avast Smart Life uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology to identify and block threats so that consumers and small businesses can keep their IoT devices, networks and sensitive data secure.
It’s easy to buy into the notion that once you wander outside the borders of social media, the internet is an untamed wilderness of anonymity. After all, you don’t use your real name when posting on Reddit or YouTube, do you? The record of your movements through even the tawdriest corners of the web is wiped out of existence as long as you clear your browser history, isn’t it?
At Avast, it’s our business to stay on top of security risks that affect computer users around the world. As cryptocurrencies grow in popularity — as well as the inevitable cryptomining that follows — this is an area we are committed to closely monitoring. Here are two stories from the week that caught our attention.
What is a VPN connection and why are so many people talking about it? The term crops up in every conversation about the internet lately, and for good reason. While VPNs were once novel tech solutions, they are now necessary tools. At the basic level, V…
For most of us, the use of internet-based services is a huge part of our everyday lives. We bank. We shop. We stream. What’s the one thing all of these services have in common? Passwords. They all demand passwords.
It’s the review we always welcome: AV-Comparatives conducts independent tests throughout the year to take a hard look at 21 security products for Windows, putting them through rigorous testing that examines their ability to 1) protect against real-world internet threat, 2) identify thousands of recent malicious programs, 3) provide protection without slowing down the PC, and finally, 4) remove malware that has already infected a PC.
It’s staggering to realize that Bitcoin, the very first cryptocurrency, splashed onto the scene almost a decade ago. It’s only been over this past year that digital coinage has really gained its tremendous popularity. As of January 2018, there are well over one thousand varieties of cryptocurrency in circulation — Bitcoin, Monero, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, IOTA and many more.
The good news is that Avast users are protected against cryptomining, which includes the current threat terrorizing the world’s Windows servers and computers. The Smominru botnet has torn through hundreds of thousands of servers and computers alike, hijacking their CPU power to mine the cryptocurrency Monero. ZDNet reports that the Smominru botnet mines 24 Monero ($8,500) a day, with a net total to date of 8,900 Monero ($2.8M – $3.6M).
Cyberattacks are continuing to increase in number and severity every year, and 2018 will be no exception. We believe that many of the threats we observed in 2017 will, unfortunately, appear in evolved forms this year to continue threatening our busines…
A popular site used to stream sporting events such as soccer, basketball, and tennis is mining the Monero cryptocurrency using CoinHive, without site visitors’ permission. The site, arenavision[dot]in, is mostly visited by Spanish users, followed by Portuguese, and Mexican users, according to Alexa.