Tag Archives: Threat Research

The 5 Vs of big data for machine learning

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Most of today’s malware goes through automated modification, upgrade, and re-deployment so frequently and quickly that machine learning is a vital security solution component. Machine learning allows a system to learn from data and observation automatically. The most effective machine learning occurs when the learnings are gained via big data: the more information we feed our machines, the more accurately they identify trends and create models. This is true not only in security, but in every area that uses machine learning.

How AI outsmarts cybercriminals

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is the hottest new trend that’s been around for years. While that may sound like an oxymoron, there’s a reason the buzz around AI and its subset, machine learning, hasn’t quieted down and is likely to continue for a long time. It’s uniquely critical in our fight against the ever-growing number and variety of cyberthreats and vital to our ability to scan for and remove malware.

IoT weaknesses put webcams at risk for attack [infographic]

Out of all the cybercrimes from malware to social engineering, the creepiest has to be a stranger watching your child through a webcam or baby monitor in their room. As this year’s Mobile World Congress starts in Barcelona, Avast researchers reveal that half a million smart devices in the city, including webcams and baby monitors, are currently vulnerable to cyber attack.

Malware posing as Dual Instance app steals users’ Twitter credentials

Do you have more than one Twitter or WhatsApp account? If you answered yes, do you want to log in to these multiple accounts at the same time? Up until this point, logging in to multiple social media accounts at one time has only been possible by usi…

CyberCapture: Protection against zero-second attacks

This week we released a new version of our core PC antivirus product, which we refer to as the Avast Antivirus Nitro Update. The update’s name is Nitro, because it is filled with innovative, new ways to increase speed and increase protection. One of the new ways we are increasing protection is with a cool new proprietary technology called CyberCapture. CyberCapture dramatically raises the bar when it comes to protection against zero-second attacks.

IMAGE_nitro_cyber_capture_infographics_600x500px.jpgCyberCapture looks at the smallest bits of a file to determine its safety

Let me explain how it works, and take a look at the infographic below which shows the path of an unknown file.

The newest phishing spam: “Security Alert!!!”

Guess who hackers disguised themselves as in a recent phishing campaign? That’s right Avast! A laughable fake Avast alert email is trying to harvest webmail addresses, being sent out via a spam message and leading to several domains where attackers have prepared a simple form to collect victims’ email addresses and passwords.

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Received spam in a phishing scheme impersonating Avast