Tag Archives: Tips & Advice

Everyone loves a new computer. Why? Because when you turn it on and launch apps and programs, it responds quickly. However, as you start to download more apps and install games and create documents, you’ll probably find it taking longer and longer to start Windows.

We’ve been talking for a few weeks now – ever since the FCC’s internet privacy protections were overturned – about what a VPN is and how you can be sure you’re picking a reputable VPN connection. But what might not be as clear is the methods hackers use and how they’re evolving.

With the FCC chair’s recent push to dismantle net neutrality, on top of last month’s rollback of FCC regulations that would have protected online privacy, interest in virtual private networks (VPNs) is probably at an all-time high. Targeted marketing, based on your online searching, viewing, shopping – everything – habits, is already prevalent. These new changes will most certainly result in companies’ scrutinizing and selling your data even more aggressively. And the death of net neutrality means these same companies can use that data to determine which streaming services you use, for instance, then charge you a premium to access them.

I confess, I am drawn to any device that promises to make my life easier. My first experience with what we now call the Internet of Things (IoT) was a few years ago, when I bought a number of internet-connected lightbulbs. The feeling I had  turni…

The deep web is often confused with the darknet and while the two have similarities, they are not synonymous. There is a very fine line between the deep and dark web.

All the recent hype surrounding internet deregulation has plenty of people in a panic. But if you’re an ordinary citizen like most of us here at Avast, never fear. Many of us (not all of us are threat-detecting, code-writing geniuses, after all) are sometimes tempted to slam our laptops shut, wrap them in barbed wire, and toss them off the nearest cliff. Swear.

By now you’ve probably read that Congress passed and President Trump signed legislation undoing measures that would have prevented internet service providers (ISPs) from sharing or selling your web browsing history without your permission. That signature means companies such as Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T – who already can see your every online move – can profit from your private search data by selling it to advertisers. 

Names like Locky and CryptoLocker are familiar due to numerous news reports, but if you haven’t heard of the growing threat of ransomware, here’s a quick summary: Ransomware is a type of malware that locks you out of your devices by encrypting your files. In return for access with the decryption key, it demands a payment, typically in bitcoin. In many cases, victims of ransomware cannot recover their files, so a backup is essential.