Monthly Archives: June 2015

Avast

Do antivirus companies create viruses to sell more software?

Question of the week: Why does Avast and other antivirus companies try to scare us with all this news about viruses and bad apps? It makes me think you are connected to the threats.

Avast protects against hackers

Antivirus companies do not create the viruses- there are enough hackers doing it already!

Avast and other reputable antivirus companies are not connected to the creation of threats – there are plenty of them without our developers making something up! But thanks for your question. We would like to help you and our other customers understand the nature of cybersecurity in today’s world and assure you that we have the tools to protect your online environment.

Enough to keep us busy

The Avast Virus Lab receives over 300,000 samples of new potential viruses every day and has documented increases in mobile malware infections, vulnerabilities in widely used software and devices, and a surge in spying via free Wi-Fi hotspots. We don’t mean to scare you, but with the knowledge that more than 60 percent of companies have been the victim of an attempted cyber attack, and that Avast prevented more than 2 billion virus attacks last month, we have lots to talk about.

An example of a new type of attack was the recent discovery of a mobile app called Dubsmatch 2 which had “porn-clicker” malware hidden within it. The app was installed 100,000-500,000 times from the Google Play Store, usually a trusted source, before we notified Google and the app was removed.

“We suspect the app developer used the porn clicker method for financial gain,” wrote virus analyst Jan Piskacek. “The app developer probably received pay-per-click earnings from advertisers who thought he was displaying their ads on websites for people to actually see.

When financial gain is the motivator, cybercrooks get creative. But financial gain is not the only motivator. Hackers at Black Hat USA 2014 told surveyors that they were driven by the fun and thrill of it. (51% said so.) State-sponsored attacks are also increasingly being revealed. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are emerging as major players in hacking for political, nationalistic, and competitive gain.

Many people, even if they are aware of the threats, have not taken any action to protect themselves or their assets.

People overall are more aware of online security and privacy concerns after the revelations of the NSA’s surveillance activities, but despite that, most American adults have not made significant changes to their digital behavior, and 54% say that it would be “somewhat” or “very” difficult to find the tools and strategies that would enhance their privacy online and when using cellphones, according to a Pew Research Center report.

I have nothing to hide and I do not have the time or expertise are the most common reasons given for not taking action.

Avast is not your father’s antivirus

Since the nature of attacks has changed, we offer an “ecosystem” of protection services beyond our antivirus protection. The need for a more complete kind of protection was quite evident after the New York Times was hacked for 4 months by Chinese hackers. Jindrich Kubec, Avast’s threat intelligence director, acknowledges that there’s a distinction between the kinds of threats encountered by everyday Web surfers and the carefully targeted attack the Times faced, but he adds this wisdom,

“Seatbelts and airbags are wonderful protection and improve the safety of millions, but they will not stop a bullet fired — say by a hired killer. Does it mean you will stop using airbags and seatbelts?”

Check out the varied products that Avast offers to create your own security ecosystem. Avast Mobile Security, SecureLine VPN, Browser Cleanup, and GrimeFighter are not just new ways to make money, (some of the products are free!), they are intended to keep you and your assets as safe as possible.

AVG

Got privacy? Fewer than 10% of Americans feel in control of their data

It’s a tricky tightrope we walk between security and privacy. The newest report by Pew Research shows that Americans value their privacy and, paradoxically, are only too aware that they don’t have it.

The report, released May 20, highlighted what Pew terms “data insecurity.”

  • Nine in ten adults say being in control of who can get information about them and controlling what information is collected about them is important.
  • Only 9% of respondents felt they had a lot of control over how much information was collected about them and how it was used; and just 6% of the Americans surveyed felt that they could depend on the government to keep their data secure.
  • In the neighborhood of seven in ten people were not confident their activities and records recorded by online advertisers, social media sites and search engines would remain private and secure.

“The majority of Americans believe it is important – often very important – that they be able to maintain privacy and confidentiality in commonplace activities of their lives. Most strikingly, these views are especially pronounced when it comes to knowing what information about them is being collected and who is doing the collecting.”

We at AVG know this well. Pews report mirrors the attitudes that have shown up in our own research and studies conducted with the Mobile Economic Forum.  In our 2014 survey with MEF, we found that 72% of mobile consumers are not happy sharing personal data such as location or contact details when using an app, and one-third (34%) say trust prevents them from buying more goods and services using their mobile device.

The good news is that it looks like people are increasingly aware of their digital footprint and taking action.  For example, according to the Pew survey, 59% cleared their cookies or browser history; 47% refused to provide personal information not relevant to a transaction; 25% used a temporary username or email address; and 24% gave inaccurate or misleading information about themselves.

If you’re like those in the majority of the Pew survey and increasingly worry about your privacy, I urge you to take action.

At the very least, you can take advantage of our free AVG PrivacyFix app to help you manage your online profile across multiple social media platforms, and on all your devices, from one simple interface.  This includes adjusting privacy settings, stopping ad targeting, and blocking tracking.

In the meantime, the tide may be turning for privacy. A lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union led to a U.S. federal appeals court ruling in May that found that the NSA’s bulk phone call metadata-gathering program is illegal. (If you’re an insomniac you can read the 97-page ruling here.)

Obviously, we all want a strong national security program, and if rooting out terrorist cells is to have any success, a communications intelligence network is paramount. But there is another equally important imperative represented by the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment protects all Americans against unreasonable searches by the government. It’s a fine balance between the two mandates and goes directly to the Constitution.

The court ruling is a serious matter, and there may be broader implications. Surely, the natural question is then do these consumer rights apply to all digital footprints, including cyberspace?

Stay tuned.

AVG

Watch your data! 80% of UK identity fraud is happening online

A new report from  the UK fraud prevention service, Cifas shows that incidences of identity fraud rose by 27% in the first three months of 2015 with nearly 35,000 confirmed cases.

In fact, identity theft was so prevalent that it very nearly constituted half (47%) of all recorded cases of fraud.

The report also highlighted the fact that 80% of all identity fraud in the first quarter was attempted or perpetrated online and that credit card and bank account details were the most common targets for attackers to pursue.

As Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Clark, from the City of London Police explains “By following some simple procedures, such as creating strong passwords, protecting internet connected devices with up-to-date security software and not sharing too much personal information online, we can make life much more difficult for the identity fraudsters.”

 

How can you help keep your data safe from fraud?

Creating a strong password

Creating a strong and memorial password doesn’t need to be difficult. We’ve created an easy to follow infographic that explains exactly how it’s done in three simple steps.

AVG’s Michael McKinnon also has some great advice on simple mistakes you can easily avoid when creating a password.

Video

Four Password Mistakes to Avoid

 

Get up-to-date security software

Like Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Clark explained above, having up-to-date security software is important on all of your devices. Importantly, protecting your devices is neither expensive nor complicated. AVG has a number of free security solutions that can help protect your PC, Mac or Android device. AVG Zen also makes it incredibly easy to manage the security, performance and privacy of multiple devices all from one screen.

 

Don’t give up your personal information

While you should try not to “overshare” online anyway, taking the time to learn about “phishing” and how to avoid it can you detect scams and hoaxes online so that you don’t unknowingly hand over your valuable information to an attack.

AVG’s Tony Anscombe has some great advice to avoid phishing:

Video

How to Avoid Phishing

 

Title image courtesy of actionfraud.police.uk