There are more ways to get to the Internet than the standard web browser. Most people go with one they have heard of or the one that comes with their PC. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera are common names, but there are plenty of alternative browsers available. Since we are concerned about protecting your digital life in all areas, our developers created Avast SafeZone browser. It’s a fully functioning browser for those of us who want to ensure we have the optimal privacy and data security.
Avast is proud to sponsor our first virtualFormula One team with rookie driver Petr Zoubek in season 3 of the Thrustmaster Virtual GP. Virtual racing competitions are new to the world of eGaming, and Virtual GP is pioneering a unique platform using modern technologies to combine the best of real motorsport with the virtual one.
In 2016, ransomware once again demonstrated that it is the biggest security threat. In the past year more than 200 new strains of ransomware were discovered, it’s growth of in-the-wild samples two-folded, but the good news is that hundreds of millions of Avast and AVG users were protected against this popular threat.
The Romantik Seehotel Jäger, sitting serenly for 111 years in the picturesque Austrian Alps, fell victim to a ransomware attack. At the height of the winter ski season, cybercriminals took control of the hotel’s computer system and demanded $1,603 in bitcoins to release reservations and the system to program electronic keys used by guests to access their rooms.
Last week an article from The Guardian stated that a backdoor within the end-to-end encryption of popular messaging app WhatsApp could be used by governments to snoop on users. The author “warned it could be used by government agencies as a backdoor to snoop on users who believe their messages to be secure.” This caused quite a stir in security circles, which resulted in a group of cryptography and security experts calling for a retraction and an apology for misleading claims.
Hackers broke into the Supercell gamers’ forum and got away with forum user information including email addresses, simply hashed passwords, usernames, and IP addresses. Supercell created the popular games Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Boom Beach, and Hay Day. Motherboard reports that the breach affected 1.1 million accounts.
The reason cybersecurity is a process, not a one-time solution, is that the Bad Guys – whether careless or malicious employees, hacktivists, cybercriminals, or rogue governments (not to be confused with the good governments, which only spy on us for our benefit) – are a problem that will never go away. Every new and improved security measure is only as good as the people who use it and only effective until somebody comes up with a way to beat it.
In an information-based economy where bring-your-own devices (BYOD) and, increasingly, bring-your-own applications (BYOA), are the norm, IT groups are struggling to enable their organizations to be fast and flexible while protecting their digital assets. Shadow IT, also referred to as rogue or cockroach IT, emcompasses the devices, software, and services outside the ownership or control of IT groups. While Shadow IT poses a significant threat to the management and security of organizations, it can also be a source of speed, agility, and freedom to enable business success.
Ghost Push is a malware family that exploits vulnerabilities to gain root access to Android devices to then download and review other apps in the background. Using social engineering, users are tricked into downloading Ghost Push from third party app stores or via links sent in text messages. Once installed, Ghost Push tries to gain root access. As the name suggests, Ghost Push acts in a ghostly fashion once it has root access, meaning infected users don’t notice anything – everything happens in the background. Recently, a new variant of the Ghost Push malware, Gooligan, was detected spreading in the wild. The Gooligan variant steals email addresses and authentication tokens stored on the infected devices, gaining access to users’ Google account data, including Gmail and Google Play. More than one million users’ Google Play accounts were affected.
