Category Archives: Antivirus Vendors

Antivirus Vendors

AVG

AVG Launches Powerful New Security and Tune-up Products for 2017

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Avast & AVG Technologies combine together to power the latest in flagship security and tune-up products to tackle ransomware, hackers and data thieves, while keeping PCs fast and clean.

 

Prague, Czech Republic, January 10, 2017 – Avast Software, the leader in digital security products for consumers and businesses, today announced the release of the 2017 editions of AVG’s flagship products, AVG AntiVirus FREE, AVG Internet Security and AVG TuneUp. Released less than 120 days after Avast’s acquisition of AVG, these new products combine the best of both Avast’s and AVG’s technology to deliver unrivalled, family-friendly, security protection together with performance enhancements for customers’ PCs, and a clean, simple look and feel.

People using the AVG AntiVirus FREE and AVG Internet Security products will now gain real-time protection against ‘zero-second’ malware thanks to CyberCapture, the company’s proprietary, cloud-based smart file scanner. The latest versions protect users from viruses and malware including ransomware, prevent hacking, secure web and email activities, and ensure that private data stays private. The new user interface makes it very easy to install, navigate and manage all from one place.

A free performance scan using AVG TuneUp has been integrated into the security products to help customers reduce data clutter and keep their PC running smoothly. The full AVG TuneUp product is enhanced with a completely new Software Updater tool which automatically checks and installs the latest updates for the most popular and critical PC applications to eliminate vulnerabilities, fix bugs and add new features.

  • AVG AntiVirus FREE: the rapid increase in the quantity and impact of cyber threats today means protecting every PC is more important than ever before, and free users now benefit from:
    • Computer Protection: real-time protection that updates people’s security automatically and keeps their computers free of viruses, spyware, ransomware, rootkits, Trojans, and other nasty malware. Using advanced artificial intelligence and real-time analysis, it stops even the newest threats from reaching users.
    • Web & Email Protection: blocks unsafe links, downloads, and email attachments.
    • Pushed Priority Updates: ensures immediate protection and was previously only available in the paid edition.
    • New Passive Mode: allows people to personalize their security by allowing them to run two protection products together on their PC.
    • New Online Shield: scans for dangerous websites, links and downloads to keep users safe while they visit their favorite websites.

 

  • AVG Internet Security: for ironclad protection, users can upgrade to AVG Internet Security which additionally stops hackers, protects private data and secures payments.
    • Hacker Protection: Prevents cybercriminals from accessing users’ private files, photos, and passwords.
    • Private Data Protection: Allows users to encrypt and hide their most private photos and files, or permanently shred unwanted material.
    • Payment Protection: Ideal for browsing, shopping, or bank protection. It blocks spam and scams, and helps people avoid fake copycat websites to prevent them from accidentally giving passwords or credit card numbers to the bad guy. Uses Avast Secure DNS to protect online payments made, includes Anti-Spam feature.
    • New Secure DNS feature: verifies a website’s IP address using secure DNS servers to ensure the user is not being redirected to fake websites when shopping or banking online, therefore protecting people against fraud, scams and phishing attacks.

 

  • AVG TuneUp: users can enjoy a range of new and improved features:
    • Automatic Software Updater: AVG TuneUp builds on its core strengths of clearing out unnecessary files and improving PC performance using patented technologies to update most used applications, like Skype, Adobe reader, Flash and Chrome, automatically and silently in the background. AVG customers can choose to rely on the automatic updates, or perform manual checks as desired.
    • Sleep Mode: AVG TuneUp’s patented enhanced Sleep Mode technology improves speed by putting unused applications to ‘sleep’ and only running the necessary ones. This reduces battery and network drain to a minimum so PCs perform like they are just out of the box.

Vince Steckler, Chief Executive Officer at Avast, said, “The combination of AVG and Avast threat detection and analysis capabilities gives us unparalleled insight into cybercrime trends. We tracked, for example, that ransomware alone increased by over 105% between 2015 and 2016 and, based on our data, predict that this is only going to soar. Consumer awareness of security exploits is also at its height given the many ransomware and hacking incidents reported last year. In an age where we are all connecting more of the time, security is becoming a conscious decision and we encourage people to pick the products that are right for their particular needs.”

Download AVG AntiVirus Free, AVG Internet Security and AVG TuneUp at www.avg.com.

About Avast

Avast Software (www.avast.com), the global leader in digital security products for consumers and businesses, protects over 400 million people online. Avast offers products under the Avast and AVG brands, that protect people from threats on the internet with one of the most advanced threat detection networks in the world. Avast digital security products for Mobile, PC or Mac are top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, OPSWAT, ICSA Labs, West Coast Labs and others. Avast is backed by leading global private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and Summit Partners.

 

Avira

Exploit kits and the problem of do-nothing malware

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Exploit kits and the problem of do-nothing malware, Exploit-Kits, kits d'exploitation, exploit kit

The first two questions about malware are impossible to quickly answer in regards to exploit kits – and this is more than an IT communication problem.  “What does it do?” is the first question most people have about any new type of malware. That’s logical. Who would NOT want to know about the risks from […]

The post Exploit kits and the problem of do-nothing malware appeared first on Avira Blog.

Panda Security

Porn filter: is it enough to protect our children?

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UK to create new porn filter – but is it enough to protect your kids?

The UK government has recently announced a range of new measures intended to help “police” the internet, identifying and prosecuting cybercriminals and terrorists for instance. In among the proposals of the digital economy bill are plans to restrict access to pornographic websites that breach specific guidelines.

Under the proposal, any websites depicting sex acts that would breach the regulations used by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to issue certificates for movies will be banned. This ban will apply to all UK users – not just children.

Moves to improve online safety

This new filter is part of continued government efforts to protect children from accessing pornography online. Previous measures include “age gateways” on porn sites that will demand proof that the user is over-18 before allowing access.

The reality is that children are being exposed to (or choosing to access) more inappropriate images than ever before. Parents, teachers and healthcare professionals are increasingly concerned about what the long term effect of this exposure is, which explains these new initiatives to restrict access.

Will it work?

Already there are many people raising objections to this latest proposal, claiming that a block on certain websites is unfair to adults who are allowed to view pornography. Other complaints focus on the fact that many of the “banned” sex acts are completely legal for consenting adults to engage in. These objections have little bearing on children, but they could force the government to water down their proposals in the long term.

More problematic is the fact that web filters imposed by central governments around the world almost always have loopholes that are exploited by criminals to carry on as normal. It is entirely possible that a UK content filter will have similar gaps in coverage. Alternatively the use of anonymous web proxies will allow determined users to circumvent these safeguards.

Children need multiple layers of protection online

The proposed web filter will act as a robust baseline protection for your kids as they surf the web. But it will not be sufficient to keep them completely safe.

True internet security relies on using multiple layers of protection to keep unwanted content out. So it makes sense to install a secondary web content filtering tool like Panda Internet Security to catch anything that makes it through the government’s filters.

Panda Internet Security

Panda Internet Security has the added benefit of being able to detect and block attempts to circumvent security. If one of your kids tries to use an anonymous proxy for instance, the filter will detect and prevent access. You also have the added benefit of industry leading anti-malware protection included as part of your subscription.

Whether the government’s proposed porn filter is ever put in place remains to be seen. But there is nothing to stop you from installing your own filter to protect your children right now.

Click here to download a free trial of Panda Internet Security today.

The post Porn filter: is it enough to protect our children? appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.

Panda Security

Update Right Away or Wait it Out? Android’s Big Dilemma

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If your employees are like most users, they most likely postpone updates for their OS. In other words, your company’s mobile fleet could be at risk. This is especially true if they are using Android devices. When the famous little green robot gives a notification of the update, a good deal of people wait for other users to try it first and then gauge their reaction.

It seems sensible enough, but this practice could put your company’s security in danger. First of all, phones with Android are more susceptible to break-ins than ones with iOS. Then there’s the fact that most corporate phones are equipped with Google’s software, which in itself involves a risk — the good people at Mountain View take longer than Apple to launch updates with security patches when a vulnerability is detected.

So Google lags in its response to threats, but the fragmentation of Android devices makes the response time even longer. It’s not enough for Google alone to launch its update, but will later have to be adapted to the specific make and model that your employees are using. Ultimately, an Android patch takes long enough to arrive without the added time of the user postponing an update.

On the other hand, it is true that some people recommend letting some time pass to see how each individual phone reacts to a new update. This advice, which in principle is completely inadvisable for corporate security, does in fact have a reason for being. Some mid-range models could potentially lose some performance or even some functions when a new OS is installed.

Tips on How to Safeguard Your Corporate Devices

The need to protect the confidentiality of corporate data is underscored by this seemingly quotidian matter. For one thing, it’s crucial that employees have a powerful and recent mobile device so as not to run any risks when updating. Also important is that they always have at their disposition the right protection.

The bottom line: your employees should update their mobile software as soon as it’s available. You should also recommend that they make backup copies beforehand. Doing so will reassure them that there is no risk of losing anything. Finally, they should delete cached data to prevent their device’s losing performance. No stone should go unturned in the protection and safeguarding of your company’s data.

The post Update Right Away or Wait it Out? Android’s Big Dilemma appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.

Panda Security

Attacks That Change the Course of History

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Data theft is steadily refashioning itself as a political weapon. This past December, Barack Obama took advantage of his final days in office to take retaliatory measures against Russia. The Obama administration attributes to its Muscovite counterpart the cyberattacks carried out over the course of the recent presidential elections whose goal it was to tip the scales in Donald Trump’s favor for the presidential bid.

In an official statement, Obama announced the measures that include the expulsion of 35 Russian operatives and the introduction of new sanctions against certain people and organizations, including the two primary governmental espionage agencies.

The still-president Obama made this decision despite the Kremlin’s denial of its participation in the cyberattacks against the Democratic National Committee and other organizations in the Democratic Party. These cyberattacks came in the form of a massive email leak (containing many messages that damaged Hillary Clinton’s image), divulged by WikiLeaks to the media and considered to be a crucial element in the results of the election.

Shortly after the White House announcement, the FBI and the NSA published a report accusing Russia of the leak, which affected not only the Democratic Party but also John Podesta, chairman of the Clinton campaign. The document includes technical details of the tools and infrastructure presumably used by Russian intelligence services to “to compromise and exploit networks and endpoints associated with the U.S. election, as well as a range of U.S. Government, political, and private sector entities”. These latter victims remain unnamed.

According to the report, that initiative was part of a broader plan that included attacks against other political organisms, corporate infrastructures, data processing centers, universities, and big businesses.

What Targeted Attacks Came Into Play?

The analysis alludes to two kinds of “spear phishing” attacks, a term which refers to fraudulent emails sent from addresses that belong to or seem to belong to one of the victim’s contacts. The first of them came about in the summer 2015. It was directed toward at least one person from a “U.S. political party”, who received an email with attachments that activated a malware download. This was then able to spread itself throughout the system and “exfiltrate emails from several accounts”.

In September of this year, the FBI warned the DNC for the first time that their systems were under attack by a group known as “the Dukes”, with ties to the Russian government.

The second attack took place in the spring of 2016. This time, the report tells us, the attacks consisted of mass emails requesting a change of password from users, a strategy used to access partymembers’ email accounts. While the investigations are underway, Trump continues to deny that the Russian government had anything to do with the intervention made on his behalf.

There is no doubt that with these and other recent developments in the field of cyberattacks, protecting ourselves and our future is key. Over the coming months we will begin to see more and more news on this prickly subject, a clear example of the influence that hacktivism and cybercrime can have in the geopolitical sphere.

Targeted attacks are commonplace. The only way to face them down is with an advanced cybersecurity solution like Adaptive Defense, keeping your company safe from the sorts of silent breaches that can happen without anyone noticing. Until it’s too late.

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