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Avast

10 Spring Cleaning Tips to Combat Grime

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After a long winter, it’s time to throw open the windows and let the fresh air in. But first, you need to do a good Spring Cleaning to wash away the grime that has accumulated. Here’s our favorite tips that go beyond the ordinary vacuum and dust routine. Choose the ones you want to do, and don’t forget that your mobile devices can use a good cleaning too (see tip #10)!

house cleaning service

Spring cleaning is not only for your house. You can clean grime from your mobile devices too!

 

Starting from the top down:

  1. 1. Dim light fixtures and dull lamps.  See the gleam again from your light fixtures. Get a soft microfiber cloth or duster and wipe away dust from ceiling lights, fans, and table lamps. I even use a vacuum attachment on lamp shades.
  2. 2. Greasy window treatments. Dirt, dust, grease, and bacteria collect on draperies, blinds, verticals, and shades. It is recommended to have your fabric window treatments dry-cleaned every 5-7 years. For metal or plastic blinds, you can take them down and wash them with dishwashing soap in a bucket of water or a solution of half water, half vinegar. Clean wooden blinds with a soft dry cloth wear a pair of cotton gloves or old socks and wipe the slats down.
  3. 3. Dusty bookshelves. A dusty old library sounds like a romantic notion, but it’s not good in your own home.Working from the top down, remove books and decorative objects from one shelf at a time, dust and return. Maybe you’ll find some old books that are ready to donate while you’re at it.

You walk by it every day:

  1. 4. Grimy doors, knobs, and handles. Grubby hands and jumping dogs can make your doors pretty awful looking, but because you are walking in and out, you don’t even see the grime. Give knobs and handles a quick wipe down with your favorite cleaner and some paper towels. Make your front door welcoming again by cleaning it inside and out with warm, soapy water. Dry it with a soft cloth.

How does that get there?!

  1. 5. Crumby kitchen drawers. I can’t ever figure out how the crumbs get in there; but spring cleaning is a good time to remove everything, wipe out the drawers and return only the items you still use.
  2. 6. Upholstered furniture. After a season of snuggling on the sofa with the dog and a good movie, stick your hand between the cushion and you’ll find old popcorn and plenty of dirt, sticks and leaves. I even found a dead lizard! Get out the vacuum attachments and vacuum upholstered furniture, including under and between cushions. Fluff and rotate cushions and pillows.
  3. 7. Underneath the rugs. You’ll be surprised what’s under there, so move the furniture off the rug and vacuum underneath. You may want to take your rug outside and give it a good old-fashioned beating too.
  4. 8. Underneath beds and behind furniture. Dust bunnies as big as the cat are hidden away, so make an extra effort to get the vacuum way up under there. Allergy sufferers have enough to deal with when the pollen comes, so help them out by minimizing dust.

You will feel cleaner, too. Trust me.

  1. 9. Scummy shower and tub walls.  Soap scum builds up after a season of long, hot showers. Choose your favorite cleaning product and leave it on for at least 10 minutes before scrubbing down the tiles.

This is the easiest one!

  1. 10. Spring Clean your Mobile Devices. We may not be great at washing windows and cleaning floors, but we know how to Spring Clean you Android device! Over time, unnecessary data, system caches, gallery thumbnails, installation files, and residual files can accumulate on your smartphone and tablet. You can regain performance and speed when you clean away all the grime with our free app, Avast GrimeFighter Safe Clean for Android.  Install Avast GrimeFighter free from Google Play.
Avast GrimeFighter for Android is a free app.

Install for Free!

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Don’t take the bait: Beware of web attack techniques

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Mousetrap with cheese

When it comes to cybercrime, it’s always better to be in the know. Here are a few ways that web attacks can find their way onto your device. Don’t be fooled — most cybercrooks design attacks to  take place where you’d least expect it.

  1. Social engineering preys on human weakness

“A lot of attacks are still using social engineering techniques; phishing emails – ways of convincing the user to give up valuable information,” said Avast CEO Vince Steckler.

In a phishing or spearphishing attack, hackers use email messages to trick people into providing sensitive information, click on links, or download malware. The emails are seemingly sent from organizations or individuals the potential victims would normally get emails from, making them even more deceptive. Last July, Avast took a look at the Tinba Trojan, banking malware that used spearphishing to target its victims.

 usbank

An example of an injected form from Tinba Trojan targeting U.S. Bank customers.

Web attacks also take place through SMS Text Phishing, also known as SMSishing. This method has become one of the most popular ways in which malicious threats are transmitted on Android devices. These text messages include links that contain malware, and upon clicking them, the malicious program is downloaded to the user’s device. These programs often operate as SMS worms capable of sending messages, removing apps and files, and stealing confidential information from the user.

  1. Malicious apps attempt to fool you

Malicious programs can disguise themselves as real programs by hiding within popular apps or games. In February, we examined malicious apps posing as games on Google Play that infected millions of users with adware. In the case of malicious apps, cybercrooks tamper with the app’s code, inserting additional features and malicious programs that infect devices. As a result, the malware can attempt to use SMSishing in order to collect additional data.

Durak-game-GP

The Durak card game app was the most widespread of the malicious apps with 5 – 10 million installations according to Google Play.

  1. Ransomware uses scare tactics that really work

Another name that made headlines was a group of malware dubbed ransomware, such as CryptoLocker, and its variants Cryptowall, Prison Locker, PowerLocker, and Zerolocker. The most widespread is Cryptolocker, which encrypts data on a computer and demands money from the victim in order to provide the decryption key. Avast detects and protects its users from CryptoLocker and GameoverZeus.  

Make sure you back up important files on a regular basis to avoid losing them to ransomware. Ransomware made its way from desktop to Android during the year, and Avast created a Ransomware Removal app to eliminate Android ransomware and unlocks encrypted files for free.

Count on Avast apps to keep mobile malware at bay

To keep your devices protected from other ransomware, make sure to also install Avast Free Mobile Security & Antivirus from the Google Play store. It can detect and remove the malware before it is deployed.

Install Avast Ransomware Removal to find out if your Android devices are infected and to get rid of an infection. Avast Ransomware Removal will tell you if your phone has ransomware on it. If you are infected, it will eliminate the malware. Android users who are clean can use the free app to prevent an infection from happening.Once installed, you can easily launch the app to scan the device, remove the virus, and then decrypt your hijacked files.

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Les Français se mettent délibérément en danger lors de leur connexion aux réseaux Wi-Fi non sécurisés

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Selon une récente étude menée par Avast, 66 % des français préféreraient se connecter aux réseaux Wi-Fi non sécurisés et risqueraient donc se faire voler leurs données personnelles. 30 % des français se connectent une fois par mois aux réseaux Wi-Fi publics et 24 % plusieurs fois par semaine. La raison principale pour laquelle ils se connectent est l’économie de leur forfait Internet mobile (20 %) mais aussi et surtout pour des raisons pratiques (47 %). Ces habitudes de connexion présentent de nombreux risques comme le vol des données personnelles (photos, sms, e-mail etc.), la mise en danger de votre vie privée ainsi que la vulnérabilité de vos transactions financières. 10 % des personnes interrogées affirment d’ailleurs se connecter à leur compte bancaire lorsqu’elles sont connectées aux réseaux sans fil non sécurisés, 4 % font du shopping en ligne et 2 % effectuent d’autres types de transactions financières. Les risques associés à une connexion aux réseaux Wi-Fi publics sont bien réels. Il est donc important de prendre certaines mesures afin de protéger ses données. Les mobinautes doivent éviter de se connecter aux réseaux sans fils ne requérant pas de mot de passe ou d’enregistrement. Il est également nécessaire d’utiliser un VPN (Réseau Privé Virtuel) afin de protéger vos appareils mobiles. Le VPN Avast SecureLine chiffre toutes vos données (historiques de recherche, appels en ligne, mots de passe) et protège ainsi efficacement votre appareil mobile des hackeurs.

Avast Wi-Fi infographic FR (2)

Avast

Stop what you’re doing and back up your work

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Today, we celebrate World Backup Day with a reminder of how important it is to back up our data.

post-backupday-universal-EN

Data loss can occur when least expected, and it’s a shame that so many irreplaceable digital memories are lost. For businesses, it can be costly – the kind of costs that can close the doors!

So take the pledge today, and then get busy.

“I solemnly swear to back up my important documents and precious memories on March 31st.”

What is a backup?

A backup is a second (and sometimes third) copy of all your important files — for example, your family photos, home videos, documents and emails. It’s not something you do once a year and forget about; a good backup plan will be continuous and include multiple layers to not only recover your data but also include steps for data preservation.

The rule of thumb for backing up is

  • 3 copies of anything you care about – Two isn’t enough if it’s important.
  • 2 different formats – Example: Dropbox + DVDs or Hard Drive + Memory Stick or CD + Crash Plan, or more
  • 1 off-site backup – If the house burns down, how will you get your memories back?

Experts advise that you store two copies of your files in external storage media. That can be a local drive on your computer, an external hard drive, you could print documents, burn a DVD, etc. You can backup important files or your entire computer. Another copy should be kept off-site. Many people use an “online drive” like Drop Box or Google Drive. “Cloud” backups are great for people who want to keep only their most important documents safe because there is usually only a certain amount of storage that’s free.

Don’t forget to back up the data on your mobile devices

Thirty seven percent of respondents we surveyed said they do not back up their data. Don’t wait until your device is lost or destroyed – today is the day to do your first backup!

If you have an Android mobile phone or tablet, install our free Avast Mobile Backup to back up your contacts, call logs, SMS text messages, and other data to your Avast account or Google Drive.

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Why people don’t back up their mobilephones and other facts

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Devastation. The feeling you get when you realize your mobile phone is missing. All those photos, contacts, and other stuff – gone forever. Why? Because it wasn’t backed up.

mobile backup survey

Just in time for World Backup Day, Avast conducted a global survey to find out whether or not people back up data on their mobile devices. We received responses from 288,000 users in countries including the United States, Germany, India, Mexico, and Russia.

In order to get an idea of which kinds of data users store on their devices, we began the survey by asking respondents for what purposes they use their mobile devices aside from making calls and sending text messages.

In response, we found that two out of ten people use their mobile device to take photos, 18% browse the Internet, 17% listen to music/watch videos, and 16% use social networking apps like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Why do people not back up their data?

Put simply, most people don’t think it is necessary to back up their data. Globally 36% and nearly half of Russian’s do not think it is necessary (48%).

Almost a quarter of the world attributes not backing up their data to laziness (24%). Thirty-two percent of Indian people admit that they are too lazy to do a back up.

Thirty-six percent of British respondents claimed not to back up their data because they believe their data is not valuable, compared to only 22% of global respondents citing this as their reason for not backing up their mobile data.

What is more valuable to mobile users: hardware or data?

Now that we established that lots of people don’t care about their data, are too lazy to prevent its loss, or don’t think its worth the trouble, we then asked users what they would be more upset about losing: their data (that has not been backed up) or their device (the hardware).

Globally, 64% of people would be more upset about losing their data that has not been backed up rather than the device itself. Respondents in Mexico backed up this claim most significantly, with 78% of Mexican users claiming they would be more upset about losing their data than losing their hardware.

Which data are people worried about losing?

Across the board, users were most heavily concerned about losing the contacts stored on their mobile device (25%) and photos (21%). Despite these concerns, 37% of respondents said they do not back up their data. Brazilians are the least likely to back up their data (45%), yet 64% of Brazilians would be upset about losing it.

Why you should back up your mobile data

We use our mobile devices to make important calls, capture valuable moments, browse the web, to use our favorite apps and so much more. Anything can happen to your mobile device in a split second; it could fall into the toilet, go missing (either through loss or theft) or even get run over by a car! Yet, as we discovered, many do not back up the data they consider indispensable.

How to back up your data

You can back up your data in many ways: by connecting your mobile device to a PC (like nearly one-third of global users do. See below.), connect to a Cloud service (like Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive) or use a mobile back up app like Avast Mobile Backup.

When people actually do back up their data, how do they go about it?

The majority of those who do back up their data back it up on a monthly basis (41%), while another 8% back it up on a daily basis.

Most people back up their data by connecting to a PC (32%) — only 17% back up their data to the Cloud. When we inquired about this difference in numbers, 46% of users expressed their reluctance to back up to the Cloud due to privacy concerns. Germans were the most concerned about their privacy when it came to Cloud back up (61%), with Spanish (58%) and American (57%) respondents close behind them.

Avast

Stay safe during March Madness using Avast SecureLine

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Avast SecureLine VPN lets you watch March Madness while traveling.

Avast SecureLine VPN gives you access to geo-restricted programming and protects you from unsecured Wi-Fi.

Stay safe on public Wi-Fi while watching the game from anywhere in the world with Avast SecureLine VPN.

March Madness is in full swing — this year’s NCAA Tournament is now in its second week and we’re already down to the Sweet 16. When you think about March Madness, you probably think about your bracket, your favorite college basketball teams, and the bets you’ll place on those who you think will win the tournament.  Although it’s easy to get caught up in the spirit of March Madness, it’s the betting process that you should really be paying attention to: this popular activity serves as the perfect opportunity for hackers to access your personal information.

Since most people watch the NCAA games in bars or cafes with friends, they make the majority of their bets using their mobile devices while connected to public and often unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Public Wi-Fi networks are convenient, but they‘re not safe. Cybercrooks can easily access and steal personal data when you‘re connected to these unprotected networks. Even if you’re transmitting data from one HTTPS site to another, it’s the connection in-between the two sites that really puts your data at risk. Additionally, developments such as real-time betting make the odds for getting hacked even greater.

During March Madness, a time of year when so many financial transactions are being made, cybercrooks are especially likely to steal your banking info (e.g. your credit card and/or account numbers) and personal info (e.g. your social security number, social media accounts, etc.). Avast SecureLine VPN for Android and updated for iOS devices keeps these cybercrooks at bay and securely allows you to use your PCs, smartphones, and tablets on unsecure Wi-Fi networks while participating in March Madness at your favorite bar or cafe.

“Unfortunately hacking isn’t a complicated process – there are tools available online that anyone can easily use to steal personal data,” says Ondrej Vlček, COO at AVAST. “We created Avast SecureLine VPN to allow users to browse the web anonymously and safely, especially while using open Wi-Fi.”

Watch content from all over the world

You don’t have to miss a single game or your favorite program while you are traveling. SecureLine VPN makes it look like you’re connected from a different location, allowing you to view ‘local’ content anywhere because your shown geo-IP address will be different from your real one.

Play geo-restricted content from all over the world.

Play content from all over the world while connected via SecureLine VPN.

 

Keep your data and identity safe using Avast SecureLine

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. Avast SecureLine VPN creates a private ‘tunnel’ through the internet for your data to travel through, and everything – your web browsing history, your email, your IMs, your VOIP, everything –  inbound and outbound through the tunnel is encrypted. Even if your data is intercepted, your identity is protected, since Avast SecureLine masks your IP address.

For those of you interested in technical specs, here are the highlights:

  • Avast Secureline VPN uses OpenVPN protocol.
  • The encryption used is 256bit AES.
  • Communication on all ports is encrypted.

How to get Avast SecureLine

Avast SecureLine VPN is available for Android on Google Play and for iOS in the Apple App Store.

 

Avast

Avast hacks devices at Mobile World Congress

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MWC15 Avast logoThe Avast Mobile Security team demonstrated how easy it is to hack smartphones and tablets at the Mobile World Congress.

 

The sleekest smartphones, the coolest wearable devices, and the best in mobile security were debuted at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week. But it was hacking user’s devices at the Avast booth that had the journalist’s buzzing.

Hacking unsecured Wi-Fi is easy enough for any IT college student

Filip Chytry, a mobile malware researcher that you are familiar with if you visit our blog, set up a wireless hotspot in the Avast booth that allowed visitors to track the online activity of any device that connects.

“The site will let Avast capture passwords, messages and other information people type on the websites, and Chytry can even create dead ringers for Gmail or Facebook sign-in screens – – down to the little green padlock icon that indicates a secure connection…,” reported Bloomberg Business in The Easiest Way to Get Hacked: Use Phone at Phone Show.

The hacking demonstration illustrated what Avast found out during a global Wi-Fi hacking experiment conducted right before MWC.

“The study found that people around the world overwhelmingly prefer to connect to unsecured and unprotected Wi-Fi networks instead of password-protected networks,“ wrote Help Net Security in Global experiment exposes the dangers of using Wi-Fi hotspots.

Avast at MWC15

Most people connect to a completely unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspot without a second thought.

Security experts from Avast traveled to 9 cities on 3 continents, and found that Wi-Fi users in Asia are the most prone to attacks. Chicago and London are the most vulnerable in the USA and Europe. Avast’s spokesperson Marina Ziegler told E&T Engineering and Technology magazine, “…in London we found that 54 per cent of routers were weakly encrypted and easily accessible to hackers.”

“That means that if a hacker walks into a pub, he can access the router’s settings and for example reroute the traffic via another malicious server,” said Chytry. “That’s very easy. Every IT college student can do that.”

 

Avast

5 ways to thwart the thief who stole your Android

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Avast Anti-Theft is free

Remote recovery options help you keep control of your device, even when it’s lost.

Avast Anti-Theft is a free app designed for Android smart phones and tablets. It’s main purpose is to help you locate your lost or stolen mobile device, allowing you to track it on a map and control it remotely. You recover your phone by controlling it remotely with SMS commands or via the internet by logging in to your My Avast account.

If your phone is lost or stolen, here are some things you can control remotely:

  1. 1. Locate your device on a map – Whether you misplaced your phone, left on the bus, or a thief grabbed it and ran, the GPS on your phone can be enabled so you can receive continuous GPS location updates.

Avast Anti-Theft user Ducky Boy wrote about his experience finding his phone that he dropped on the highway while riding his motorcycle using the GPS feature. Read about it in On the road with avast! Mobile Security.

  1. 2. SIM card change notification – Thieves usually change the SIM card after stealing a phone. Anti-Theft recognizes when this happens and notifies you of the new number and geo-location so you can maintain contact with your phone.

Partier and Avast user Andreas lost his phone during a particularly fun party. The next morning he remembered he had installed Avast Anti-Theft. Here’s how he got his phone back, Don’t be sorry for party rocking – install Avast Anti-Theft!

  1. 3. Activate the remote siren – Scare the wits out of the thief by activating an extremely loud siren with an SMS command. We guarantee that everyone will hear it. When the thief tries to turn it down, it goes to maximum volume.

Our Avast Communications team decided to try out the siren just to see how loud it really got. Believe me, it was loud. And annoying. We quickly learned How to turn off Avast Mobile Security’s Anti-Theft Siren.

  1. 4. Call/SMS forwarding – We took a page from the spy handbook with this feature! You can instruct your phone to call you, with screen blacked out, so you can silently listen in on the thief and obtain details of calls made and received as well as copies of text messages.
  1. 5. Remote Memory Wipe – If all hope is gone, you can still protect your privacy by remotely triggering a full, permanent wipe of all phone data (contacts, call log, text messages, browser history, apps, email accounts), including reliable, physical wipe of memory cards (limited functionality on older versions).

This step is super important even if you didn’t lose your phone. We did an experiment where we bought 20 used phones from eBay and found all kinds of personal stuff including nude photos, private messages, even financial documents! Here are the details about what we found, Tens of thousands of Americans sell themselves online every day

Anti-theftPrepare yourself before disaster strikes

Hopefully, you will never need to use Avast Anti-Theft, but it’s best to be prepared just in case something bad happens. You can install Avast Anti-Theft for free from the Google Play Store along with Avast Mobile Security.

Now that you have Avast Anti-Theft  on your phone, there are a few things you need to set up. Learn what you need to do here, How to set up your smartphone for remote control.

 

Avast

Don’t be sorry for party rocking – install Avast Anti-Theft!

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Andreas L. lost his phone at a party, but that’s not the end of the story. Avast Anti-Theft helped him find the thief and get his phone back.

A lot can happen when you go to a party: you may bump into old friends, make new ones, or dance like there is no tomorrow. Losing track of your personal belongings can also happen when you party, which is exactly what happened to Andreas from Bangkok.

Andreas recently commented the following on our Facebook page:

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// ]]>

Post by Andreas Luck.

We were happy to hear Avast Anti-Theft helped Andreas get his phone back and asked him what happened and how exactly he used Avast’s features to get his phone back. Here is his story:

Andreas went to a party in Bangkok where he made new friends, had a few drinks and at the end of the night Andreas responsibly took a taxi home. When he woke up the next morning he realized that every smartphone owner’s worst nightmare had happened to him, his phone was missing! Losing a smartphone is not only frustrating because the hardware is expensive, but because it contains so much personal information.

Avast Anti-theft can help you find your lost phone.

Find your lost phone with Avast Anti-Theft like Andreas did.

Avast Anti-Theft to the rescue!

While Andreas worried about his phone, he received a message from Avast. The message informed him that his phone’s SIM card had been changed and provided him with the new SIM card’s number and service provider. That is when Andreas realized he could use Avast’s other anti-theft features to GPS locate his phone and perform commands like wiping his phone remotely. Luckily, Andreas did not have to go as far as wiping his phone, but the option did help him in his efforts to get his phone back.

I will look for you, and I will find my phone

With his phone’s new number in hand, Andreas called the thief to confront him and demand he return his phone. Andreas let the thief know that he knew his location (and more) and could render the phone useless and go to the police if the thief did not cooperate. The thief gave in and sent Andreas his phone.

Andreas’ story is one of many lost and found stories we have received from Avast Anti-Theft users and each story gets more interesting! From this experience we can only recommend partiers install Avast Anti-Theft before going out, we will have your back so you can party worry free!

You can install Avast Anti-Theft for free from the Google Play Store.

If you have a story to share, write us on our Facebook or Google+ page. We could share it in our blog.

 

Avast

Avast Battery Saver extends your Android’s battery life

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New intelligent app from Avast learns individual user behavior and optimizes features to maximize battery life.

Avast Battery Saver app for Android

Get Avast Battery Saver for free from Google Play

Avast is excited to announce the release of our newest app, Avast Battery Saver. Battery Saver is the first intelligent battery-saver app for Android that increases battery life by an average of 7 hours. Avast Battery Saver optimizes your device’s settings, adjusting data connections, screen brightness and timeouts based off of its ability to learn about individual usage behavior.

“Everyone needs more battery life for their mobile devices, but most battery savers shut down the wrong apps,” said Jude McColgan, Avast’s President of Mobile. “Avast Battery Saver learns which apps are most important to the user, and shuts down only those that are less used.”

In contrast to other battery-saver applications, Avast Battery Saver learns about your daily routine and thus suggests the best smart profiles for your phone. It doesn’t require you to change your behavior or usage, nor does it affect voice calls, text messages, or the ring volume of your phone.

Avast Battery Saver significantly improves battery life, saving up to 20% on one charge — and it’s free from the Google Play Store.

This improved battery manager will take care of your battery’s health the same way a doctor takes care of yours. The result is more battery life with less hassle.

The app’s convenient features make Android devices significantly more efficient

  • Smart profiles activate automatically based on time, location, and battery level.
  • App consumption detects and permanently stops apps that drain too much battery life.
  • Precise estimate of remaining battery life based on actual phone usage and historical data. Battery level is displayed in a percentage and time remaining in status bar notification.
  • The application can turn off Wi-Fi when there are no known hotspots nearby.
  • Your phone limits connections to the Internet to every 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, based on your current profile configuration, when its screen is turned off.
  • Emergency mode is activated when your battery level is very low, and it turns off all functions that require significant energy, saving power for when you really need it (e.g. Wi-Fi, data connection, Bluetooth or GPS).

The app currently works with these profiles: Home, Work, Night, and Super-Saving Emergency Mode. You can easily switch from one mode to another and manage them within the app. Avast Battery Saver is now available for download in the Google Play Store.

Avast Battery Saver app free in Google Play
Avast Battery Saver app free in Google Play
Avast Battery Saver app free in Google Play