Tag Archives: Android

AVG

The truth about Android updates

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If you are using an Android-powered smartphone, you may have found yourself wondering about updating your operating system. With names such as Lollipop, Kit Kat and Jelly Bean, it’s not always clear which is the latest version and what are the benefits of updating your device.

 

Why is it importIant to update?

Beyond their cute sounding names, each Android update brings new features, improvements and most importantly, security fixes.

It’s this last bit that matters most, as even basic activities like emails hold an enormous amount of valuable information about you. The latest versions of Android fix vulnerabilities that can help keep your data safe.

As of writing, the latest version of Android is 5.1, codenamed “Lollipop”. You can check which version your phone has by going into your settings, and into “About Phone”. (Tap on the Android Version section a few times for a surprise.) If you want to check if there’s an update available for you, you’ll find a Software update tab in this menu.

Most likely, there won’t be.

Why aren’t you receiving the update?

According to Google’s own stats, you’re most likely running  an old version of Android. In fact, most of us are running Jelly Bean (Android 4.1, 4.2, 4.3) or Kit Kat (Android 4.4).

Android versions

This is because Google doesn’t push updates directly to you. Instead, they are generally sent to phone manufacturers like Samsung, Sony and HTC. Manufacturers then make their own changes to the software, adding features to improve compatibility with their devices or differentiate themselves from their competition. If you got your phone through a carrier like Verizon, Vodafone or Orange, they will also certainly make additional changes to the update. This process can sometimes take over a year, so don’t hold your breath.

Often the whole process is so complicated and time consuming, that many manufacturers may not even issue an Android update more than once per phone. This encourages customers to purchase new handsets to get the latest updates.

 

What can you do to stay safe without an update?

While it’s possible to install up-to-date versions of Android yourself, the methods can be quite technical, risky and will certainly void your warranty. For most people this is not an option, and so updates are unobtainable, short of buying a new phone.

However, this should not stop you taking steps to protect your device.

That’s where having a strong antivirus app like AVG AntiVirus for Android becomes a must have. It will help keep you safe by keeping an eye on what happens in your phone, even if your phone is not updated. So stay protected!

Avira

Millions of Android Phones Fail to Purge Data

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That basically means that your login data, mails, contacts, SMS, images, and videos can be retrieved at least partially. Not even a Full-disk encryption is of much help here: The flawed Android factory reset leaves behind enough data for the key to be recovered.

The study unveils five critical failures:

  • “The lack of Android support for proper deletion of the data partition in v2.3.x devices
  • The incompleteness of upgrades pushed to flawed devices by vendors
  • The lack of driver support for proper deletion shipped by vendors in newer devices (e.g. on v4.[1,2,3])
  • The lack of Android support for proper deletion of the internal and external SD card in all OS versions
  • The fragility of full-disk encryption to mitigate those problems up to Android v4.4 (KitKat)”

The researcher examined 21 Android phones that used version 2.3.x to 4.3 of the OS and were sold by five different vendors. Apart from being able to recover said data, they could also recover Google authentication tokens: “We recovered Google tokens in all devices with flawed Factory Reset, and the master token 80 percent of the time. Tokens for other apps such as Facebook can be recovered similarly. We stress that we have never attempted to use those tokens to access anyone’s account.”

So what to do if you want to sell your mobile? The study recommends filling up the partition of interest with random-byte files, to overwrite all unallocated space. In order for this to work you would have to install the third-party app that would fill the partition manually though because otherwise the Google credentials stored on the file system would not be erased.

Take a look at the study to find out more.

The post Millions of Android Phones Fail to Purge Data appeared first on Avira Blog.

Avast

New ASUS ZenPad to come with Avast Mobile Security

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ASUS partners with Avast

ASUS partners with Avast

ASUS, the third largest consumer notebook vendor in the world, has selected Avast Mobile Security to be pre-loaded on its new line of Android powered tablets.

These tablets, called ZenPad, will be debuted at the upcoming Computex in Taiwan this June. The much anticipated 7-inch ZenPad 7 will give customers 12 months of Avast Mobile Security and allow free access to premium versions of Avast Backup and Avast Anti-theft.

“Avast is honored to collaborate with ASUS to provide consumers with the security to remain worry free in today’s always-on and always-connected world,” said Vince Steckler, CEO at Avast. “Consumers are relying on tablets for personal computing more than ever before, and storing massive data and information on these devices. With Avast Mobile Security preloaded on ASUS devices, today’s mobile consumer can have peace of mind browsing the Internet, knowing their devices and personal data are protected across a wide range of threats from malware to Wi-Fi hacks.”

Details of the ASUS ZenPad 7 have been leaked and are reported to have the following specs:

  • 7-inch IPS display screen
  • 1024 x 600 pixel resolution
  • Intel Atom x3
  • 1 GB RAM
  • 8 GB/16 GB built-in storage
  • MicroSD card slot
  • Front/back cameras
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Other models with Avast Mobile Security pre-installed include Z300C, Z380/CX, Z370C and Z370CG.

Avast Mobile Security is top-rated by users on Google Play Store and by independent testing organizations including AV-Test and AV-Comparatives. In addition to being available preloaded on ASUS tablets, Avast solutions are available on Google Play and in the Apple Store.

Security

Address-Spoofing Bug Haunts Android Stock Browser

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There’s an easily exploitable vulnerability in the Android stock browser that enables an attacker to spoof the URL in the address bar and force a victim to visit a malicious site while believing he is visiting a benign one. Security researcher Rafay Baloch discovered the vulnerability and developed the technique for exploiting it. The problem […]

AVG

Introducing the new “App Manager” for AVG Cleaner for Android

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Our AVG Android App Performance report paints a clear picture: apps cause some of the most common headaches that Android users experience.

Having lots of apps installed on your device can cause a number of issues including:

  • Slow performance and lack of stability
  • High battery drain leading to short battery life.
  • Hogging storage space leaving no room to save photos and videos
  • Racking up high data costs as apps quietly download and upload data all the time.

There’s good news though: AVG Cleaner for Android, with its enhanced ‘App Manager’, makes it easier than ever to manage the apps on your device.

App Manager is only available in version 2.3.1, which you can get today from the Google Play store.

AVG Cleaner PRO

 

The new ‘App Manager’ feature gives you an immediate overview over their apps and helps you get rid of them once and for all.

App Manager has three display modes to help you identify which apps could be causing problems.

 

Running Apps:

Smartphones can often become slow and sluggish when multiple apps are running in the background. App Manager shows all running apps on a single screen and details how much RAM they consume.

 

Unused Apps:

It can be easy to forget just how many apps we install on our devices and forget about. The unused apps view shows you how many of your apps you’ve not used in a long time so you can reclaim valuable space for the things you love.

Unused apps

 

Data Usage, Battery Usage and Storage:

This view helps you understand which apps are affecting the performance of your device. By consuming data, battery or storage space, removing these apps can help you squeeze more out of your device.

Storage

Data Usage

In this example, it shows that doubleTwist probably downloaded 1.25 GB worth of podcasts onto my device and also consumed the most battery. As I stopped using it a while ago, that was a nice reminder to uninstall the app – and not have it eat up the resources of my Android.

Let us know how you like the new ‘App Manager’ and how many apps you were able to get rid of.

Avast

5 questions with: Tomáš Heřmanský (Product Manager)

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Tomáš Heřmanský

Tomáš joined Avast in March 2014 as a Product Manager for Avast Mobile Security. Born in Čáslav, a small town in central Bohemia, he moved to Prague during high school with plans to study at the Police Academy of the Czech Republic. After a while, Tom decided he wanted to study and work in IT instead. After gaining experience while working at a successful Czech startup, taking on jobs as a freelancer and starting his own company focused on cloud document management, Tom joined Avast’s mobile team. In his free time, Tom enjoys climbing, cycling, writing and restoring his classic Škoda 1000 MB car.

 

1. What is Avast’s mobile team out to accomplish?

We’d like to become the most trusted mobile tools developer, allowing users to live their lives with their mobile devices safely and more easily.

2. Who or what helps you in coming up with new, creative ideas?

My colleagues are a huge inspiration to me. That’s one thing that I really enjoy about working at Avast – anyone and everyone can come up with new ideas to brainstorm. We are one big think tank. :)

3. What’s one thing that every user should know about his/her mobile device?

Users should be aware of the risks that mobile malware poses to their personal information and data. Although malware on mobile devices is less likely to break a user’s device than that of a PC, malicious apps can harvest and steal a lot of personal data. Even apps that aren’t malicious (often free apps) can access a lot of personal information. The more personal info that is shared, the more likely it is that a user’s privacy could become compromised.

4. What’s your favorite security tip?

Make sure to be careful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks. Packet sniffing, or the monitoring of data traveling over a network, can be used to steal information and is very easy for hackers to carry out. It’s in your best interest to use a virtual private network (VPN) when connecting to unsecured networks.

5. Name one goal you’ve set for yourself at Avast.

I’d like to see Avast Mobile Security (AMS) become the most popular app that provides users with a straightforward, user-friendly overview of app permissions. AMS is an extremely versatile app with lots of potential, and I envision it serving as a true “guarding angel” for users, protecting them against mobile malware and allowing them to become familiar with the apps they use on a daily basis.

 

Avast’s mobile team recently held the second Avast Mobile Internal Conference (AMIC) in Prague, where the entire team came together to keep one another in the loop about the company’s apps and products, team activities, and goals for the department’s future. A series of lectures and interactive activities encouraged synergy and collaboration between product teams. In addition to everything that was accomplished at AMIC, the mobile team still managed to have quite a bit of fun at the conference. We’d like to congratulate the mobile department on this successful and productive event!

Photo from AMIC #2
Photo from AMIC #2
Photo from AMIC #2
Photo from AMIC #2

 

 

Avast

BYOD increases the need for Anti-Theft protection

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smartphone and tablet

The convenience of BYOD can go down the drain if the employee loses their device. Protect it with Avast Anti-Theft.

Small business owners embrace the idea of employees supplying their own computers, smartphones, and tablets in the workplace. But the savings and convenience can go down the drain if the employee falls prey to a phishing scam and downloads malware or loses their device. Protecting mobile devices has become increasingly more important as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) grows in popularity.

Technical security measures to protect information are of obvious importance. However, many security incidents relate to the theft or loss of equipment.

We can write multiple blog posts about BYOD policies and educating your employees about the latest threats and tricks that cybercrooks play (spearphishing, for example), which is all extremely important, but if you simply lose your device, then all bets are off anyway. You can avoid headaches in the case of misplaced or stolen devices by having a way to remotely locate the missing device and wiping the data away if it ends up in the wrong hands.

Avast Anti-Theft allows users to log on to their desktop account or use a friend’s phone to remotely locate their device, lock it, activate the remote siren, or wipe its data clean.

Learn 5 ways to thwart the thief who stole your Android.

Business owners also need to consider what to do about company data on an employee’s personal device when they are terminated or leave the company. Some companies have resorted to wiping personal devices clean of all data, but that includes contacts, family photos, apps and music, which can lead to unpleasant lawsuits or complaints from former employees. Mobile device management systems (MDMs) are available, but could be overkill for very small businesses.

If you only have a few employees, and do not require a full-blown MDM, then Install Avast Anti-Theft for free from the Google Play store to protect your own devices and those of your employees.

 

Avast

TGIF: Avast news wrap up for April 18 – May 1

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The Avast bi weekly wrap-up is a quick summary of what was on the Avast blog for the last two weeks.

Woman using smartphoneMost everyone knows their PC needs antivirus protection, but they don’t think about their smartphone. These days smartphones are just about as powerful and have as much or more personal information as our desktop PC at home. We answer the question do Android devices really need protection?

Avast finds porn clicker app named Dubsmash 2 on Google PlayThe answer is a resounding YES. The Avast Virus Lab gives us an example from a trusted download source, Google Play: A porn clicker app slipped into Google Play imitating the popular Dubsmash app. If we cannot completely rely on trusted app stores to weed out nasty apps, then it’s time to add an extra layer of security.

AV-Comparatives internet study 2015Once you decide that you do want to protect your Android device, you can be confident in Avast Mobile Security, Avast’s free security app available on Google Play. A survey by AV -Comparatives said that Avast was the #1 choice for mobile security in the entire world. No need to wait any longer to protect your smartphone or tablet.

newABSOne of the challenges with using a smartphone for so many activities, is that the battery gives out before we do. Our new free app Avast Battery Saver raises the bar with new Wi-Fi based smart profiles that can increase battery life by an average of 7 hours.

battery-saver-infographics-EN one sectionAvast Battery Saver has only been available for a month or so but already 200,000 customers have downloaded it from the Google Play Store. For Earth Day we highlighted battery saver users for their positive impact on the environment. Who knew that Avast Battery Saver would be so green? A cool infographic shows just how much they saved –  not only from their own battery –  but in energy costs too. Now Earth Day can be everyday!

office-workersSmall and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) run the risk of data breaches just like there Enterprise cousins. Luke Walling, the General Manager of Avast for Business, explains that the biggest threat to SMBs is not actually hackers sitting somewhere far away. The biggest threat to your SMB could be sitting in your office!

blog3-enSpeaking of Avast for Business, our new disruptive free security offering for SMBs has 75,000 new customers in just 2 months. If you have a start-up, a small business, if you work in a school or non-profit organization, then it’s time to stop paying for security protection.

Cybercrooks use lots of tricksOur researchers are constantly surprised by the creativity of malware authors. Recently, they found a new way cybercrooks trick people in giving up their banking information. It’s a crafty combination of spam email, social engineering, and a macro code embedded in an innocent looking Word document.

usb_hub_robotMost people have security protection on their computers. That’s great when there are things like the banking malware we wrote about. With all that great protection why is it that they don’t trust the warnings? The Avast Virus Lab explored why some people would rather be right than believe a malware warning.

Avast

PCs require antivirus. Smartphones don’t. Right?

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Woman using smartphone

That smartphone means a lot to her. Protect it from hackers and thieves with Avast Mobile Security.

It’s very common to find people concerned about Windows viruses and malware that say, “Oh, my PC is protected by Avast Antivirus, but we don’t need it for our smartphones and tablets.”

With more than 230 million Avast Antivirus customers, we see “only” 60 million or so Android users of Avast Mobile Security. Many more mobile devices are sold every second than desktops and notebooks together. Why are people not as concerned about the security of their smartphone as their desktop?

The AV-Comparatives survey that we wrote about yesterday  in Avast Mobile Security is the #1 choice for Android users says that Android users in North America protect their phones more than anywhere else in the world with 31 percent of respondents reporting they have protection. South America, Asia, and Europe are much lower at 17 percent.

What about the rest of the Android users?

– Do you realize that mobile malware is increasing?

– Do you realize that you (most probably) have much more personal info in your smartphone than your PC? Like photos, selfies, contacts, videos, and also banking and financial information.

– What if one of your apps is using your personal info against you like the Dubsmash 2 app we just discovered?

Your Android device needs protection

Avast Mobile Security is a complete suite for Android protection. It is completely focused on security and privacy features.

Maybe you have a friend or your girlfriend that should be reading this… Take this opportunity to introduce them to Avast Mobile Security and teach them some tips about mobile security. Maybe we’ll see a better protected world if we reduce the number of unprotected devices and the cybercrooks have more work to steal from innocents. Download Avast Mobile Security for free on Google Play.

Earn free Avast Mobile Premium

In the latest update of Avast Mobile Security, we added a referral program, so you can recommend Avast Mobile Security to your friends and family. Not only can you recommend the best mobile security app available on Google Play, but you will be rewarded for doing so; you can earn up to three months of Avast Mobile Premium for free!

Here is how it works: For every five friends you send an SMS to recommending Avast, you get one free month of Avast Mobile Premium. Cool, huh?

Do your good action today: Tell someone you care about that smartphones and tablets need to have a security app installed and updated..

 

Avast

Avast Mobile Security is the #1 choice for Android users

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The most popular mobile security product in the world is Avast Mobile Security.

In their annual IT Security Survey, AV – Comparatives asked, Which mobile anti-malware security solution do you primarily use on your smartphone?

Avast took 1st or 2nd place on four continents: Europe, North America, Asia, and South/Central America.

Avast Mobile Security is #1 Android protection.

Don’t get burned! Protect your Android with Avast Mobile Security.

 

How great is the risk of infection on an Android smartphone?

The risk of your Android smartphone becoming infected depends on several factors. In the US and Europe most people use official stores such as Google Play for installing apps. The risk is much lower than in many Asian countries, especially China, where app stores are not subject to stricter controls. Because of these unofficial app stores, along with numerous rooted phones, the chance of installing a dangerous app is highly increased.

In Asia, the smartphone is often used as an alternative to the PC. People frequently use it for online banking which make them vulnerable to Zeus Trojan malware. Zeus is commonly delivered via a link or an attachment in a phishing message or through a text message via WhatsApp, SMS, or Twitter. This threat will similarly increase in Europe and the US as banking apps get more popular.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

The Avast Virus Lab has more than one million samples of mobile malware in its database, and reports that 2,850 new mobile threats are created every day by hackers. The threat situation can change quickly and dramatically so it is best to use preventative protection and install security software on your smartphone. At this point though, protecting important data in the event that your phone is lost or stolen is more critical than malware protection.

The AV-Comparatives survey says that Android users in North America protect their phones more than anywhere else in the world with 31 percent of respondents reporting they have protection. South America, Asia, and Europe are much lower at 17 percent.

Protect your Android smartphone and tablet with Avast Mobile Security and Avast Anti-Theft: Free from the Google Play store.