Tag Archives: chrome

AVG

Google rolls out a new password manager

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Unveiled at its 2015 I/O developer conference, Google has begun to roll out a new security feature to all Chrome browsers and virtually all Android devices: the Smart Lock Password manager.

From now on, any website login details that you save in your desktop Chrome browser will be accessible via any Android device signed in with your Google account. So, if you’ve saved your login details for, say, Facebook or Netflix, you will be automatically signed in when accessing them from the Chrome browser on your Android device, and vice-versa.

In addition, if you were to install the Facebook or Netflix apps on your phone, they will also be able to automatically retrieve your login details from your Google account and sign you in.

The last feature requires individual app developers to include the newly released API codes from Google, but it’s a relatively simple matter, so we expect to see this feature rolling out across a variety of apps soon.

How to feel about Google managing your passwords for you is for you to decide. If you’re already saving these accounts in your Chrome browser, chances are you will enjoy this feature. However, you’re now putting more of your eggs in the same basket, so make sure that your main Google Account is locked down with strong passwords and two factor authentication.

So given our recent post about the fragmented nature of Android update deployments, when can you expect this feature? Well, for the last few years, Google has been using the Google Play Services app to get around this roadblock and send out major system updates to Android users, regardless of brand or make (but that’s a story for another time).

Any device running Android 2.3 or above will be receiving the update to Google Play Services 7.5 and be able to use the feature.

 

How to turn on or off Smart Locks Passwords

Interested in using the feature, or just want to make sure it’s turned off and Google isn’t vacuuming up all your passwords?

In your Android device, open the Google Settings app. This where all the details concerning your Google Account reside. You’ll find the Smart Locks setting at the bottom of the main menu in the Google Settings app. From there, you can select to turn on or off the password manager, allow auto-sign ins, and add exceptions to certain sites or applications.

Google settings

Smart Lock

Smart Lock options

 

From your Chrome Browser, you won’t find the Smart Locks name per say, but you will find where to manage the passwords saved in your browser. Just click on the menu in the top right corner of the browser, and select settings.

Chrome Settings

Chrome password save

 

At the bottom of the settings page click on “Show advanced settings”. From there, you can scroll down to “Passwords and forms”. Any passwords you’ve saved can be found here.

If you feel the convenience isn’t worth the privacy tradeoff, you can delete them and also set the browser to no longer automatically sign you into websites. Just keep in mind: you will regularly be asked if you want Chrome to save your logins when you sign in to websites. Remember to say “no” and “Never ask for this website again”.

As always, stay safe out there.

Avira

Popular Free VPN Hola Sells Users Bandwidth for Botnets

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Sounds good, right? Especially in times when you just want to access Netflix U.S. for this one show but can’t because of licensing restrictions; or when everyone might be spying on you. Yes, now is the perfect time for a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Normally you have to pay for the service though. And that’s where Hola comes into play. Hola is a free Chome browser plugin and according to the ratings left on its’ Chrome page VERY popular.

So how come a service like this can afford to stay free? It’s pretty simple really: they sell your bandwidth. “When a user installs Hola, he becomes a VPN endpoint, and other users of the Hola network may exit through his internet connection and take on his IP. This is what makes it free: Hola does not pay for the bandwidth that its VPN uses at all, and there is no user opt out for this,” says Fredrick Brennan, the operator of 8chan in a note on his site.  He continues:  “Hola has gotten greedy. They recently (late 2014) realized that they basically have a 9 million IP strong botnet on their hands, and they began selling access to this botnet (right now, for HTTP requests only) at https://luminati.io. […] An attacker used the Luminati network to send thousands of legitimate-looking POST requests to 8chan’s post.php in 30 seconds, representing a 100x spike over peak traffic and crashing PHP-FPM.”

This is definitely not cool, but what does it mean for you? Well, if you are using Hola your connection will be used by other users to access pages in your country that are blocked for their IP but are available with yours. This is perhaps annoying, but not all that bad. But what of you IP might be one of those that get abused by people to perform illegal acts online?

Now is probably the best time to rethink using this specific free service.

The post Popular Free VPN Hola Sells Users Bandwidth for Botnets appeared first on Avira Blog.

AVG

Google introduce new Chrome extension rules to help protect users

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Google has just introduced new rules for Chrome extensions to help crack down on unwanted and malicious extensions by only making Chrome extensions available via the official Chrome Store.

According to their blog post announcement, Google’s test phase for the rule saw a 75% drop in users complaining about unwanted extensions. Google wrote:

“We originally did not enforce this policy on the Windows developer channel in order to allow developers to opt out. Unfortunately, we’ve since observed malicious software forcing users into the developer channel in order to install unwanted off-store extensions. Affected users are left with malicious extensions running on a Chrome channel they did not choose.”

The move to a centralized marketplace for extensions is a great way for Google to establish quality control for Chrome extensions, just as it and Apple have with their respective app stores.

Chrome extensions are a great way to customize and optimize your browsing experience. For example AVG’s Crumble extension blocks online trackers and cookies allowing you to surf without surveillance.

You can install the extension for free from here: Crumble Chrome extension.

Checking which extensions you are using is very easy to do.

How to check which extensions you are running

Checking which Chrome extensions are active is quick and easy. Within Chrome, open the menu in the top right and select More Tools. Select Extensions from the menu.

Here you can view which extensions are currently running, add and remove extensions.

Chrome Extensions

 

AVG

Google introduce new Chrome extension rules to help protect users

Leave a comment

Google has just introduced new rules for Chrome extensions to help crack down on unwanted and malicious extensions by only making Chrome extensions available via the official Chrome Store.

According to their blog post announcement, Google’s test phase for the rule saw a 75% drop in users complaining about unwanted extensions. Google wrote:

“We originally did not enforce this policy on the Windows developer channel in order to allow developers to opt out. Unfortunately, we’ve since observed malicious software forcing users into the developer channel in order to install unwanted off-store extensions. Affected users are left with malicious extensions running on a Chrome channel they did not choose.”

The move to a centralized marketplace for extensions is a great way for Google to establish quality control for Chrome extensions, just as it and Apple have with their respective app stores.

Chrome extensions are a great way to customize and optimize your browsing experience. For example AVG’s Crumble extension blocks online trackers and cookies allowing you to surf without surveillance.

You can install the extension for free from here: Crumble Chrome extension.

Checking which extensions you are using is very easy to do.

How to check which extensions you are running

Checking which Chrome extensions are active is quick and easy. Within Chrome, open the menu in the top right and select More Tools. Select Extensions from the menu.

Here you can view which extensions are currently running, add and remove extensions.

Chrome Extensions

 

AVG

Google introduce new account security measure

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One of the most convenient things about having a Google account is that you can use it to log into various accounts across the web.

However, according to a Google blog, users that log in to third party sites using their Google credentials are potentially at risk of phishing attacks.

Password Alert

 

To help protect users, Google has introduced a new free to use Chrome extension called Password Alert. Here’s how it works:

“Once you’ve installed and initialized Password Alert, Chrome will remember a “scrambled” version of your Google Account password. It only remembers this information for security purposes and doesn’t share it with anyone. If you type your password into a site that isn’t a Google sign-in page, Password Alert will show you a notice like the one below. This alert will tell you that you’re at risk of being phished so you can update your password and protect yourself.”

Gmail password reset

 

While the extension is designed to provide Google users with an extra level of protection when surfing the web it is still a work in progress.

Security researchers have already discovered a number of workarounds the extension but Google is continuing to work on the vulnerabilities.

 

How to check which extensions you are running.

Checking which Chrome extensions are active is quick and easy. Within Chrome, open the menu in the top right and select More Tools. Select Extensions from the menu.

Here you can view which extensions are currently running, add and remove extensions.

Chrome extensions

Security

Google Releases Password Alert Extension for Chrome

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Google is rolling out a new extension for Chrome that will monitor users’ logins and warn them if they enter a Google password on a non-Google page, a move designed to help protect users against phishing attacks. The new extension, called Password Alert, works for both consumer accounts and Google Apps for Work accounts. Company […]

AVG

Introducing Crumble – Surf Without Surveillance

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We are happy to announce Crumble, a brand new Chrome extension designed by our colleagues from the Innovation Labs. The extension, currently in beta, will prevent companies from tracking you on the Internet via cookies, without breaking the websites you visit.

You can install the extension for free from here: Crumble Chrome extension.

Crumble

While this is not the first solution of its kind, we do think that our implementation makes Crumble the best solution against online cookie tracking.  Here’s why:

  • Stops online tracking companies from creating your profile via cookies based on your online browsing
  • It’s always up to date because it does not rely on a predefined list of online trackers.
  • By design does not offer preferential treatment to selected ad networks (unlike some other extensions)
  • Does not break the user experience on websites you visit
  • Does not hide any content on the websites you visit
  • Shows instantly who is tracking you on websites you visit

Download Crumble

How does it work?

Crumble intercepts 3rd party cookies and controls what information is sent back to the web tracking companies.  This way we can prevent trackers from following and profiling you based on the sites you visit.

Because, we manage rather than block 3rd party cookies, this means you will always get the full website experience; no broken plugins, no missing content, no weird behavior.

But wait! There’s more! Unlike other extensions that promise you a similar thing, we are doing all this by identifying the type of the cookie and not by keeping a blacklist of trackers. This allows us to block any new tracker as soon as it appears. No waiting time, no updating any list. Instant action.

This also means that we do not offer preferential treatment to trackers (aka whitelist them) unlike some other extensions.

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Get in touch

This is Beta release from Innovation Labs by AVG. For more info you can find FAQ section of our website.

We would also love to hear your feedback at support.innovation [@] avg.com or tweet us @avginnovation.