Tag Archives: How To

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How to choose the best mobile security protection

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There are two noteworthy risks associated with owning a smartphone or a tablet. The first one is malware and the second is loss. You need to protect yourself against both, and these days there are plenty of choices for each. Some are free security apps and some are paid-for solutions.

Protect your smartphone or tablet with mobile antivirus software

Last year more than 1 billion Android devices were shipped out to customers around the world. With Android winning the majority of the smartphone market, it offers a tempting target to malware authors. I have read in some publications that the average users need not worry about being infected with a virus on their phone or tablet, but with 2,850 new mobile threats being created every day by hackers the odds are getting worse.

Even if you think your chances are low, we suggest that you go ahead and install a good mobile antivirus software. The great thing about Avast Mobile Security is that it’s free, so your investment is minimal – just a few minutes of setup and you’re done.

Avast Mobile Security includes antivirus protection which scans your apps to see what they are doing, and a Web shield that scans URLs for malware or phishing. Malicious apps allow malware to enter your phone, so it’s good to have Avast on your side to detect when a bad one slips by on Google Play or another app store.

Avast Mobile Security gives Android users 100% protection against malicious apps.

Avast Mobile Security gives Android users 100% protection against malicious apps.

To compare the choices of mobile antivirus software, you can look at the January 2015 “Mobile Security Test” conducted by the independent labs at AV-TEST. They looked at 31 popular Android security apps. Avast Mobile Security tops the list because it detected 100% of malicious apps without any impact on the battery life or slowing down of the device.

Install Avast Mobile Security and Antivirus from the Google Play store.

Protect your smartphone or tablet against loss or theft

Hackers aren’t the only risk – theft or loss of your device is more probable. In a famous stat from 2 years ago, Norton figured that 113 phones were lost or stolen every minute at the tune of $7 million a day! With all the personal and maybe even company data you have stored, losing your phone could be devastating.

You can protect your device and the data on it by following some easy tips and installing Avast Anti-theft. Avast Anti-theft is an app that you can download with Avast Mobile Security for free. The anti-theft feature is hidden from thieves and allows you to remotely control your smartphone using SMS or via your MyAvast account. You can back up personal data and track your phone or sound an alarm if it’s lost or stolen.

Install Avast Anti-theft from the Google Play store.

AVG

How to detect and avoid phishing scams

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As I predicted last week, the recent data breach at US insurance firm Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has led to a sharp increase in the number of phishing attacks pretending to be from the company.

Video

What is Phishing?

There are some simple rules you can follow to ensure that you do not fall victim to any of these phishing attacks.

In this short video you will learn how to:

  • Recognise phishing emails in your inbox
  • Check you are on a legitimate webpage
  • View security certificates to ensure sites are safe

 

For more details on phishing and how to stay safe, visit this blog post from my colleague Michael McKinnon.

Follow me on twitter @tonyatavg

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How to turn off Avast Mobile Security’s Anti-Theft Siren

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Avast Mobile Security includes many handy anti-theft features that can help you locate your stolen or lost phone. You can wipe it remotely, it informs you if your SIM card has been stolen, and even allows you take pictures of the person who took your phone. Another cool feature of Avast Anti-Theft is the siren. I decided to test the siren with my friend, who had just downloaded Avast Mobile Security, to see how it could affect a phone thief.

 What does the Avast Anti-Theft siren do?

The Avast AScreen Shot 2015-01-27 at 11.49.44nti-Theft siren was developed by the Avast mobile team to be activated when you either lose your phone (even if it is misplaced in your room and on silent) or if it gets stolen. The siren continuously and loudly says the following, by default, when activated: “This device has been lost or stolen!”. In the advanced settings of Avast Mobile Security you can customize what message the siren will sound, if you do not want to use the pre-set message. You can do this under “Select Sound File” or “Record Siren Sound”.

The siren is designed to frighten phone thieves, or to warn people surrounding the thief that the phone might be in the hands of the wrong person. When the first siren cycle began, we tried to turn down the volume. However, the alarm would begin again at the loudest possible volume. We then decided to see what would happen if we took out the battery, this stopped the siren of course, but as soon as we put the battery back in, the siren started to go off again. To say the least, we agreed that it would effectively frustrate and annoy a thief too.

How to turn off the siren

After a minute of testing the app, we decided to turn off the siren using one of these two possible methods:

MyAvast: You can control your phone remotely via your MyAvast account. In your MyAvast account you can keep track of all your devices that have Avast products installed on them. From within your MyAvast account you send numerous Anti-Theft commands to your phone, including activating and deactivating the Anti-Theft siren. Once you are logged into your MyAvast account click on the name of the mobile device you want to control and then click on the siren symbol. From there you can send a command to turn the siren on and off.

SMS command: Using the Avast PIN you set up when you downloaded Avast Mobile Security, you can send SMS commands to your phone to remotely control it. To turn the siren off, text your Avast PIN followed by “SIREN OFF” to your phone.

Screen Shot 2015-01-27 at 11.46.02

You can read more about how to set up your smartphone for remote control here on our blog and you can find a full list of the Anti-Theft controls on our website.

Have fun checking out Avast Mobile Security’s cool and handy Anti-Theft features, but, please, use caution when testing the siren :)

AVG

Should Kids Be Using Facebook?

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Kids can put a lot of pressure on parents to let them use Facebook. However there are several important things that parents should know before making a decision either way.

Did you know?

  • Facebook has a minimum required age to create an account, and for good reason – children can be exposed to inappropriate content.
    For example: Kids may have older Facebook friends or family (perhaps friends of their friends) that post content to their timeline that isn’t appropriate for them to see.
  • Kids themselves may be unknowingly posting inappropriate content or giving away too much of their families private information.
  • When a Facebook account is created for an underage child using a fake date of birth, this gives Facebook a false impression of the child’s real age. This can result in young children being incorrectly targeted by Facebook advertisers and exposed to inappropriate products and services.
  • Kids could also lose all of their Facebook data at any time. Facebook has a whistleblower policy that allows anyone to nominate an account that they think is being used by someone under the required age. If that happens, the account will be shut down and become inaccessible.

 

So do you still think kids should be using Facebook?

AVG

How to protect yourself from phishing attacks

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Phishing emails and instant messages attempt to lure you with bait, just like with fishing in the real world, which is where the term phishing originated.

Just like a real fish, as you learn to identify the types of phishing bait being used, you’ll drastically reduce your chances of getting caught.

Successful phishing scams utilise three tricks to catch victims:

Urgency

Threatening you with a consequence if you don’t act.
e.g. “A request to terminate your account, or a claim that it’s about to be suspended.”

Curiosity

Offering you some juicy bait, tempting you to act.
e.g. “Attached is a company report that contains the salary information of your colleagues.”

Familiarity

Tricking you into acting thinking it’s from someone you know.
e.g. “There’s an important message from someone waiting for you online.”
 

Armed with this knowledge you’ll be more alert to suspicious emails and messages when they land in your inbox.

 

#1: Check the facts before acting

Verifying the authenticity of a message can be a challenge- especially if the sender’s email or social media account has been hacked.

Here are two easy ways to check whether or not the message is a scam.

  • If you know the sender, contact them using another service (email, social, phone etc) to check that their message is legitimate.
  • If not, enter the subject line or some other small part of the message into your favourite search engine.

If your search reveals others who have reported this message, or are asking questions about its authenticity then you’ve proven two things – first, you’re not alone and second, it probably is a phishing, scam or hoax email.

 

#2: Make sure it is safe

A phishing email or instant message typically contains a web link (URL) to click on, and in the case of an email possibly even an attachment of some kind.

Check out this video to learn how to tell if it’s a bad link or not:

Video

Video: How To Tell If A Link Is Safe

 

However, it’s worth emphasising that knowing if a link is truly “bad” before you click isn’t a perfect science, and often security professionals can’t even tell until they visit it.

If there’s an attachment on the email you need to be particularly careful NOT to open it.  Believe it or not, even PDF and Word files can be infected!  If you weren’t expecting the file, don’t open it.  No exceptions.

A great way to help with these safety checks is to protect your devices with antivirus software which will scan all files and attachments for malware and even scan links to check they are safe.

 

#3: Report it

Lastly, if you do spot a phishing email, be a good online citizen and consider taking the time to help out by immediately reporting it directly to the legitimate organisation or person that’s being impersonated.

Many large companies, particularly banks, have websites dedicated to providing further resources and information about how to stay safe from phishing, along with ways to report phishing cases to them, and also examples of recent scams that are circulating.

Each and every one of us has the ability to improve the lives each other online, so make sure you share this information on how to stop phishing with those you care about.

 

Until next time, stay safe out there.

 

Avast

How to access accounts protected by two-factor authentication if you lose your phone

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howto asian guy newQuestion of the week: I use two-factor authentication when logging into my accounts to keep them safe, but what happens if I lose my phone? Can I still access my accounts?

Security-minded individuals know the benefits of using two-factor authentication to keep their online accounts safe. For those of you who are not familiar with it, two-factor authentication is a security process which uses a combination of two different components, like something that you know, a master password or PIN, for instance, and something that you possess, like a token which can generate a number code or, more conveniently, your smartphone.

Using these two things in combination can provide unique identification when entering a site because you provide the password as well as a one-time use security code generated by your security token.  If someone learns your password, your accounts are still protected because they need the security code too. Two-factor authentication can reduce the incidence of identity theft and phishing, and we suggest the use of it.

Google Authenticator

Google Authenticator gives you a security token to use with your own password.

There are a number of authenticator apps made for Android smartphones. For example, Google Authenticator lets you use a security code and your own password for sites and services like Facebook, Dropbox, Evernote, and WordPress. The app creates a link between your account and your device.

I lost my phone. How do I access my accounts?

If you are so security-minded that you use two-factor authentication to begin with, then you have probably taken precautions before you lose your phone. The majority of authenticator services allow a way to recover your access and remove the authorized device from your account. That is, if you change your mobile device, then you can disable the two-factor authentication from your account before doing so. Most commonly, you would use backup codes, send the codes via SMS to a trusted backup phone, or use a trusted computer. Sometimes, the service providers take several business days to verify your identity and, if possible, grant you access again.

But, if you failed to plan ahead and you lose your phone or if you buy a new smartphone without disabling the account, to use two-factor authentication again, you’ll need to install an authenticator app on your new device. The old device and the old backup codes won’t work anymore. Some of the sites you have synced to may also have their own procedure, for example, Dropbox.

Recently, an app is making the use of this security measure much more convenient. Authy is an app that manages your two-factor accounts on Android devices, iPhones, and even your PC. Any of these devices could be used to generate tokens and sync with each other. One authorized device could de-authorize a stolen one. A master password could block the access to Authy in these multiple devices and your settings are all kept encrypted locally. Neither Authy’s developers nor hackers would be able to access the tokens.

Anti-theftMaybe this complex recovery process is what does not make two-factor authentication omnipresent. But, after all, you just need to take a few precautions to increase your security a lot.

What to do before your smartphone is lost

Of course, it’s better not to lose your devices and for this, you should install and configure Avast Anti-Theft, which can help you find a lost device and even recover a stolen one with its tracking features. It can be downloaded and used for free from the Google Play Store.

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Do Not Disturb: How to disable messages, popups, and alerts in Avast

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Make Avast quiet when you are playing games or giving presentations.

We know you love Avast, but when you are giving a presentation to the big boss, or concentrating on playing an important game, it may not be the best time for a popup that says your computer is running slowly to appear. That’s why we made it easy for you to silence Avast.

Avast silent/gaming mode for presentations

This is NOT a good time for an Avast notification to appear. Learn how to silence Avast when you need to.

Silent/gaming mode

Activate the Silent/gaming mode when don’t want to be interrupted. This will cause Avast to run in silent mode when a full-screen application is running. This means your games or other full-screen applications will not be interrupted with annoying popups or other messages.

Turn this mode on quickly by clicking on the orange Avast icon located in your computer’s system tray. Right-click on the Avast icon and a short menu will appear. Click on Silent/gaming mode to turn it on.

You can also access this option within the main user interface. Go to Settings>General and check the box for Silent/gaming mode. This will disable messages, popups, and alerts in Avast.

Avast sounds

Turn off sounds

Silence notifications: Open the Avast user interface. Click Settings>General>Sounds and uncheck the Enable Avast sounds box. You can also uncheck the Voiceovers within the Sounds settings.

Choose the notifications you want to silence: Avast has six “events” that have notifications associated with them.. These events are Threat detected, Suspicious item detected (we suggest you keep these two on), Potentially unwanted program (PUP) detected, Scan complete, Automatic update, and Firewall query. You have the option to uncheck these boxes as well.

Turn off popups

Occasionally, we offer our users great products like GrimeFighter but we understand if you don’t need to see the notifications anymore. Our customers who have a paid-for version of Avast, have an option for you to turn those off completely.

Once again, open the Avast user interface and go to Settings>General. Scroll down a bit, and you’ll find a heading called Popups. Expand that and you’ll see all kinds of options. You can discontinue seeing all popups, but you might miss a warning or alert, so we don’t suggest that. Instead, you can tweak the duration (how many seconds the popup appears) of the different types of popups. It’s all laid out for you, so you can adjust all you want.

Users of our free product have the option to change the duration of the popups.

Turn off GrimeFighter

GrimeFighter is a standalone optimization tool that cleans and speeds up your system by removing bloatware, trialware, adware, and other unwanted ‘Grime’ so that your computer is running in its most optimal state. If you have an old laptop like I do, you may have seen a popup similar to this.

popup example 2

Instead of turning it totally off, we suggest that you modify the settings. For example, you can tell GrimeFighter to notify you only if it finds a certain amount of issues or after a specific amount of time, say, once a month.

But if you want to turn off GrimeFighter pop-ups, then open your Avast interface and go to Settings>Tools>GrimeFighter and click the Customize button. Uncheck the box that says Always test this computer for Grime. You can also turn off GrimeFighter completely in Settings>Tools. Move the slider to the OFF position.

Turn off Software Updater

Software Updater is an extremely useful feature because it notifies you about outdated software that needs your attention. You can, however, check for outdated software manually by opening the user interface. So if you want to disable the notices, then go to Settings>Tools>Software Updater and click on Customize. Uncheck the option Notifications (popups) enabled.

You can also turn off Software Updater completely in Settings>Tools. Move the slider to the OFF position.