Tag Archives: Innovation

AVG

Beta Test the New AVG 2017!

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There are very few opportunities in life where you have the opportunity to be among the first to try something, but with AVG 2017 we are giving you that opportunity.

When I read news stories and see a new car concept is being tested or a movie idea tested on an audience I want to put myself in the group that excitedly goes where few have been before. Taking the opportunity to be part of the early adopter group that tests and helps shape a product or service for the masses.

If being first excites you then look no further and download the beta version of AVG’s 2017 product. Experience the new look user interface and the new features that are the result of the two large security companies combining their technology to bring you and exciting new product to keep you secure online.

There are many new features to test. Go now and download the new version, step where no one has stepped before and run the very latest AVG 2017 product. I’ll give you a hint on what’s new and where to start checking, real-time updates, CyberCapture and passive mode are to name but a few of the new features that need to be explored.

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We have one ask of you though, share the experience with us and let us know what you think through our beta test forum, so we can make sure when we are ready to release it delivers the best experience.

AVG

Big data: the battle between privacy, ethics and innovation

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Recently, the University of Amsterdam organized a seminar about big data, privacy and ethics during the World Championship Econometrics. Yet these three, different notions seem to be each other’s enemies: how do you combine privacy and ethics with the massive collection of personal data?

How do you deal with the fact that big data is often used to find new correlations between different datasets and therefore might lead to unexpected use of the data, while privacy laws oblige you to be clear from the start about the purposes for which you want to use certain data? How do you deal with the legal privacy principle of data minimization (do not collect more than you need) while the real value of using big data analytics lies within the fact that you collect a huge amount of data in which you try to find small correlations? Inevitably, not all collected data will turn out to be relevant…

Compatible or not: it is clear that big data is here to stay: in our data driven society, the use of analytics helps us to innovate and to deliver new more tailored products and services. Timothy Prescott, previously involved in the Obama campaign in 2007 and 2012 and a panelist in Amsterdam, provided great insight in how elections can be influenced by using big data analytics. As soon as personal data are involved, the question is whether the price that needs to be paid for innovation isn’t too high.

During the discussion, the audience kept asking for more laws. We do however already have strict data protection laws in Europe. These laws will become even stricter with the upcoming entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation, which will apply to all companies operating in the EU and is therefore expected to have a spill-over effect in other jurisdictions.

The European Commission recently published a factsheet on big data and the GDPR. The GDPR is seen as an enabler for big data services in Europe: enhancing legal certainty and a high level of data protection will in the view of the Commission create consumer trust and thereby economic growth. What’s missing is the discussion on how to deal with the essentials like data minimization and purpose limitations.

One of the solutions often mentioned is to anonymize the data: when the data are no longer considered to be personal data, the restrictions of the privacy legislation will no longer apply. However, true anonymization is difficult. Therefore, agreement on the level of anonymization that would be acceptable in order to ‘escape’ from the restrictions while taking the fundamental rights of all persons from whom the data are collected into account, should be reached.

Nevertheless, privacy is not the only concern. There is also a risk of discrimination, profiling, exclusion and loss of control, which risks were also addressed in two recent White House reports. It should be kept in mind that algorithmic systems used for big data analytics are not infallible: if you put incorrect information, non-objective information in, you cannot expect correct, objective results to come out. On the other hand, analytics can also be used to detect bias and prevent discrimination.

It will therefore be important to start discussions on how we use it in a way that respects civil rights but does not prevent innovation. This discussion should not be limited to the legal domain; what’s legally allowed might from an ethical perspective or in society not be perceived as socially desirable. The guidance and reports from the European Commission and the White House do offer a great starting point to have more extensive discussions on the risks but certainly also the opportunities involved in big data analytics. The best is therefore yet to come!

AVG

We Want to Embrace the IoT But Can We Trust It?

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We are in the midst of a rapid technology evolution. We’re only four months into 2016 and already we’ve seen two major industry shows dominated by the Internet of Things (IoT).

In January, at CES, the connected home stole the spotlight – highlights included a Family Hub fridge, a Wi-Fi water leak detector and an AR-equipped robot vacuum.

The trend continued at MWC where a smart air conditioner, 4G-enabled security camera, and smart shoes were on display. If these two major events are any indication, the horizon shows a hyper-connected future.  But what are the trust issues at hand?

AVG collaborated with the organization, MEF, on its global survey to take a look at consumers’ concerns around the future of IoT. According to the MEF survey findings, people are enthusiastic about a connected future – when asked about their concerns around IoT, only 1 in 10 said there would be no tangible benefits.  Yet, as the network of IoT devices grows, so too do consumers’ concerns about what this increased connectivity and data sharing means for security.

As a security company, it is our responsibility to recognize and unpack such concerns so we can use that insight to address fears and vanquish threats down the road.

The MEF study, which surveyed over 5,000 mobile users in eight markets, examined consumer perceptions about the future of a connected world. The findings are significant, and indicate tremendous worry about a world of inter-connectivity:

  • 60% said they worry about a world of connected things.
  • Privacy (62%) and security (54%) are seen as the biggest threats worldwide.
  • One third of respondents in all 8 countries don’t want to share personal information but know they must if they want to use an app (up to 41% from 33% in 2015).
  • Home security raises the most concern among connected devices and applications.

MEF’s research shows a consistent decline in consumer trust, which continues to dip as the war on privacy wages on, leaving consumers to decide what data tradeoffs are worthwhile.

If we, as an industry, don’t address these trust issues, consumers may disengage since they will no longer be willing to sacrifice their privacy for greater connectivity. Considering that 62% of consumers already name privacy as their top concern when it comes to the IoT, that tipping point is likely to arrive sooner than we expect.

In order to respond to consumer concerns and stop the erosion of trust, the industry has to act. And when we do, it is vital that we don’t let our desire to get products to this burgeoning market quickly trump the need for responsible and secure design. Security cannot become an afterthought as we innovate toward connectivity.

If we care about our consumers and about the potential and longevity of IoT, we need to make ‘security by design’ a fundamental approach, regardless of device.

AVG

Breathing fresh air into the Internet of Things, to keep you alive

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Here at AVG we have an innovation team (AVG Innovation Labs) that looks at future security risks and how technology can be deployed to manage it.

And when it comes to new IoT devices, special consideration is needed to ensure data is kept personal and private. AVG Innovation Labs undertakes research to allow us to understand how best to provide these services going forward.

The AVG team have been innovating their own IoT devices and applications to get a first-hand experience of the challenges that vendors go through when creating a device for the home.

One of those projects has been looking at air quality and how it can be an issue for many people, whether they suffer from allergies or maybe asthma. Breathing clean and acceptable air can improve our day to day experience, and by extension our personal security.

The device starts with measuring the Air Quality Index (AQI) which provides an overall rating of air quality.  This is obtained by analyzing multiple sensor readings such as relative humidity, temperature, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and many more.

In conjunction with our vision of the future for AVG Zen and Family Graph, we’re demonstrating the importance of location as an impact on the safety of everyday family life.

Now imagine a scenario where we combine some of that future AVG Zen functionality with Air Quality monitoring and other connected devices in the home.

Through location sharing our devices know if we are home, travelling, or even en route from work or school. As we start our travel toward home, our smart connected device that we all carry could automatically connect with the home network to inspect the status of air quality and temperature remotely.

With that information at hand, and making decisions based on our preferences, the technology could automatically open vents or start de-humidification or air-conditioning units to change the air quality, or switch on the heating so that we have a warm house to welcome us home.

The potential for technology to improve our everyday lives and ensure that our environment is the best it could be is remarkable. There is also the life-saving benefit of avoiding toxic conditions caused when a gas powered heating system malfunctions, for example.

When IoT devices bring real value such as this, it’s important that they are not interfered with by hackers, and that the data analyzed remains private and secure. Imagine getting home to find the air quality has been made worse not better, or that the house is too cold or even too hot and you have a large energy bill coming your way.

Through innovation like this, AVG is able to understand the complex challenges of securing devices and services that will one day provide us all with truly connected homes and lives.

AVG

The Connected Car: Your Smartphone’s Biggest Accessory and Security Threat

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Over the last few years, technology’s merger with the auto industry has materialized in the form of advanced digital dashboards and mobile OS integration. While adoption has been slow, car manufacturers have been attempting to fill dashboards with Silicon Valley-grade technology, including Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto.

Defying the status quo, Tesla has continuously outperformed traditional automakers since its inception. The fully electric sedan comes standard with a gigantic screen on the car’s console, resembling the cockpit of commercial airliners. Additionally, and perhaps most similar to the mobile OS’s consumers have grown accustomed to, the Tesla performs over-the-air software updates. Most recently, Tesla rolled out (and rescinded parts of) its ‘Autopilot’ feature in Model S sedans. The feature allows drivers to sit back and watch as the car drives itself using various sensor and GPS technologies.

Tesla isn’t the only company integrating this technology, among others, into their cars. Even before they released the ‘Autopilot’ feature, Google unleashed a squadron of driverless cars that can be seen testing their abilities (and getting pulled over for going too slow) around Silicon Valley. Apple has owned technology headlines for months as rumors of car development continue to surface for the first time since Walter Isaacson’s biography on late CEO Steve Jobs hit the shelves back in 2011. But it’s not only Silicon Valley giants like Tesla, Apple and Google that are developing technology and cars for the driverless era as automakers like Volvo and Ford have also thrown their names into the ring.

Other IoT features continue to make their way into consumers’ driveways. Many cars in the new Chevrolet lineup offer 4G connectivity on the road. Third-party dashboard accessory makers like Pioneer, Kenwood, and Alpine are developing add-ons for older cars wishing they had access to Apple’s Carplay and Google’s Android Auto. And several automotive giants are capitalizing on new device categories like smartwatches to provide a more simple and technological experience for their car-owners.

With the addition of connectivity in cars, drivers and passengers alike need to think about their physical safety and digital safety. As we’ve seen in the news recently, namely in a July Wired article, certain cars can be hacked and completely controlled remotely. Scary, yes, but that covers just the surface of security threats. Like every other IoT device, the data a connected car will produce is vulnerable to cybercrime. Picture driving down Main St. and passing your favorite pizza shop on your way to work in the morning, the same route you take every day. It’s Thursday, which means Pizza Night for the family. As you drive by, a coupon for two free extra toppings and a 2-litre soda bottle with any large pizza order appears on your dashboard or windshield, valid only tonight. Seemingly magically, based on past patterns, your IoT car knew to offer you a coupon for this pizza parlor on the night you’d need it.

A connected car has the potential to be your smartphone’s biggest and greatest accessory, but it also inherently comes with major security vulnerabilities, like the rest of the IoT, that need to be addressed.  Currently, traditional car companies are researching and developing their own self-driving/connected cars. Technology companies like Apple and Google, along with other rumored giants, are following suit. But a recent poll out of WEF and Boston Consulting Group, showed that 69 percent of consumers (6,000 polled from 10 different countries) want automakers and tech giants to work together to create the next big thing in automobiles. As awareness of the IoT, its vulnerabilities and connected cars grows, I see this number rising. What’s important is that the integration of security also grows, so we can help usher in the future we all want, as safe as it can be.

AVG

Brazil faces unique cybersecurity challenges

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Futurecom is Brazil’s major conference and exhibition for the mobile industry to come together and look at the specific requirements that this unique country and culture need.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to be on a panel of industry experts, which included companies such as Tefonica, TIM, Telebras, Deloitte IBM, KPMG and of course AVG. The discussion was promised to be about cybersecurity with the following questions asked by the moderator through the 1.5 hours to get the discussion going.

  1. How does the advancement of mobile applications and the use of new devices (and any connected “thing”) make even greater challenges for cybersecurity?
  2. What are the most critical aspects which users need to worry about?
  3. How can suppliers, operators and providers contribute to increase the level of protection in these environments?
  4. What are the main trends in cybersecurity compared to mobile and the internet of things which just tend to grow?

Each participant gave a view point, and what interested me was how the entire conversation, regardless of the question, seemed to revolve around two topics: data breaches and consumer privacy. This dominated the answers, yet if the same questions had been asked 3 years ago this would have been about malware and protecting devices, but now the conversation is about us, the consumer.

Brazil has some unique challenges in this area as there is no legislation requiring companies to disclose any data breach, and therefore the consumer never knows if their data has been compromised. The consensus of the panel was that governments need to legislate. While I agree with the need for ‘some’ legislation there is also an opportunity for industry to self-regulate and show a responsible path. Self-regulation in any industry allows companies involved to find innovative ways to provide solutions and allows new business practices that may not have been permitted by the strictness of specific legislation.

The fact that data breaches and consumer privacy topped the agenda is not surprising. If we look at the trend of security stories in the US and Europe you’ll notice that the news coverage is all around these topics and the many data breaches that have taken place.

We, whether knowingly or not, disclose and share more information with companies than any generation has ever done before us: our preferences for food, where we shop, our location — the list of data is endless. It is only when this data falls into the wrong hands do we take time to think about the consequences of having shared it, and then maybe regretting it a little. As consumers we need greater choice and control on what is being collected about us and ultimately how it may be used.

It’s not surprising that in one of the world’s major populations, in which a large number of people moved straight to mobile skipping the PC generation, that mobile applications are used in slightly different ways to the rest of the world.  I recommend watching to see how Brazil handles the challenges of data breaches and consumer privacy, whether legislated or self-regulated.

AVG

AVG Debates the Impact of Trust on Innovation at the MEF European Consumer Trust Summit

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AMSTERDAM– October 19, 2015 – AVG Technologies N.V. (NYSE: AVG), the online security company™ for more than 200 million active users, today announced that Tony Anscombe, the company’s Senior Security Evangelist, will be participating in a panel debate at the MEF European Consumer Trust Summit on October 20, 2015.

Taking place in London’s Canary Wharf, and open to both MEF members and non-members, the Summit will bring together brands, mobile operators, regulators, developers and innovators to examine the business-critical issue of how to foster consumer trust in today’s mobile age.

This comes as the latest MEF Global Consumer Trust Report ranked trust as the single, largest obstacle to growth in the mobile content and commerce industry – with two-fifths of survey respondents naming a lack of trust as the number one dissuasive factor when downloading items.

Anscombe will be joining representatives from Mozilla, Vodafone, Smart e-Money and CitizenMe to discuss, “Trust as a Driver for Innovation.”

What: Tony Anscombe, AVG Technologies, at the MEF Consumer Trust Summit

When: Afternoon Session (between 14.00-17.00), Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Where: Level 39, Canary Wharf, London

The Consumer Trust Summit forms part of a week of activities from MEF, kicking off with the annual Meffys award gala dinner on 19 October 2015. Now in their twelfth year, the Meffys aim to recognize the most successful and innovative players across the mobile ecosystem. This year, AVG has been shortlisted in the Consumer Trust category for its one-page privacy policy.

For further information about the Consumer Trust Summit, or other MEF events, please visit the organization’s website: http://www.mobileecosystemforum.com/

 

About AVG Technologies (NYSE: AVG)

AVG is the online security company providing leading software and services to secure devices, data and people. AVG’s award-winning technology is delivered to over 200 million monthly active users worldwide. AVG’s Consumer portfolio includes internet security, performance optimization, and personal privacy and identity protection for mobile devices and desktops. The AVG Business portfolio – delivered by managed service providers, VARs and resellers – offers IT administration, control and reporting, integrated security, and mobile device management that simplify and protect businesses.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

www.avg.com

Contacts:

North America:
Deanna Contreras
Tel: +1 415 371 2001
Email: [email protected]

Rest of World:
Zena Martin
Tel: +44 7496 638 342
Email: [email protected]

Press information: http://now.avg.com

AVG

Self-driving cars – who is really in control?

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Self-driving cars got a boost earlier this month from Toyota, which committed $50 million dollars to Stanford University and MIT for artificial intelligence and driverless car labs.

Unlike others in the race to put a driverless car on the road, Toyota has said its approach is not to build a fully autonomous car, but to provide “semi-autonomous assists” that will keep the driver in ultimate control.

At the Toyota announcement event, Re/Code reported that MIT’s Artificial Intelligence lab director Daniela Rus suggested artificial intelligence (AI) could, for example, enable a car to analyze your behaviour to assist in your driving and make it safer. She also described how AI features could make driving more pleasurable. For instance, if you were in a bad mood, it would begin playing your favorite music.

Meanwhile, a fascinating new book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times senior science writer and long-time tech reporter John Markoff, called “Machines of Loving Grace”, offers an exploration of the future of what smart machines can do for us and what they can help us do. The book, which is subtitled “The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots,” is an excellent primer on the topic of AI and autonomous cars. The question central to Markoff’s exploration is: Will we control these smart machines, or will they control us?  (You can listen to an interview with Markoff on his book and the topic of AI and driverless cars that aired on National Public Radio).

Now is a good time to consider the question while driverless-car and other AI-driven technologies are still in early stages of development.

Most experts and insiders involved believe, for example, that it’s a five-year scenario before autonomous cars become a reality.  However, in the meantime, we will continue to see more aspects of AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) impacting our daily lives, in and out of the car.

One example playing out right now is how major auto insurance companies are embracing and using the IoT to monitor vehicles and collect data on drivers’ habits and track their behaviour. This includes things like changes in speed, how often we drive, and the time of day we drive, etc.

In a new report, research by Business Intelligence estimates that there are 155 million cars on the road in the U.S. capable of being monitored today through On Board Diagnostic (OBD-II) dongles, or plugs, that sends analytics about the driver’s driving habits back to the insurance company. The purpose touted is that insurance firms can then offer clients potentially lower premiums based on the driving data and their ability to analyze and assess a clients’ risk levels. That’s certainly an incentive to drive well, but raises some concerns.

As Accenture analyst Mark Halverson points out in a recent article on the topic: “Big data is a boon for insurers, which use it for underwriting, pricing and more. For consumers, however, it’s more of a mixed blessing, as they sometimes fail to see the benefit of sacrificing privacy for convenience (to the extent they even know they are sacrificing privacy).”

If you are one of the hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. driving with OBD-II, do you know if your insurance company is monitoring your data?

Halverson argues that for the industry to provide a model of “purposeful” data collection and urges, “insurers should at the very least clearly state their purposes for collecting data, and ensure that the data will be handled securely.”

Ultimately, there are many questions to be answered about who will be in control of the drivers seat in the not too distant future.

AVG

From Beacons to Dash – a glimpse at the future of retail and IoT

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According to a new research by Juniper Research, retailers will invest $2.5 billion on IoT within the next five years — four times the investment being made in 2015.

Some of the biggest retail IoT investments are being made in location-based beacon technology. Bluetooth-based beacon technology, like Estimote, transmits location information from beacons to smartphones and allows retailers, once you’ve opted in, to track your whereabouts and communicate real-time via their own app. The retailers can provide customers with personalizedm relevant ads and other useful information.

Forgot your shopping list? No worries, you’ll be reminded of products when you enter the store based on your previous purchases, or access shared shopping lists, and receive relevant special in-store coupons and deals.

Target is among the growing list of retailers testing the technology. It launched a test of beacons in 50 stores. One of the features integrated in Target’s app allows it to push timely recommendations and deals in proximity to a shopper’s location.

For a glimpse of how beacons are taking root at retail, Mobile Commerce Daily recently profiled a pilot program at Illinois-based Niemann Foods’ County Markets. The 44-store chain’s launch of in-store beacons provide shoppers with personalized digital offers, location-specific coupons and in-store maps to streamline the purchasing experience.

The results have been positive, including coupon redemption rates as high as 50 percent, compared to a printed ad coupon industry average of below 2 percent, reports Nathaniel Jones, the electronic marketing manager at Niemann’s.

According to the 2015 Store Operations Survey by Retail Touchpoints, nearly 46% of retailers either now have or plan to use beacons in their stores. For now, most of the beacon programs are being deployed in pilots on a small scale as retailers try to understand how the technology can foster customer engagement. So far, analysts report that the biggest barrier to adoption is getting consumers to turn on the Bluetooth capability on their phones.

Now, in new developments at the other end of the IoT retail spectrum away from the store and more conveniently located in your own home comes the new Amazon Dash Button. The eCommerce giant has begun offering the Wi-Fi-enabled Dash buttons for its Prime customers to install in their homes to make it possible to re-order online without even needing to login to Amazon. The inexpensive (US$4.99) small plastic Dash buttons are designed to be placed throughout the home to make it easy to re-order anything from coffee to soap — from where you use it most — with just a press of the button. No need to hassle with a shopping list, Dash is on the case!

On the downside, the Dash service is still in early stages and currently has limited product availability. However, it is earning the support of major brands from Maxwell House to Clorox. And, for the near-term, Dash does not provide immediate gratification; you still have to await a typical Amazon Prime shipment and delivery timeframe of overnight or later, depending on the product availability. (But that may change with Amazon’s planned deliveries by Drones sometime in the future!)

Also on the downside, think of the results if a button-pushing happy child or a teenager plays with Dash? What to do with twenty bags of dog food delivered at your door?

Looking even further ahead to where retail IoT is headed, Time Magazine asks in its review of Dash: “What happens when consumption becomes even less of a conscious process — when, say, our smart cupboards and refrigerators, empowered to monitor what we’re using, start making buying decisions autonomously?”

Indeed. There are definitely a few things to be worked out about the future of IoT and retail in our lives. Chief among them, we believe, are privacy and security safeguards. All the new retail and other IoT technologies and services hinge on data — your data. They are feeding customer data and behavior back to retailers and their vendors to be tracked, analyzed and recorded.

Both the beacon apps and Dash are opt-in services, and consumers must give their permission and have a choice to use them or not. But increasingly with IoT, consumers will face the question: Are you more concerned with privacy or convenience?

And the same question is of supreme importance to businesses in their adoption of IoT. Business owners, small or large, have to gauge these new IoT opportunities for the potential and risks involved…not to mention the potential for annoying customers.

The IoT may prove to be the biggest game-changer since the Internet itself, with wide-ranging implications to society. And like the Internet before it, all of those implications and protocols that will be needed, aren’t yet known. It’s a brave new world and we all need to get ready for it.

At AVG, our prime concern is with privacy and data security, and that’s why we are involved at the industry level to protect them.  For example, we support the OTA IoT Trust Guidelines Framework, which was issued this past month. To read the full Framework Goals you can visit the OTA site.

AVG

Windows 10 Wi-Fi Sense could be a privacy problem

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Windows 10 is here and it has unleashed a wave of new features and tools for its users. One of which is Wi-Fi Sense, a multi-purpose feature designed to make connecting to the Internet a breeze from Windows Phones.

As explained on the Windows Phone feature page, it does this by:

  • Automatically connecting you to crowdsourced open Wi-Fi networks it knows about.
  • Accepting a Wi-Fi network’s terms of use on your behalf and providing additional info for you to networks that require it.
  • Letting you exchange password-protected Wi-Fi network access with your contacts to give and get Internet access without seeing each other’s Wi-Fi network passwords.

 

While these are potentially convenient features to use, I have security and privacy concerns regarding their implementation.

It goes without saying, that automatically connecting to open Wi-Fi networks is a bad idea. As we’ve explained several times before, not all free or open Wi-Fi networks are secure and others can be deliberately malicious.  Accessing the Internet on these hotspots can lead to your traffic being intercepted by an attacker, known as a ‘man in the middle’ attack.

Accepting a Wi-Fi network’s terms of use automatically on your behalf seems like an equally bad idea to me. Before we even consider what terms Wi-Fi sense may be agreeing to on your behalf, we don’t even know if the landing page is legitimate or encrypted.

As a human, being prompted for an email address or other personal details gives us a chance to assess the trustworthiness of a provider and make a judgement. Wi-Fi Sense takes this decision making away and will seemingly hand over your information to any network asking for it. This could be a privacy concern.

The last feature, sharing Wi-Fi passwords with your contacts is a little less concerning but it is dependent on complete trust within your contacts.

In combination with the other two features, receiving a network key from a contact could cause you to automatically connect to a malicious network and potentially put you at risk.

 

How to disable Wi-Fi Sense

Disabling Wi-Fi Sense is simple. On your Windows 10 device go to Settings > Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi Sense.

 

Tips for safe Wi-Fi Usage

When it comes to surfing the web from your phone, there are generally two things that should concern you:

Wi-Fi-Hacking: Wi-Fi hacking is the most common threat when it comes to public Wi-Fi. When you connect to an public Wi-Fi network (i.e. coffee shop, airport, or hotel), others maybe able to intercept your Internet traffic, collecting your passwords, private photos, emails, browser cookies and a lot more personal info.

Wi-Fi tracking is the second big issue.  Currently specialized software solutions allow virtually anybody to use your phone’s Wi-Fi signal, to track your location and in some instances identify you. Wi-Fi tracking is even more worrying as most smartphone users have their Wi-Fi on all the time. This is increasingly an issue as retailers can use your Wi-Fi signal to track how you move around stores or around the city and even identify who you are. And that’s not all, if you keep your Wi-Fi open all the time hackers can trick your phone into connecting to a fake Wi-Fi hotspot.

 

At the AVG Innovation Lab in Amsterdam, we developed AVG Wi-Fi Assistant to help combat both of these problems.

VPN Technology

AVG Wi-Fi Assistant can encrypt all the data coming and going from your device helping to ensure that even if someone is snooping on your traffic, that your data is still secured.

Wi-Fi Automation

To help prevent the Wi-Fi tracking issue detailed above, AVG Wi-Fi Assistant prevents your device from automatically joining public Wi-Fi networks by turning off your Wi-Fi when you’re not using it. This helps to keep you safe from trackers.

Here is Tony Anscombe with more tips on securing your Wi-Fi connection from an Android device.

Video

How to keep your mobile while using public Wi-Fi