Tag Archives: iPad

Avast

Avast SecureMe protects iPhones when connected to Wi-Fi

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Avast SecureMe for iPhone

Your iPhone data may require a court order for the FBI to look into the contents, but if you log onto an unsecure Wi-Fi hotspot without protection, any old snoop can eavesdrop on what you’re doing.

That’s right, while you’re busily messaging, shopping, banking, and uploading a photo of your lunch to Instagram, a hacker with a little know-how can easily read your messages, steal your logins, passwords and credit card details.

How can hackers steal my data?

Even if you are connected to a recognizable Wi-Fi network, your device has no way of distinguishing a securely encrypted public Wi-Fi from one that is not.

Unsecured routers are susceptible to DNS hijacking, by which cybercriminals redirect web traffic to fake Internet sites. When users log in, for example, to a banking site, thieves can capture the login credentials. On unprotected Wi-Fi networks, thieves can also easily see emails, browsing history, and personal data if you do not use a secure or encrypted connection like a virtual private network (VPN).

Avast SecureMe solves the problem of unsecure Wi-Fi

Avast SecureMe is a free app for iPhones and iPads which protects you while connected to Wi-Fi. Avast SecureMe includes Wi-Fi Security, which scans Wi-Fi connections and notifies you of security issues. It also identifies threats and risks which include routers with weak passwords, unsecured wireless networks, and routers with vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers. This helps you make a better decision when choosing a Wi-Fi connection. Avast SecureMe also features Avast SecureLineVPN (a subscription fee is required) which you can use if there are no safe Wi-Fi networks available. Avast SecureMe is available in the Apple App Store.

Visit Avast at Mobile World Congress

If you are attending Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 22 – 25, please visit Avast to see the Avast SecureMe app in hall 8.1, booth H65.

Follow Avast on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+ where we keep you updated on cybersecurity news every day.

Avast

Avast SecureMe protects iPhones when connected to Wi-Fi

Leave a comment

Avast SecureMe for iPhone

Your iPhone data may require a court order for the FBI to look into the contents, but if you log onto an unsecure Wi-Fi hotspot without protection, any old snoop can eavesdrop on what you’re doing.

That’s right, while you’re busily messaging, shopping, banking, and uploading a photo of your lunch to Instagram, a hacker with a little know-how can easily read your messages, steal your logins, passwords and credit card details.

How can hackers steal my data?

Even if you are connected to a recognizable Wi-Fi network, your device has no way of distinguishing a securely encrypted public Wi-Fi from one that is not.

Unsecured routers are susceptible to DNS hijacking, by which cybercriminals redirect web traffic to fake Internet sites. When users log in, for example, to a banking site, thieves can capture the login credentials. On unprotected Wi-Fi networks, thieves can also easily see emails, browsing history, and personal data if you do not use a secure or encrypted connection like a virtual private network (VPN).

Avast SecureMe solves the problem of unsecure Wi-Fi

Avast SecureMe is a free app for iPhones and iPads which protects you while connected to Wi-Fi.

Avast

How iOS users can stay protected against iScam threat

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iScam displays a "crash report" to affected users. (Photo via Daily Mail)

iScam displays a “crash report” to affected users. (Photo via Daily Mail)

It’s a common belief (and myth) that Apple products are invincible against malware. This false line of thinking has recently again been refuted, as iPhone and iPad users have been encountering a ransomware threat that freezes their Internet browsers, rendering their devices unusable. The ploy, commonly known as iScam, urges victims to call a number and pay $80 as a ransom to fix their device. When users visit an infected page while browsing using the Safari application, a message is displayed saying that the device’s iOS has crashed “due to a third party application” in their phone. The users are then directed to contact customer support to fix the issue.

How to clean your system if you’ve been infected by iScam

  • Turn on Anti-phishing. This can be done by visiting Settings > Safari and turn on ‘Fraudulent Website Warning’. When turned on, Safari’s Anti-phishing feature will notify you if you visit a suspected phishing site.
  • Block cookies. For iOS 8 users, tap Settings > Safari > Block Cookies and choose Always Allow, Allow from websites I visit, Allow from Current Websites Only, or Always Block. In iOS 7 or earlier, choose Never, From third parties and advertisers, or Always.
  • Allow JavaScript. Tap Settings > Safari > Advanced and turn JavaScript on.
  • Clear your history and cookies from Safari. In iOS 8, tap Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data. In iOS 7 or earlier, tap Clear History and tap Clear Cookies and Data. To clear other stored information from Safari, tap Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data > Remove All Website Data.

Check out Apple’s support forum for additional tips on how to keep your device safe while using Safari.

Avast

Widespread iScam ransomware originates from US servers

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iPhone and iPad users who turn on Avast SecureLine VPN while on unsecured Wi-Fi are protected from iScam.

It’s a common belief (and myth) that Apple products are invincible against malware. This false line of thinking has recently again been refuted, as iPhone and iPad users have been encountering a ransomware threat that freezes their Internet browsers, rendering their devices unusable. The ploy, commonly known as iScam, urges victims to call a number and pay $80 as a ransom to fix their device. When users visit an infected page while browsing using the Safari application, a message is displayed saying that the device’s iOS has crashed “due to a third party application” in their phone. The users are then directed to contact customer support to fix the issue.

iScam displays a "crash report" to affected users. (Photo via Daily Mail)

iScam displays a “crash report” to affected users. (Photo via Daily Mail)

In the midst of this vexing threat, Avast’s suite of security applications identifies URLs which contain malicious content. When discovered, these addresses are flagged for malware and then stored in our blacklist database.

While scanning for malicious URLs, we discovered that many of the servers related to iScam are located in the United States. While iScam has affected users located in both the U.S. and U.K., the origins of the threat have remained fairly nebulous up until this point. Here are a few examples of where we’ve discovered malicious servers in the U.S.:

  • Scottsdale, Arizona (system-logs.info)
  • Concord, North Carolina (pcassists.info)
  • Kirkland, Washington (Adbirdie.com)
  • Chicago, Illinois (pcsafe.us)
  • Los Angeles, California (clevervc.com)

Every cloud has a silver lining – in this case, you can celebrate the fact that you’re protected from iScam using Avast SecureLine VPN. Not only does Avast SecureLine VPN protect you while browsing on unprotected Wi-Fi networks, but it also scans websites to check for malicious content and keep you from becoming affected by them. Once Avast SecureLine VPN is installed onto your iPhone or iPad, it automatically notifies you of the risks of connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi and you have the option of connecting to the secure VPN. Once turned on, Avast SecureLine VPN creates a private ‘tunnel’ for your data to travel through, and all your activities done over the Internet – inbound and outbound through the tunnel — are encrypted. If a website is infected with iScam, Avast SecureLine VPN blocks it, so users will not encounter the scam. For your best protection, Avast SecureLine VPN is available to download in iTunes.

How to clean your system if you’ve been infected by iScam

  • Turn on Anti-phishing. This can be done by visiting Settings > Safari and turn on ‘Fraudulent Website Warning’. When turned on, Safari’s Anti-phishing feature will notify you if you visit a suspected phishing site.
  • Block cookies. For iOS 8 users, tap Settings > Safari > Block Cookies and choose Always Allow, Allow from websites I visit, Allow from Current Websites Only, or Always Block. In iOS 7 or earlier, choose Never, From third parties and advertisers, or Always.
  • Allow JavaScript. Tap Settings > Safari > Advanced and turn JavaScript on.
  • Clear your history and cookies from Safari. In iOS 8, tap Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data. In iOS 7 or earlier, tap Clear History and tap Clear Cookies and Data. To clear other stored information from Safari, tap Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data > Remove All Website Data.

Check out Apple’s support forum for additional tips on how to keep your device safe while using Safari.

Avast

Looking back at WWDC 2015

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Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off June 8 at San Francisco’s Moscone West.

Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to attend Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, where mobile developers from far and wide came together to learn about the future of iOS and OS X systems. Along with being the first time I was able to participate in this sought-after conference, it was also my first time visiting San Francisco.

Once you get past its glitz and the glamour, the majority of the event revolves around waiting in a series of queues — the day before the actual event began, the line for the event’s keynote lectures had formed around an entire city block. Although I wasn’t one of the first people to camp out there, I did arrive around 5:30 a.m. on Monday to stake out my spot. While the masses of people at WWDC can be a bit overwhelming, there really isn’t a better place to meet thousands of like-minded developers with whom one can strike up an interesting conversation discussing the ins and outs of of iOS development.

This year, Apple hosted 5,000 developers from 70 different countries, the vast majority of whom were present at WWDC for the first time. The WWDC Scholarship Program awarded 350 scholarships to recipients, the youngest of whom was Kiera Cawley, a 12-year-old app developer who has been coding since the age of nine. Apple CEO Tim Cook made a guest appearance at the conference’s special orientation session, mingling with the recipients and even taking selfies with some of them.

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WWDC 2015

OS X EL CAPITAN — what a name! At first, I thought it had to be another joke from Craig Federighi, but I was wrong. A noteworthy new feature in El Capitan is the split view mode, which allows us to work on two apps simultaneously. Apple claims that there has been a 1.4x time increase in app launch times and 2x improvement in app switching speeds. In general, Apple has been quite busy and has made huge improvements for developers. The most exciting news is that Apple will be making Swift open source later this year — a big step forward for the developer community.

The recent release of iOS 9 makes the entire system smarter and more secure. Now, users can run two apps at once on an iPad, side by side in split view (the same feature present in OS X). This will be challenging for developers who still don’t prefer Auto Layout. For the rest of us, though, it works quite well. It’s also possible to make activities and documents within your app searchable using Spotlight or to include special links on your site that launch your app at a specific view. And yes, it’s still necessary to support iPhone 4s on iOS 9. However, it should be more optimized now more than ever before.

Jennifer Bailey announced release of Apple Pay in the UK next month. This was a bad piece of news for the developer sitting right next to me. He was working as a freelancer for a company that provides mobile payments in the UK via iOS. “My company is screwed and I should start looking for a new job,” he said in response to Bailey’s announcement. Apple Pay’s imminent launch is, unfortunately, not the best update for people whose jobs revolve around mobile payments.

During the rest of the week, Apple featured 100 sessions and labs, and over 1000 Apple engineers were present and ready to give me advice. UI Design Lab was the most popular workshop at the conference, and you could count on the fact that there’d be a huge line every day. After trying to get into the session every morning, I was finally able to make an appointment on Friday. In the end, it was worth the wait. :)

All in all, WWDC was a great opportunity to meet an impressive collection of talented developers and to discuss the vast amount of progress Apple has been making within the mobile sphere. See you next year, Apple!