Tag Archives: SMB/Business

Avast

Avast for Business gets task scheduling for IT admins

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The Avast business solutions team is excited to announce the newest update to Avast for Business – Task Scheduling.

All scheduling features are turned on in the Premium version, for those who manage multiple endpoints

All scheduling features are turned on in the Premium version, for those who manage multiple endpoints

Now Avast for Business users can set the date, time, and frequency for all scans, updates, and system shutdowns. This reduces the impact on your workforce and increases your protection.

“The task scheduler in the Premium version of Avast for Business gives IT managers the ability to plan all their tasks in advance,” explained Martin Svoboda, Avast for Business’s technical product manager. “Even more, they can set up how often tasks will be executed, which means that this feature saves their time!”

Better protection, less disruption

We recommend that IT managers schedule a weekly full-system scan to ensure that your network is safe. You can also schedule scans to run over night or during lunchtime to preserve productivity. Check out these examples:

At a school – All the computers in each classroom, lab, and office need to be turned off at the end of the school day. The old, time-consuming way was to visit each room and manually shut down one-by-one. With Task Scheduling, the administrator can use the Avast for Business web console to create a shutdown task that will execute every day at 6:00 PM. No more walking the hallways at the end of the day; all devices will shut down when you schedule them to.

Select how often your task should run

Select how often your task should run

 

In a company – As the owner of a small company, one of your most important tasks is to keep your customer’s data secure. Many SMBs and non-profits allow BYOD (bring your own device), but employees have valuable data on their devices that you need to make sure stays secure. One click of an infected webpage, and your whole network could be at risk for data leaks and hackers. With task scheduler,  you can create a task which will be executed every day at 12:00 AM and perform a scan on all devices. In case there is an infection, Avast Antivirus can handle it before it reaches the company network.

Select the time your task should run

Select the time your task should run

 

What else is new in Avast for Business 1.9

  • Ability to schedule all types of tasks [Premium only]
  • Ability to schedule recurring tasks [Premium only]
  • Ability to manage exclusions for the Sandbox
  • Ability to manage your Web browser exclusion-settings for the Sandbox
  • Ability to manage Sandbox storage
  • The “Devices awaiting activation” notification now contains up to 20 devices plus a link to the web Console where you can see all awaiting devices

Avast for Business is the first free business-grade security for PCs, Macs, and servers. It’s managed via a web-based portal and available to protect business networks of all sizes. Learn how you can get started with Avast for Business in your company or school.

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

 

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5 questions with Timmy Forson: Business Support Hall-of-Famer

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Business support person, Timmy Forson

Business support Hall-of-Famer, Timmy Forson

Timothy “Timmy” Forson is one of Avast’s business products finest Support Specialists. He began working at Avast on June 1st, 2015. We sat down to learn more about one of our support Hall-of-Famers. This is 5 questions with Timmy!

1. What is your role at Avast Software?

Senior Support Specialist. Basically I support all our business solution customers, from Endpoint and Server protection to Avast for Business via email, phone, and chat. I work from our Charlotte, North Carolina office.

2. What is your approach to supporting customers?

First, I analyze the customer’s issues one step at a time, this way I can gather a clear and concise picture of the overall problem. Then through a streamlined method of troubleshooting, I can provide a solution for the customer’s issue and communicate that as plainly as possible.

In this, I am not only solving the customer’s issue but also educating the customer about what caused the issue and how it can be further avoided. This way the customer walks away truly feeling how much they mean to us and not just like another number to the company. We want our customers to have a positive experience with support.  

3. What is your favorite part of chat support?

Not knowing what will show up in chat next. It is very rewarding taking someone’s bad day and turning it around just like that.

4. A lot of us have been “that customer,” the one that runs to support for something obvious. What is the funniest issue you’ve ever had to resolve? (KEEP IT G-RATED TIMMY ) :-)

This would have to be a customer that came into chat one day and needed help downloading the installer file from the console. I asked the customer to click on the blue “add new devices” button. They looked all over that page for the button and could not find it….about 30 seconds later they reply ”…oh…the blinking blue button that says ‘add new devices?” ….Yes….that is it I replied. Everyone has those moments.

5. Traditionally the last question is not work related. I understand you fly stuff. Tell me all about that, then tell me what your favorite plane is and why?

I have been flying since the age of 14 (it runs in the family). I started out in a J-3 Piper Cub and rapidly moved my way up through the Cessna Caravan and also have time in a B-200 King Air and a BeachJet 400.

Currently, I fly search and rescue for the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. We conduct 95% of all homeland search and rescue missions. We operate a beefed-up Cessna 182, and the Gruman GA-8.

Along with flying the big airplanes, I also enjoy designing, building, and flying R/C model aircraft as well. I currently have a collection of 12 airplanes and 4 helicopters. Here’s a video of Timmy flying one of his helicopters in the meeting room at Avast offices in Charlotte.

I would have to say that I have two favorite aircraft; the first one is from WW2 called the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. It was a formidable fighter with a reputation for taking a pounding and bringing its pilots home safe. The other is my favorite fighter of today – the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet. I fell in love with these aircraft the first time I saw them when I was 5 years old at an airshow in Maryland.

Flying is the one thing that I can say without a doubt I am 100% passionate about. I am also a member of the Avast Aviators group on Google Plus. It is an internal group for anyone in Avast that enjoys the splendors of aviation.

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

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Avast for Business makes life easy for IT professionals

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Businesses and organizations use Avast for Business, the security solution that’s easy to deploy and manage (and free!).

Business sectors such as education, retail, healthcare, IT consulting firms love and use Avast business security solutions for their ease-of-use and effectiveness against threats. In less than a year, more than one million devices have been secured by our cloud-managed security solution.  A reason for its success is because many businesses, schools, and other organizations lack the IT resources to install costly and complex security solutions.

At our recent Avast Grand Opening gala event, a team of Avastians demonstrated how even the most IT-challenged staff can easily deploy Avast for Business to manage PCs, Macs, and servers from a central console and easily set up different levels of protection.

Michal Trs and Martin Svoboda present Avast for Business at the Grand Opening gala event.

Michal Trs and Martin Svoboda present Avast for Business at the Grand Opening gala event.

Once the team had demonstrated how to deploy an account, they then showed what happens in the nightmare scenario of an infection running wild in a company network. In the simulation, a threat detection was emailed to the central console, where the team’s acting IT professional was able to view and manage potential threats on all employee devices protected by Avast for Business.

The best part? Everything from deploying the program to managing it on employee devices can be done from the comfort of an IT professional’s own office chair. Sign up for an Avast for Business account on on our website.

 

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

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Small and midsize businesses are targeted most often by hackers

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“SMBs are not just targets of cybercrime, they are its principal target”

says a U.S. Security and Exchange Commission report from last fall. In fact, the majority of all targeted cyberattacks last year were directed at SMBs.

The New York Times, in its article No Business Too Small to Be Hacked, said that 60% of all online attacks in 2014 targeted small and mid-sized businesses. Of those attacked, more than half (60%) would go out of business within 6 months of a data breach. That’s a lot of broken dreams and heart ache because of a lack of security.

Avast for Business autoshop

Small and mid-sized businesses use Avast for Business to protect from cyberthreats.

Small businesses lack IT expertise and budget

SMBs make attractive targets because they often neglect their security or rely on older consumer security software for protection. Money is always an issue, and sometimes the budget doesn’t allow for an expensive security package.

Just recently, our free, cloud-managed security solution, Avast for Business, passed a milestone – more than 1 million endpoints protected in less than a year. From our relationship with IT admins in sectors as diverse as Education, Non-profits, Retail, IT consulting firms, and SMBs, we have learned that many organizations lack in-house expertise or resources to install costly and complex security solutions.

“All we wanted was a simple security solution that worked, and I knew we didn’t have to pay a fortune for it,” said Tyler Hisel, an IT technician in Ohio.  “Avast was cost saving and had lots of features that I was surprised came free,” he said, “I’ve got to hand it to you, it’s really an impressive product and it being free just makes it better.”

How to protect your organization from cyberattacks

  • Install Avast for Business to protect your PCs, Macs, and servers from hackers and data breaches. Avast for Business is easy to deploy and monitor. Our customers tell us that even IT-challenged staff have no issues using our security solution.
  • Create strong passwords. This is an easy piece of advice that many small business people fail to take. We understand that using passwords which are 20 characters with a mix of capital letters, numbers, and symbols is challenging to manage. That’s why Avast has created Avast Passwords, a free password management system which creates strong, unique passwords for each of your accounts. It’s free in all Avast Antivirus programs, and synchronizes across your devices.
  • Train your employees. Many hacks originate from employees clicking on malicious links or websites. Explain the concept of social engineering to your employees, what the most recent methods of attacks are, and the latest malware threats. Follow this blog or Avast on Facebook or Twitter to stay informed.

Avast for Business is available for every business worldwide

Avast for Business is free for every organization worldwide. Visit Avast for Business to learn more and sign up.

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Avast for Business: Zero to One Million endpoints protected in less than a year

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Avast for Business takes off

 

Since the launch of Avast for Business, a free, cloud-managed security solution, in February 2015, organizations worldwide have deployed it to protect more than one million PCs, Macs, and servers from cyberattacks and data breaches.

Avast for Business is successful across diverse sectors

Avast for Business is extremely popular with Education, Non-profits, Retail, Healthcare, IT consulting firms, and small business because many organizations lack the IT resources to install costly and complex security solutions. Avast for Business is easily scalable and managed from anywhere. Additionally, Avast for Business starts at a price everyone can afford: Free, making it a natural fit for organizations worldwide.

Education IT admins value easy deployment, management, and the free cost

The sector that has embraced Avast for Business whole-heartedly is Education. IT administrators from universities, school districts, private and charter schools, libraries, and museums all tell us that ease of deployment and management is at the top of their security solution wish list. The fact that it’s also free makes it an easy decision.

“Avast for Business is so easy to deploy and monitor, it’s made the administration of our network much smoother,” said Jothan Virgil, an IT Administrator at Alabama State University. The university has a large network managed by multiple IT professionals, with over 1,000 faculty and staff members and more than 5,600 students. Avast for Business now protects all of them from one console.

“We had AVG before switching to Avast and we really needed to simplify our security solution,” said Tyler Hisel, an IT technician with the Chillicothe City School District in Ohio. He needed software with easy-to-use centralized management where he could monitor the district’s devices. “All we wanted was a simple security solution that worked, and I knew we didn’t have to pay a fortune for it,” he said, “Avast was cost saving and had lots of features that I was surprised came free,” said Tyler. “I’ve got to hand it to you, it’s really an impressive product and it being free just makes it better.”

Non-profits value ease-of-use and the free cost

Monitoring their budget is a priority for non-profits. Avast for Business is free and compared to other antivirus solutions, the optional support costs are nominal. Michael Hensley, Information and Facilities Officer at NeighborImpact, a non-profit human-services agency in central Oregon switched from BitDefender because of the costs.

“The savings on software were extremely helpful in budgeting for our hardware upgrade. The extra money allowed us to get hardware in a different category than we otherwise would have been able to afford,” he said.

Hensley’s staff is not tech-savvy, which contributed to significant security issues in the past.

“The fact that [Avast for Business] is cloud-managed is the primary feature that we needed. We have offices and classrooms distributed throughout the area. We are able to monitor all of our computers from the web-console which has shown consistent improvement.”

SMBs and MSPs value prevention, support, and the free cost

Many businesses have budgeted for security, so free software isn’t the priority, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Scott Quinn from Montana-based Caritas Design, a small husband and wife web-design firm said, “Any savings are huge for us.”

Despite the huge savings, the primary need is simple managementfrom a solution designed “to keep our clients and servers in a secure environment,” said Levent Silay, of Login Business Solutions, a Managed Service Provider in Istanbul, Turkey. The advantages of Avast’s cloud-managed business security according to Silay are “the quick and easy installation, the monitoring screen that helps in the visualization of all the computers on the network, the online management that can be utilized from anywhere, and the fact that it’s simple and there is no need for training.”

When managing your own business or multiple clients, quick support is essential. Quinn says, “Their support has been amazing on the rare occasions I’ve needed to utilize them. I would, and will, recommend Avast for Business to everyone I encounter.”

Avast for Business is available for every business worldwide

Avast for Business is free for every organization worldwide. Visit Avast for Business to learn more and sign up.

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Avast Endpoint Protection and Server Security products now compatible with Windows 10

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Image via PCWorld

No one should have to choose between security and the latest technology. At Avast, it’s important to us that we support our valued business customers and create innovative features that keep businesses secure and ahead of the bad guys.

That being so, Avast is happy to announce that our Avast Endpoint Protection and Server Security products are now fully compatible with Windows 10!

How you can get the compatibility update

To get the latest and greatest functionality of these products, you simply need to run the program update. Then, you’re all set to go! After upgrading to the latest version of your program, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy using our award-winning business solutions together with Windows 10.

Visit our website to learn more about Avast business security solutions and the benefits they can bring to your business.

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

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Business owners across the world have the same security concerns

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“We want to keep our clients and servers in a secure environment.”

startup business, woman working on laptop

Employees at Caritas Design were using different security software making it difficult to manage.

Business owners in every part of the world have the same concerns. Scott Quinn from Montana-based Caritas Design, a small web-design firm run by Scott and his wife Kate, said, “There are lots of viruses out there you need to be protected from. In today’s world we have to protect personal information.”

Echoing that sentiment from clear across the globe is Levent Sılay, a business development executive from Login Business Solutions, a Management Information Systems solution provider based in Istanbul, Turkey. He says their biggest concern is, “to keep our clients and servers in a secure environment.”

Cobbling together a security solution

Both businessmen have tried different solutions in order to create that secure environment. But as many smaller businesses have experienced, the setup was disorganized with people in the company using different solutions simultaneously like McAfee, Symantec, Microsoft Security Essentials, and F-Secure. This cobbling together of security programs meant that management was difficult and disordered. In evaluating better solutions, Silay said, “We wanted a security system which can easily be monitored and managed from a web portal.”

Silay was a long time Avast Free Antivirus user, so once he found out about the free Avast for Business option he didn’t turn back. Quinn had a similar experience. He found Avast Free Antivirus when he was a poor college student. “I was in college looking for the cheapest option, and it had to have boot time scan. So through internet searches, I found Avast.”

Free isn’t always the biggest benefit

Many businesses already have a budget set aside for security, so sometimes free software isn’t the main benefit. Both Quinn and Silay had additional needs. The primary one: “Simple management”.

The advantages of Avast’s cloud-based business security according to Silay are “the quick and easy installation, the monitoring screen that helps in the visualization of all the computers on the network, the online management that can be utilized from anywhere, and the fact that it’s simple and there is no need for training.”

screen-easy-management

Avast for Business management console

Quinn’s Caritas Design is a startup company, so “Any savings are huge for us.” Because of the years of trust using Avast Free Antivirus, Quinn’s decision was simple. “I’ve been using Avast for my personal and business machines for over 10 years now, and when they released their new online free business portal, I had to sign up.”

“Avast for Business has been outstanding to work with as an enterprise-level solution for my customers,” said Quinn. “I can email silent deployments, manage tasks and scans, and categorize clients by organization or location.”

What’s the catch?

For a free business-grade security solution, the question often comes up about support. Quinn says, “Their support has been amazing on the rare occasions I’ve needed to utilize them. I would, and will, recommend Avast and Avast for Business to everyone I encounter.”

 

Avast for Business is a free cloud-based security solution available to business owners around the world. Learn more and sign up today.

 

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DeepScreen technology protects your business data before it’s at risk

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Eliminate the risk of your sensitive business data being hacked.

Avast for Business protects your business data

Avast for Business protects your business data

Most of the truly dangerous malware is designed to harvest valuable business information – especially financial data. So hackers design malware to look like an innocent video, application, or website cookie. Sometimes malware can even be disguised as a exit button on an infected website. Basically, hackers use all kinds of tricks to get unsuspecting people to click, download, or run their malware.

The problem is that malware often ends up on a company computer or network completely by mistake. The file might look like a useful business graphic or tool, but when opened, it unleashes malicious code that takes over the computer and even the network.

So how do you stop this when you have 10, 20, 30, or more PCs, Macs, and servers under your care?

Make protection automatic

When a file is “DeepScreened” by Avast, it actually runs in the Sandbox, which is mainly responsible for keeping things isolated while watching for various high-level events and behavior of the program running. For example, it monitors the system call invocation and overall behavior of the program which is being executed.

This gives DeepScreen a chance to analyze the code and compare it against Avast’s massive cloud-based database, compiled from more than 230 million systems worldwide, to see if anything looks familiar. If the file behaves like malware, DeepScreen keeps you safe by quarantining the file in the Avast for Business Virus Chest. With no additional work on your part, DeepScreen automatically protects your company’s computers, files, sensitive information, and even your reputation.

Save time and money

When malware is restricted  to a secure virtual sandbox, your PCs, Macs, and servers are protected BEFORE any risk is introduced. No more having an employee sit idly by while somebody restores a computer. No more losing files that were corrupted. No more work interruptions from malware.

Most importantly, DeepScreen keeps sensitive information private, protecting the trust you’ve earned from employees and customers. And, as some larger companies in the news are finding out, business security can be the difference between profits and out-of-business.

Start protecting your company with Avast for Business which incorporates  DeepScreen technology, all for completely FREE .

Sign up for Avast for Business and save money and time for your company.

 

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How to keep your Facebook business page secure

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Managing the security of your Facebook business page is important to maintain a good reputation.

Nowadays we can hardly imagine a successful business functioning without digital marketing. When we say digital marketing Facebook comes to mind immediately. The most popular social platform with more than one billion users all over the world is a massive communication platform not only for the individuals, but also for brands and their consumers.

Community managers update Facebook for their company

Everyone working with your company Facebook page should know how to keep it protected.

Freelancers, owners of small local businesses, and large corporations; all of them use Facebook to promote their products and talk with their customers. In this blog post we will show you how to keep your Facebook page safe from the bad guys.

Manage the managers

Even if you are a small business, managing all your social media efforts by yourself can be difficult. Don’t try to control everything, it’s impossible and you will end up with micromanagement overload with unnecessary work. Instead, control the roles of your co-workers and educate them!

Follow our tips to avoid basic security mistakes:

  1. 1. Make sure that you have always more than one admin. In case you are the admin and your Facebook account has been blocked, you can lose control over your page.
  2. 2. Control the level of rights. For example, your support person doesn’t need publishing rights and colleague from the Business Intelligence department will be perfectly fine with only Analytical rights. Check out what kind of levels are available and manage your managers accordingly!
  3. 3. Update section Page roles regularly. You might forget that you once gave page access  to a graphic designer to upload a new cover image, or that your community manager who has left the company six months ago still has access to your page. Make sure that your Facebook page managers are always up-to-date.
  4. 4. Educate your staff members about secured login into their personal accounts. At the end of the day they use their profile to access your Facebook page.
  5. 5. If you cooperate with an agency or freelancers, use third party applications to moderate Facebook conversations. In this way no one will have direct access to your Facebook page and you can better control what kind of content is being published on your behalf.

Manage the apps

As Facebook grows in popularity, competition among brands grows. Everyone wants to attract more fans and engage with more potential consumers. One of the ways is to offer different kinds of contests. You can also connect your social media profiles, such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or others using a special app. All those apps require access to your Facebook page. Make sure you use only well known, secure applications. Regularly go to your page Settings – Apps and check which one should still have access to your page. Learn more about apps security directly on Facebook.

Content is a king

Producing and distributing good content is a key to success. You want to avoid the unpleasant surprise of discovering posts on your Facebook page that should not appear there. Consider using one of many publishing platforms that allows you to control and filter outgoing content. If you can’t afford a third party social media management tool, then regularly monitor your page. Pay attention to who is posting on your page behalf (Facebook shows the author of the post to the admins) and use pre-scheduling options. If you plan your communication ahead, not only you will save some time, but you can control it better.

Secure your mobile social apps

If, like millions of other Facebook users, you and your team access your page via mobile, you should consider installing an application that will block access to Facebook. This is handy in case your mobile is lost or for simply preventing your friends from joking around and posting something on your behalf, while you leave your smartphone unattended. Avast Mobile Security protects your Facebook for free with a security code.

Stay tuned for more social media security and privacy tips!

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

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Alabama State University switches to security in the cloud

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Networks are relentlessly attacked by online threats. Organizations need quality security products to keep their network secure.

When Jothan Virgil, an IT Administrator at Alabama State University located in Montgomery, Alabama, got an email announcing the new, free Avast for Business product, he did his research and signed up.

Alabama State University

image via swac.org

Virgil knows that a good antivirus product is the most important part of protecting a network and was using Avast Endpoint Protection before switching. ”The new cloudbased solution is easier to manage.” Avast for Business lets Virgil see his entire network anywhere, anytime making his job easier.

Alabama State has a very large network managed by multiple IT professionals, with over 1,000 faculty and staff members and more than 5,600 students. Avast for Business now protects all of them from one console.

“Avast for Business is so easy to deploy and monitor, it’s made the administration of our network much smoother.” System notifications tell Virgil exactly which machines are being hit with viruses or malware.

And it’s not just easy. It’s also free. Avast for Business created a savings that Virgil can use somewhere else. He’s certain the savings will go to good use in their growing IT environment.

 

Avast for Business can save your non-profit, company, or school money and time. Sign up on the Avast website.