Tag Archives: Video

Avast

New Avast Hack Chat video series debuts

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Remember when you used to make sure you were home at a certain time so you wouldn’t miss your favorite TV show? That was called “appointment television”, and those of you old enough to remember watching The X-Files or Friends when they originally aired know what I’m talking about. But, with the new USA Network show, Mr. Robot, it feels like those days are back again. Sure, I have my DVR set to record, but I will definitely watch it live. Since all my buddies are watching too,  I will be itching to talk about it the next day.

Avast’s new Hack Chat video series brings back that around-the-watercooler discussion. Watch our debut episode here (10:13).

Avast Hack Chat: Episode 1 “Hello Friend” Program Notes

In episode 1 of Avast Hack Chat, host Ariana welcomes special guest, security researcher and software developer, Pedram Amini.

In the first half of the show, they discuss the pilot episode of USA Network’s new show, Mr. Robot. Ariana walks us through the highlights of the cyberthriller, and Pedram explains if these hacks are real-world or just Hollywood magic. You can also read our interview with Pedram on Are the hacks on Mr. Robot real?

One of the earliest hacking movies, War Games, starred Matthew Broderick as a young computer wiz who inadvertently finds a backdoor into the U.S. military’s central computer. The technology he used is intriguing even now, and Ariana and Pedram discuss this old-school method in the Time Machine section.

Back to current day, Pedram answers Ariana’s question about why the NSA would want to reverse engineer Avast software and if the I-have-nothing-to-hide attitude is the wisest one to take. You can also read what Avast’s CEO, Vince Steckler has to say on the subject on Avast CEO speaks out about U.S. and U.K. spy agencies.

Subscribe to the Avast Hack Chat YouTube channel and don’t miss a single weekly episode.

Avira

The dummies guide to hacking Whatsapp

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WhatsApp – the super popular messaging app (800 million users), acquired by Facebook for $20 billion, has done it again… After a bug that exposed restricted profile pictures, data encryption that can be breached in 3 minutes, and the use of IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) as a cryptographic key (it’s like using your Social Security Number as a password), WhatsApp is yet again in the headlines for privacy concerns…

The latest story – hacking Whatsapp. As reported by The Hacker News, anyone can hack your WhatsApp account with just your number and 2 minutes alone with your phone…

This video, posted on YouTube, shows how a hacker answers an authenticating call, intercepts a secret PIN, and uses that to access a WhatsApp account he just created on another phone.

This is not tied to a bug or loophole – it is the way that WhatsApp was built.

Bottom line? Please be very careful whom you lend your phone to, and make sure you don’t leave it lying around. Even locked, a garden-variety hacker can access your WhatsApp account in 2 minutes.

The post The dummies guide to hacking Whatsapp appeared first on Avira Blog.

Avast

Technology mistakes to stop making today

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We love our fans and followers on Twitter because they frequently alert us to great resources. It happened today when we received a tweet from @LoveNerds4Ever letting us know that Avast Antivirus was mentioned on a Sacramento (California) News10 video segment. Thanks, Shawna!

The guest on this video segment is Ryan Eldridge, co-founder of Nerds on Call, a computer repair Business in Sacramento. He spoke to reporter Keba Arnold about technology mistakes that people typically make. These simple, but oh, so important points, are ones that we continually try to make, and Ryan puts it all together in one good video. Watch it now.

The security recommendations that Ryan makes:

  • Run updates on your computer and mobile phone. Program updates and security patches are very important to keep your device up to date and running optimally.
  • Download apps and programs from places you know and trust. On your mobile phone this would be the Google Play Store or Amazon App Store. For your computer, he says it’s a little bit harder, but suggest that you visit download.com, CNET’s well-known download site where you can read user reviews and see the reputation of the app before you download.
  • Ryan reminds computer users that when they get a new device antivirus software may be pre-installed, but it is a trial for a limited time.  After it expires, you need to get protected with a quality antivirus product. Ryan recommends Avast Free Antivirus for your computer, your Mac, and your mobile phone.
  • Ms. Arnold confesses that she has one email address that acts as a catch-all for everything. Ryan says this is a no-no because if a hacker breaks into that email address, then he has access to everything. Ryan suggests that you have separate email addresses for friends and family, work, one for shopping, and one for banking.
  • Passwords, admittedly are a pain in the you-know-what. Ryan suggests using an algorithm, or a kind of personal code, to construct your own passwords. For example, you can use a line from your favorite song, say Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Use the first letter of each word, use letters from the website name, and end with a series of numbers. Each password will be unique and known only to you.

And Ryan, we have a tip for you! Small businesses like yours need security protection too, and consumer antivirus like Avast Free Antivirus, doesn’t do the trick when you need to manage multiple devices, platforms, and people in remote locations. Adding to our collection of free products is the new Avast for Business. Avast for Business is free to use for as long as you want and for an unlimited number of admins and devices.

AVG

Five Tips for choosing a Cloud Storage Service

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Cloud services are incredibly convenient and can also be a great cost saving measure. But you shouldn’t blindly place trust in cloud services without doing some research first.

If you are considering using a cloud service, I would strongly advise finding the answers to the following questions before signing on the dotted line.

Is it for personal or business?
There are plenty of free options, but you need to determine which is the most reliable and secure, especially if your business will depend on it.

What are you storing and why?
The different cloud services that are currently available offer a variety of features and options that may be better suited to a particular need.

What sort of encryption is available?
Does the cloud storage service offer encryption? If the provider is hacked, your data will be vulnerable. So if they don’t offer encryption then you might want to encrypt your vital documents before uploading

Does the service offer extra security?
Where possible use additional security features like two-factor authentication and login notifications to ensure you have the added layer of security to prevent unwanted breaches.

Do you have adequate backups?
Don’t rely on a single backup, especially for your critical files. You should also backup regularly.

AVG

How To Spot a Fake Twitter Account

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Social media is a great way of communicating with friends and family, but’s also a fantastic tool to meet new people with similar interests. You should be careful though, as popular social networks can have fake accounts which can pose a risk to your privacy or security.

One way to help stay safe is to learn how to spot these fake accounts and how to report them to the social network.

Beware of bio links

Spammers, scammers and hackers often use links in their Twitter bios (as as their feed) to get users to visit malicious sites.

Compare their followers

Fake or spam Twitter accounts follow thousands of users of users but have very few followers themselves

Watch out for strange mentions from strangers

You may get a random tweet from or mention thats makes no sense, This is often a sure sign that it’s a fake or malicious account

Beware of links tweeted with popular hashtags

Scammers often use trending or popular hashtags to tweet malicious links or get you to view their bio link

 

Until next time, stay safe out there!

ESET

How to stay safe on social media – 5 top tips

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As social media becomes an increasingly large part of our everyday lives, It’s easy to forget the dangers hiding behind our feeds. So, remember these five top tips next time you login to Facebook and Twitter.

The post How to stay safe on social media – 5 top tips appeared first on We Live Security.

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?