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AVG

AVG Business at MSPWorld 2017 Conference in New Orleans

March 23, 2017 007admin Leave a comment

AVG Business by Avast is proud to be a Gold sponsor of MSPWorld®, the premier conference for cloud and managed services professionals.

You may have thought the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was the highlight of springtime in “The Big Easy”, but for MSPs across the country, the event of the year is MSPWorld which takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana from March 26th to 28th. MSPWorld is the perfect place for people working in the managed services industry to learn from their peers, because this world-class conference is run by MSPs, for MSPs.

Visit AVG Business by Avast MSPWorld 2017 to get a 50% discount on a full conference pass, and stop by booth #33 to meet the AVG Business by Avast team. We are there to share our expertise on how to develop pricing models to support revenue growth, provide cost effective 24/7 support, and ensure your customers’ environments are secure and performing optimally.

We want to have some fun with you too, so plan to arrive early and join us Tuesday from 11:00am – 4:00pm at the Lakewood Golf Club for the MSPWorld Golf Tournament. Reserve your spot to chill with us afterwards for an exclusive AVG Business Partner Event cruising on the Steamboat Natchez Tuesday evening.

Your schedule can get busy quickly at MSPWorld, so mark your calendar in advance for the following speaking sessions:

Creating a competitive MSP Pricing Model

Date: March 27, 2017
Time: 9:45am to 10:15am
Location: Gallery 1-3

Ryan Vallee, Product Management Lead for AVG Business by Avast, will be speaking about the importance of properly pricing your service to stimulate business growth. The science to calculating labor cost, overhead, software solution, etc. to achieve a desired margin can be a bit of a mystery to many. Whether you offer reactive, proactive, or fixed-fee models, this session will guide you to develop profitable service plans that take into consideration all known costs to provide a Managed Service to your customers; AND, help you evolve your business into higher levels of profitability.

Scaling your Managed Services for NOC & Help Desk

Date: March 27, 2017
Time: 2:15pm to 3:00pm
Location: Gallery 1

Staale Swift, Chief Executive Officer at NOCDOC will address what is going on in the market today and its impact on managed service providers. He will answer questions MSPs have about growing or expanding their businesses, what you can offer your clients, considerations when you are building up your offering, and the value you bring to the table.

We look forward to seeing you at MSPWorld. Visit our website to get your MSPWorld discount and for our exclusive partner event cruising the Mississippi River. Stay a few more days for Jazz Fest 2017.

AVG

AVG Business by Avast announces Northamber as new UK distribution partner

March 17, 2017 007admin Leave a comment

London, UK, 15 March 2017 – Avast, the leader in digital security products for business and consumers, today announced a new partnership with one of the UK’s largest independent distributors, Northamber, for its AVG Business by Avast portfolio of products. Northamber, which has over 5,500 active resellers in its UK network, operates a specialist value-add distribution model which delivers complete ‘connect, store and protect’ solutions supported by specialist sales, marketing, product and technical teams.

The agreement involves the distribution of AVG Business’s small business products to resellers across the UK, underpinned with support for marketing, flexible credit, technical guidance and sales training. The announcement comes as AVG Business by Avast attends Cloud Security Expo, London, 15-16 March, where it will be demonstrating its flagship platforms AVG CloudCare, a SaaS endpoint protection suite, and AVG Managed Workplace, a complete managed IT solution.

With a 36 year heritage, Northamber’s personalized approach helps resellers to get the support they need to be able to sell a complete joined up solution whilst minimising delivery, administration and other associated costs as well as the inconveniences of dealing with multiple distributors. It will be offering AVG Business’ core range of AVG AntiVirus and AVG Internet Security for Business products which complement the endpoint devices offered by Northamber and present an entry level introduction to AVG Business. In addition, Northamber will also be delivering AVG Business’ IT platform, AVG Managed Workplace, for end-to-end remote monitoring and management from a single screen.

Commenting on the new partnership, Erik Preisser, Senior Sales Director, EMEA, at AVG Business by Avast, said: “We are delighted to extend our distributor network in Europe with the strong addition of Northamber in the UK. The UK has always been a priority market for AVG and further to our acquisition by Avast, we are now able to expand our presence and offer our partners even more choice and value. Our goal is to continuously improve our customers’ experience in every aspect. Expanding our network of resellers and partners is a key initiative towards achieving that.”

Alex Phillips, Director of Strategy at Northamber, said, “Northamber is thrilled to introduce AVG to our channel customers as we see a great opportunity for both our reseller and MSP partners to benefit from the range of products that AVG offers. We look forward to working with Avast as their core range of business security products truly complements our existing offerings. For example, for companies delivering their own services to end-users, AVG Managed Workplace is the perfect solution to enhance their proactivity and profitability. Adding AVG to Northamber’s existing security solutions ensures we will always have the right solution for the customer.”

Visit AVG Business at Cloud Security Expo – Stand 1130

AVG Business will be showcasing its full product range and services at Cloud Security Expo. Delegates can also attend the two speaking sessions hosted by AVG Business:

Add a million pounds to your valuation – or 10 million: Wednesday, 15 March, 12.15-12.55, at the Security Service Providers and Security Innovation Theatre

How to protect your business from – and minimize – cyber threats: Thursday, 16 March, 10.45-11.10 at the Security Service Providers and Security Innovation Theatre

About Avast

Avast (http://www.avast.com), the global leader in digital security products for businesses and consumers, protects over 400 million people online. Offering products under the Avast and AVG brands, Avast protects data, devices, people from threats on the internet and the IoT threat landscape. The company’s threat detection network is among the most advanced in the world, using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to detect and stop threats in real time. The AVG Business by Avast portfolio provides solutions that secure, simplify and optimize the IT experience for SMBs worldwide.

AVG Business by Avast’s cloud and on-premise security solutions are tailored for the channel and include a remote monitoring and management platform with security built into the core. Channel partners are also supported by Avast’s comprehensive partner program which provides the tools and knowledge to help them sell AVG Business by Avast products.

About Northamber

Northamber is the longest established and one of the largest independent UK only, trade-only distributors in the IT industry, with over 5,500 actively trading resellers. The AIM listed company celebrated its 36^th anniversary. Northamber prides itself on its value-add distribution model, delivering complete ‘connect, store and protect’ solutions supported by specialist sales, marketing, product and technical teams. This approach helps resellers to get the support they need to be able to sell a complete joined up solution whilst minimising delivery, admin and other associated costs and inconveniences of dealing with multiple distributors.

Contact

For Avast:
Stephanie Kane,
Senior PR Director
[email protected]
+44 07817 631 016

For Northamber:
Adam Reynolds
AVG Product Manager
0208 296 7069
[email protected]

AVG

Six security lessons for small business from 2016

December 7, 2016 007admin Leave a comment

Historians will look back at 2016 as the year that cybersecurity moved from being an important issue to a critical one on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, the two main presidential candidates traded insults over email security and claims that Russian hackers were trying to influence the election’s outcome by leaking stolen data.

Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton was under fire for allegedly using a private email server for classified documents while working as Secretary of State. Republican candidate Donald Trump was accused of encouraging foreign powers to hack his rival and publish whatever incriminating or embarrassing information they could find. But both candidates agreed that cyber security was a vital issue of national security.

In Britain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, unveiled a new £1.9billion cybersecurity strategy to ensure the country could “retaliate in kind” against any digital attacks on national infrastructure like the electricity grid or air traffic control systems. But behind the politics, what were the real security lessons of 2016?

The Internet of Things is vulnerable

An attack on Dyn, one of the companies behind the infrastructure of the internet, in early October revealed how the new generation of connected devices has created fresh opportunities for hackers. Major websites – including Netflix, Twitter, Spotify and Amazon – all came under attack. Security analysts revealed that compromised Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as digital cameras and video recorders had been the entry point for hackers. A basic security vulnerability with these devices – factory-default security settings – had allowed hackers to disrupt the internet infrastructure.

The message for manufacturers, consumers and businesses was self-evident: The Internet of Things needs an urgent security upgrade.

Rise and rise of ransomware

You can trace the early origins of ransomware to the days of pop-up bogus “official messages” warning that your computer has been infected, or that you’d been caught doing something illegal. Today, the tactic has evolved into attempts to lock businesses out of their own network, critical files or services until money is handed over. What has made 2016 different is a step-change in the scale of the problem.

The analyst firm Gartner reported $209 million was extracted through ransomware attacks in the first three months of 2016, compared to $24 million that was extracted from US businesses in 2015. Businesses, hospitals and universities have all been targets and an increasing number of victims are paying up to regain control of their network or vital files. A recent survey also revealed that 1 in 3 businesses were clueless about ransomware: either not knowing what it was at all, or misunderstanding what it was.

The lesson for business is clear: understand what it is and its possible impact on your business, and have a plan in place that outlines what to do if a ransomware attack happens.

Rise of encryption

One of the tech stories of the year was the clash between Apple and the FBI over access to data in the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino bombers. The public debate about privacy and security that followed saw the instant messenger (IM) service WhatsApp decide to add end-to-end encryption to users’ messages.

In theory, the move meant that no-one apart from the sender and intended recipient can read messages – not even WhatsApp itself. The move put pressure on other IMs, email services and social channels to reassure users that messages were snoop-proof and encrypted. The need to use encryption to secure your data has never been stronger. Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated and as they do so we need to step up and take proactive steps to stay ahead of them.

There was a two-fold lesson for businesses: firstly, to understand how data was being shared inside and outside their organization; secondly, to consider encrypting the most sensitive files.

Reinvention of the log-in

The password isn’t quite dead yet, but 2016 saw a broad effort to push users towards more secure log-in procedures. Both Google and Apple rolled-out improvements to multi-factor verification and authorization –using multiple devices or security steps to approve a key action or transaction.

A growing number of banks and financial institutions began testing biometric verification – fingerprint and voice recognition – seeing it as an important way to reduce fraud. The lesson of the year was that the days of logging in with just a username and password are coming into an end.

Businesses need to think of how they can create and encourage employees and customers to use more secure pathways to access account, order or profile information.

The threat from inside

Reports about cybersecurity tend to be dominated by headlines about hackers, whether individuals, criminal gangs or countries testing other nations’ cyber defences. Looking back at some of the biggest security breaches of 2016 you’ll find a common factor: the loss of data involved someone from inside the business.

In some cases, the leak started with the loss or theft of a company laptop, memory stick or mobile phone. In others, employees shared data they shouldn’t have, either accidentally or by deliberately trying to sell confidential information. According to the Ponemon Institute, the cost to businesses of clearing up data leaks is going up year after year.

The lesson for businesses is to ensure that staff understand security risks, have regular training, and that procedures are in place to cut the chance of confidential data leaking out. Restricting access to only those employees that need it also helps businesses reduce the risk of loss of data and reputation.

No-one is immune

2016 was the year that saw millions of user account details stolen from some of the best-known tech brands – Yahoo!, LinkedIn, Twitter – go up for sale on the Dark Web. It was also the year that the presidential campaign put the spotlight on government security – with a stream of leaked data and questions about unsecure email servers allegedly being used for classified information.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that big brands or big targets are the only game in town. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses in the UK in 2016 found that two out of three small firms had been victims of cybercrime in the previous two years. According to the FSB, the financial costs suffered by small firms from an attack are “disproportionately bigger” than larger firms.

One of the biggest lessons to take from the year is that no business is immune from cyber threats – and the risk to business survival is higher the smaller the company is.

Senior Security Evangelist, Tony Anscombe of AVG Business said: “Cybersecurity has had a high political and media profile this year, thanks to the US presidential elections. But businesses shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that the issue is all about nations waging digital warfare or politicians being hacked. The key lessons of the year are about the rise in ransomware, and the new attack vectors that are being created for hackers by the increasing number of connected devices, often with poor built-in security. Business owners need to be thinking harder than ever about internal security, training and procedures, the tools and tech they are bringing in to their organisation, as well as the security they deploy across their network.”

AVG

Seven security predictions for small business in 2017

December 6, 2016 007admin Leave a comment

Digital life for businesses started out with dumb screens, keyboards and the days of the mainframe. This gave way to a simple set-up: a few PCs connected to a server with staff tapping away on keyboards at their desks. Then came laptops, mobiles, tablets and the era of computing on the move.

Next, cloud computing took digital storage and services and put them wherever you and your team needed to work. But with each evolutionary step came new security threats. And in 2017 we’ll see an ever-broadening range of connected devices becoming new “attack vectors”.

Hackers will exploit new methods to get into networks and find new ways to cause business disruption.

Here are seven emerging threats to watch out for next year:

Biometric hacks

From Apple’s TouchID fingerprint scanning to banks trialing voice or retinal recognition, biometric security has been growing fast in recent years. The traditional log in to an account via username and password is being replaced by more sophisticated technologies.

But is it any more secure? Hackers and security experts have used photographs to beat biometric checks, including claims last year that a high resolution image of an eye could be used to hack retinal scans. Researchers have shown how high definition video of someone’s face, complete with a couple of blinks, is enough to break in to some devices.

Hackers have even shown that impersonation can crack voice recognition. It can be bypassed simply by grabbing a short recording of someone’s voice, either by making a spam call or stealing a voicemail message, so expect to see more biometric hack stories in 2017.

Connected car hacking

Security researchers made headlines in 2015 when they hacked a driverless Jeep and drove it off the road. Since then trials of driverless cars and autonomous systems – like Tesla’s autopilot mode – have clocked up millions of road miles.

We’re still a few years away from seeing truly autonomous cars for sale on garage forecourts, but the threat of cyber-sabotage was enough to prompt the FBI to warn in 2016 that owners of connected cars would need to ensure software was secure and up-to-date. As more cities and States in the US open up to driverless trials, and more road tests get under way in the UK, there is sure to be more news about car hacking next year.

Internet of Things hacks

A major botnet attack on Dyn, one of the companies behind the infrastructure of the internet, in late 2016 revealed the vulnerability of the Internet of Things. The attack – which caused disruption for major websites like Netflix, Twitter, Spotify and Amazon – started with hackers exploiting factory-default security settings in hacked digital cameras and video recorders. As more and more previously inert, unconnected devices connect to the internet – from fridges, to toys and thermostats – expect news of more Internet of Things-related hacks.

Mobile hacks

2016 will be remembered as the year that mobile web browsing overtook desktop browsing for the first time. Hand in hand with mobile browsing comes mobile malware and an ever-rising tide of malicious software designed specifically to target Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android mobile operating systems.

Through 2016 Google stepped up its efforts to clear malicious apps from the Google Play store, while Apple quickly released security patches for iPhones after the discovery of the “Pegasus” malware package that could read users messages or steal contact information. As mobile usage grows, there’ll be more news than ever of mobile malware.

Virtual reality hacks

Virtual reality headsets generated the biggest tech buzz of 2016. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg gave a sneak look at what Oculus Rift has in store in the future; while Google unveiled its new Daydream headset. But as VR grows, expect to hear more about the location and personal data being collected by devices. As more and more apps are developed for VR tech, it would be no surprise to soon hear about the first hacks of VR in-game payment systems.

Contractors under attack

But it’s not just devices that are vulnerable: it’s people. It’s become a fact of digital life that hackers will look for easy routes into their targets. So, if they want to hack a big business … they look at its contractors.These are often smaller businesses with more limited security systems, processes and resources. There’ll be more news in 2017 of major hacks that originate with small businesses in the supply chain – and there’ll be a growing expectation on small firms to step up their security if they want to win big contracts.

Cloud under attack

A list of the “treacherous 12” vulnerabilities of cloud computing was unveiled at a major conference in 2016. These ranged from hacked APIs and broken authentication to denial of service (DoS) attacks. But the benefits to business of being able to access data wherever they are – and cut the cost of IT infrastructure by using cloud services – make it an attractive proposition that’s unlikely to lose its appeal any time soon.

But as more businesses adopt cloud storage and services, do not be surprised to read more reports of businesses being locked out, hacked or losing data. It’s a story that’s not going to go away.

Tony Anscombe, Senior Security Evangelist, AVG Business suggests what may be in store for the New Year, “Overall, I think the big story of 2017 is going to be about the broadening range of tactics, channels and platforms that hackers try to exploit to steal data and extort money from businesses. The buzz around new tech – particularly IoT devices – needs to be tempered with serious questions about security.”

“Manufacturers are racing to get products to market and security is being left behind… businesses of all shapes and sizes need to be careful about what new tech they adopt and how they use it. They also need to bridge their knowledge gaps, 1 in 3 businesses we recently surveyed were clueless about ransomware for instance. Small businesses, in particular, need to be more aware of how their data and systems can be hacked and exploited

AVG

The 24-hour working day: SMBs and our changing world of work infographic

December 5, 2016 007admin Leave a comment

An understanding of the evolving work environment and the roles of small and medium-sized businesses through a comparative analysis of the technological differences between the US and UK SMB world.

Small and medium-sized businesses play a huge part in western economies. AVG Business explores SMBs’ roles in these economies as well as their effects on owners. The infographic also looks at how the world of work has changed over the years, comparing US and UK SMBs as new technologies are increasingly used in marketing and new business.

AVG

Avast and AVG combine to better protect your business

October 4, 2016 007admin Leave a comment

We are now one company . . . whether you use an AVG or an Avast product, we will continue to offer and support both AVG and Avast branded products.

In July, we announced that we signed an agreement to acquire AVG. We have now acquired a majority stake in the company, completing the initial tender offer for all of the outstanding ordinary shares of AVG Technologies. That means we will operate as a single company as of Monday, October 3, 2016 and can officially welcome AVG business users to Avast! I have been leading Avast’s SMB business since 2015, and will drive the integration of the two company’s business divisions. With an existing SMB business and reseller base that was many times larger than Avast, we will be integrating Avast’s program into the AVG business program.

The acquisition will overnight vault Avast into a leadership position in the SMB security market. Our gain will also be your gain. By combining the strengths of Avast and AVG under one company, you can now look forward to a stronger threat detection network powered by the largest install base (by far) of any competitor. The new Avast now protects more than 400 million mobile and PC users worldwide, each of which acts as a sensor. Whenever one of these sensors encounters a new threat, the threat is sent to our Threat Labs for analysis and a detection is created to protect the rest of our network. This means your business is already being better protected from the latest threats.

Avast will continue to offer and support both the AVG and Avast branded products for the foreseeable future (more details about this can be found here). We want our customers to be reassured that whether you use an AVG product or an Avast product, we will continue to have experts support you. We are nothing without our customers and partners like you, who helped us get to where we are today.

We are thrilled about what the future will bring and are looking forward to finding new ways to add value for you, our customers. We are looking forward to the innovative products this acquisition will produce and the momentum it will create in the market.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information that involves substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “will,” “expect,” “are confident that,” “objective,” “projection,” “forecast,” “goal,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “effort,” “target,” “would” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terms. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These factors include risks and uncertainties related to, among other things: general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which Avast and AVG operate; the uncertainty of regulatory approvals; the parties’ ability to satisfy the conditions to the contemplated tender offer, AVG’s delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and suspension of AVG‘s reporting obligations under the Exchange Act and to consummate the transactions and their plans described in this press release; and AVG’s performance and maintenance of important business relationships. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in AVG’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including AVG’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and neither Avast nor AVG assumes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This press release does not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities of AVG. The solicitation and offer to purchase ordinary shares of AVG is being made pursuant to a tender offer statement on Schedule TO, including an Offer to Purchase, a related letter of transmittal and certain other tender offer documents, filed by Avast with the SEC on July 29, 2016 (as subsequently amended, the “Tender Offer Statement”). AVG filed a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the tender offer with the SEC on July 29, 2016 (as subsequently amended, the “Solicitation/Recommendation Statement”). AVG shareholders are urged to read the Tender Offer Statement and Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, as they may be amended from time to time, as well as any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, carefully and in their entirety because they will contain important information that AVG shareholders should consider before making any decision regarding tendering their securities. The Tender Offer Statement and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement are available for free at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by AVG will be available free of charge on AVG’s website at investors.avg.com.

AVG

1 in 3 small businesses is clueless about ransomware!

September 22, 2016 007admin Leave a comment

A third of small to medium sized businesses surveyed by AVG had never heard of ransomware, demonstrating an urgent need for education on one of the fastest growing malware categories.

Ransomware is one of the world’s fastest growing malware categories. In June, we surveyed businesses to understand who had heard of the term ‘ransomware’ and what they understood about it. 381 of our small-to-medium business (SMB) customers in the US and UK responded to our questions and the results proved revealing and concerning.

Here are the key points:

68% of respondents said they had heard of the term ‘ransomware.’

That may look like a good percentage, but this also indicates that even with security industry, media and governments working hard to educate businesses about the risks, nearly 1 in 3 is still not aware of this significant risk.

So what is ransomware and how does it impact businesses?

Ransomware is a generic term for a category of malware that restricts access to a device or the file(s) on a device until a ransom is paid. It’s a method for criminals to make money by infecting the device and has become very effective at causing havoc for a business or organization that is unfortunate enough to become a victim.

It’s not new, which is why the 32% concerns me. The first cases were reported as far back as 2005, which took the form of fake antivirus software claiming you had issues that required payment in order to be fixed.

Over time, ransomware morphed into scareware messages. Scareware messages, designed to trick users into downloading malicious software and often disguised as communications from law enforcement, typically claim that a device has been infected or that the usage history of a device shows illegal activity—or in some cases blatantly locking files until you call and pay the ransom.

The 68% of respondents claiming to know what ransomware is had very different opinions, many of them inaccurate. When asked to explain the term, it turns out that 36% (of the 68%) didn’t actually know what it was.

A major security concern

Since 2013 when Cryptolocker ransomware first surfaced, ransomware has now become a major security issue with organizations being held to ransom – and in some cases paying to get their data unlocked. Numerous incidents have been cited where thousands of dollars have been paid: hospitals, charities, hairdressers have all been held to ransom. One university has suffered 21 attacks in the last year alone!

The true scale of the problem is somewhat hard to define though because, understandably, many businesses and organisations are reluctant to reveal they’ve been held to ransom because of fears about being targeted again, or losing existing or new customers.

People are held to ransom in just a few seconds

Unsuspecting victims are infected through emails impersonating customer support personnel from well-known company brands. Once activated, the malware encrypts files and demands payment, typically a few hundred dollars within a timeframe of 48 or 72 hours.

Last year alone, the FBI received 2,453 complaints about ransomware hold-ups last year, costing the victims more than $24 million dollars! Earlier this year, the UK National Crime Agency claimed ransomware attacks have increased in frequency and complexity, and now include public threats by the perpetrators to publish victim data online, as well as the permanent encryption of valuable data.

4 ways to protect your computers and networks against ransomware

Stay vigilant. One of the most common methods of infecting a system is via a spearheading email with a malicious attachment or link. If you are not expecting the email, or it looks suspicious in any way, do not open it and delete it.

Back up your software and systems. It’s really important you keep your software and operating system updated. Back-up your files regularly and don’t forget to keep your backup media disconnected from your PC. Otherwise, your backups might get encrypted as well. This also applies to storage and network drives e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

Use the latest protection software. At AVG, we take ransomware very seriously and our AVG Internet Security and AntiVirus Business Edition solutions detect and block ransomware and other malware variants from infecting your devices and servers – leaving you to focus on what matters.

Don’t pay. If you do fall victim, do not pay. Funding these criminals only encourages them to attack other people. Research the specific infection to see if there is a decryption tool. We offer 7 of these tools for free with more on the way.

Don’t be the 1 in 3

Taking proactive steps to protect your organization from a ransomware attack is essential to the smooth running of your business—it is your livelihood, after all. Contingency and remediation planning are also crucial to business recovery and continuity, and these plans should be tested regularly.

AVG

New Distributors Join AVG Channel, Extend SMB Footprint in Europe

September 13, 2016 007admin Leave a comment

The spotlight is on Europe this week as we welcome new distribution partners to our AVG channel . . . Sigma Software Distribution in the UK and Dexceo in Denmark.

As our GM Fred Gerritse has shared this year, our distribution go-to-market model has been top of mind for us this year and key to driving value for our partners.

Building a strong distributor network lets us better respond to the security needs of business customers as our AVG channel grows and scales globally. Central to this is finding distribution partners that share our security commitment and bring the expertise and capabilities to sell our full line of AVG Business solutions.

This week, we are announcing the addition of two new European value-added distributors to our AVG channel: Sigma Software Distribution in the UK and Dexceo in the Nordics. Both distributors will provide our full line of AVG Business solutions.

Sigma, who was named CRN UK’s Specialist Distributor of the Year, is a great example of a partner that aligns to our vision with the track record to show they mean business.

Sigma General Manager Jane Silk shared her thoughts on the new Sigma-AVG relationship, “We always strive to truly understand our partners’ needs and establish long term relationships that drive opportunities. The AVG relationship is one where we can work transparently, develop the best model for the channel and then prove this in the marketplace.

“AVG’s proven security expertise and its advanced technology will help us immediately respond to challenges our partners face in the current threat landscape. Product innovations such as AVG Managed Workplace that offer a centralized, automated platform to manage security while also helping our partners provide more services to their customers, have us very excited.”

Sigma has demonstrated consistent and sustainable growth in its specialty field. As proof, the company has delivered seven consecutive years of revenue and profit increases. Sigma’s operating model includes a dedicated sales development team with the knowledge base to work closely with re-sellers to support training, identify cross-sell opportunities, manage deal registration and more.

Our UK team is at the Insight Technology Show in Manchester today and will be sharing more about the Sigma-AVG relationship.

Dexceo, a leading Scandinavian security distributor and our first AVG Business solutions distributor in Denmark, is also ready to start marketing AVG Business solutions. The Dexceo team shared its AVG news this week with Danish media.

Dexceo specializes in IT security and network solutions for an international business client base and carefully selects its IT suppliers and re-sellers to maintain the company’s high quality and service standards. Dexceo is a relatively young company but we are impressed by the team’s experience, knowledge base and growing partner network. The company has also acknowledged a need to complement its security portfolio with cloud security and remote monitoring and management solutions. Both AVG Managed Workplace and AVG CloudCare will support Dexceo’s needs to deliver increased visibility across IT environments and efficiency in deploying and maintaining security services.

Dennis Wøldike, founder of Dexceo, shared his view of the AVG opportunity for Danish businesses, “We are looking forward to building our relationship with AVG and extending new benefits and opportunities to our partner network. As an AVG trusted partner, we can offer new security innovation and a range of solutions and services for the Scandinavian market.”

The additions of Dexceo and Sigma are a natural extension of our partner-focused model and complement our specialty focus, as well as our existing and valued broad line distributors.

We look forward to building strong relationships and sharing big results.

AVG

AVG Receives AV-TEST â€˜Top Business Security Productâ€™ Score

August 22, 2016 007admin Leave a comment

Independent Security Research Leader AV-TEST recently put our AVG Business solutions to the test. The result was a Top Product award that AVG channel partners can share with their clients.

At AVG, we never miss an opportunity to promote the detection and protection capabilities of our business security software. It’s even better when independent experts are also communicating the power behind our security engine. Our recent AV-TEST scores are a great example.

Our AVG Business solutions were recently awarded a Top Product score by AV-TEST in its May-June 2016 evaluation of 13 business endpoint protection software products. AVG was one of only 4 of 12 security vendors to receive this product score.

In this AV-TEST evaluation, our security technology was put through realistic test scenarios and challenged against real-world threats. We are also proud to share that this is our second consecutive high rating by AV-TEST this year.

AV-TEST, an international, independent leader in IT security and antivirus research, uses comprehensive comparative analysis methods to detect and analyze new malware. In its analysis process, AV-TEST engineers evaluate security solutions for reliable malware detection and low false positive rates.

Here is a brief look at our results:

Our AVG Business products scored 100% for real-world detection with no false positives across protection, performance and usability categories, achieving 17.5 out of a total score of 18, across these categories:
- Protection 6/6: This focuses on protection against malware infections (viruses, worms or Trojan horses)
- Performance 5/6: This focuses on the average influence of the product on computer speed in daily usage.
- Usability 6/6: This focuses on the impact of the security software on the usability of the whole computer

AV-TEST CEO Andreas Marx also shared his feedback on our test results. “With the market’s leading business security software solutions promoting similar features and capabilities, independent test results like ours help the decision-making process for both the IT channel and business customers. AVG’s business products have performed consistently strong in our recent tests this year and this is important for channel providers making product portfolio decisions and managing security for their business clients,” said Marx.

Our consistent product performance is a testament to our 100% focus on SMB security. We continue to be committed to helping channel partners build their businesses and put the best security defense in place for their clients’ IT environments.

Please share these results with your teams and client base. You can find more information about our AVG Business solutions at http://www.avg.com/partners. Thank you for your continued support.

AVG

Passwords Protect Your Business, but Whoâ€™s Protecting Them?

August 1, 2016 007admin Leave a comment

When we asked AVG Business customers in the US and UK how they keep company passwords safe, we were surprised to learn just how many of them … simply don’t.

Hundreds of millions of employees worldwide use passwords multiple times every day to access business resources ranging from email and domain management to banking and accountancy. These passwords—strings of letters, numbers, and symbols used to validate access—are one of your business’s primary ways to protect vital resources. But what is your business doing to protect them?

In June, AVG surveyed businesses about their password-protection policies and practices. 381 of our small-to-medium business (SMB) customers in the US and UK answered 16 questions, and here are some of the things we discovered from their answers:

A third of respondents believe their company’s passwords could be more secure.
72% believe their workplace passwords are stored in a safe place.
22% of businesses use password management software.
Four out of ten people use the same passwords for different business log-ins.
50% of people use between 1 and 10 passwords to access different networks, software, and accounts.
A quarter of participants use two-factor authentication for their passwords.
67% claimed there are 1-2 people who have access to their company passwords.
43% of people with access to company passwords don’t have a clause in their contract to keep these passwords confidential.
51% of employees save all or some of their passwords through their web browser.
For one-third of businesses, the owner, president, or MD is responsible for managing company passwords.
16% of non-employees (contractors, freelancers, temps) can access company passwords.
19% of people surveyed said their business uses an automated password generator.
68% of people surveyed say they have heard of the term ‘ransomware.’

The results in full

Password Security

A third of participants believe their company’s passwords could be more secure.

This result isn’t too surprising, considering the most-used passwords in 2015 were ‘123456’ and, you guessed it, ‘password.’

Password Storage

72% believe their workplace passwords are stored in a safe place (i.e. not accessible by unauthorized personnel).

22% of businesses use password management software.

Small businesses can benefit from using a tool allowing them to securely manage several different accounts simultaneously and store all company passwords in one place. Or a user authentication service, such as AVG Single Sign-On (SSO), lets users employ a single set of log-in credentials—with a two-factor authentication option—to access multiple applications.

Logging in

Four out of ten people use the same passwords for different business log-ins.

Using one password for multiple services may feel like a time-saver, but it weakens the gateway to your business, data, customers, and potentially your identity. So just imagine if this one password got into the wrong hands. We recommend giving each employee their own password and account, to ensure accountability and improve security.

50% of people use between 1 and 10 passwords to access different networks, software, and accounts.

Small businesses often use so few passwords because they have a small domain, which combines sign-on for email, network and, other linked services. However, whatever the number of passwords a business uses, they must always:

store them somewhere safe,
control who has access to them, and
ensure the passwords are strong, i.e. contain caps, numbers and symbols.

A quarter of participants use two-factor authentication for their passwords.

More and more big brands such as Apple, Twitter, and Evernote have introduced the two-factor authentication option, which confirms user identity through a combination of something you have (e.g. an ATM card) and something you know (e.g. your ATM PIN).

Password Access

67% claimed there are 1-2 people who have access to their company passwords.

IBM’s 2014 Cyber Security Intelligence Index showed 95% of all security incidents involved human error. Successful security attacks happen when human weakness is exploited to lure a company’s employees to unwittingly provide access to sensitive information.

43% of people with access to company passwords don’t have a clause in their contract to keep these passwords confidential.

Including a confidentiality clause in every employee or third-party contract is an additional—and necessary—layer of protection for your business.

51% of employees save all or some of their passwords through their web browser.

Using a web browser to remember your password is convenient, but poses a security risk. How big a risk depends on whether you sync with other devices, what browser you use, and how many people have access to your business computer(s) using the same profile. Next time your web browser asks to save your password, reconsider, and select “Never for this site.”

For one-third of businesses, the owner, president, or MD is responsible for managing company passwords.

When it comes to IT security, small businesses are in a tight spot, because they’re heavily dependent on computers, yet not large enough to have a dedicated IT staff member. So often the owner, president, or MD becomes the closest thing a company has to an infosec expert. As a business grows, so will the IT infrastructure, at which point dedicated personnel should take responsibility for managing company passwords.

16% of non-employees (contractors, freelancers, temps) can access company passwords.

For the most part we know and trust our colleagues, so granting system access to full-time employees makes sense. But what about for short-term projects involving a contractor with understandably less of a commitment to the company? Should you really share passwords with these staff? The best solution, if access is essential, is to create temporary log-ins, which you can delete when temporary employees leave. Otherwise, you’re left having to change the password for everyone … or be comfortable leaving it alone, knowing someone who’s left the company technically still has access. And in case it’s not clear, we don’t recommend you ever do this.

For the most part we know and trust our colleagues, so granting system access to full-time employees makes sense. But what about for short-term projects involving a contractor with understandably less of a commitment to the company? Should you really share passwords with these staff? The best solution, if access is essential, is to create temporary log-ins, which you can delete when temporary employees leave. Otherwise, you’re left having to change passwords for everyone … or be comfortable leaving passwords alone, knowing someone who’s left the company technically still has access. And in case it’s not clear, we don’t recommend you ever do this.

Password Generation

19% of people surveyed said their business uses an automated password generator.

The best, easiest way to create strong passwords is to use a password generator.

Ransomware

68% of people surveyed say they have heard of the term ‘ransomware.’

However, 36% (101 out of 277) of those who thought they knew what ransomware is actually didn’t.

Ransomware is malware that encrypts your files, then demands payment—often with a time limit—before decrypting them. Not only does ransomware target your most valuable files, it can lock down system files to render your web browser, applications, and entire operating system unusable.

So what do businesses need to know? And what can you do?

Experts warn that small businesses are fast becoming cybercriminals’ favorite target—and those businesses are quite often woefully unprepared. Cybercriminals know that SMBs can be an easy path to a much bigger target, that is your customers and partners. Many breaches could have been prevented with robust employee and contractor education, more stringent password policies, and the use of two-factor authentication.

In 2015, US businesses saw an average 160 successful cyberattacks per week, more than times the 2010 weekly average. Cybercrime globally cost businesses $400-$500 billion last year, and the estimate for 2016 is $2-3 trillion.

In the UK, the latest Government Security Breaches Survey found that nearly three quarters (74%) of small businesses reported a security breach in the last year, an increase from both 2013 and 2014. And the cost of each breach was £75,000-310,800, with 31% being staff-related.

Ultimately, you cannot take it for granted that your employees or colleagues have the tools and knowledge to make the necessary decisions to keep the business secure. But by implementing sound policies and proven practices, you can equip yourself and everyone in your business to be part of protecting it.

And when it comes to IT security and password policies, never, ever, ever underestimate hackers. Where data could be stolen or money could be made, cybercriminals will persist until they find a vulnerability they can exploit. Your password policy is your key to the kingdom, so guard it accordingly.

007 Software