Tag Archives: Business

AVG Business by Avast awarded ‘Security Vendor of the Year’

AVG Business by Avast proudly accepted the “Security Vendor of the Year” award at the European IT & Software Excellence Awards held in London on March 30.

The annual awards is the leading pan-European awards for resellers, ISVs, Solution Providers and Systems Integrators, and their vendor and distributor partners. Avast’s PR Director, Stephanie Kane, accepted the award on behalf of the AVG Business team.

Run by top European channel publication, IT Europa, the awards are in their ninth year. More than 500 entries were received this year with 154 finalists vying for just 26 trophies, so the competition was fierce. The Security Vendor of the Year award recognizes best practices in customer solutions, as well as service excellence from vendors and distributors.

“This category is voted for exclusively by readers of the magazine,” said Kevin Chapman, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Avast’s SMB business. “This award is a great testament to our products and to our people who work with our channel partners every day. We should be very proud of winning this well-deserved accolade for the second year in a row.”

“The investments we have begun to make this year in rigorously improving our products and expanding our partner program offerings will lay the foundation for another year of joint success that we believe will enable us to win more such industry awards in the future,” said Chapman.

“We look forward to maintaining a strong relationship with IT Europa, a publication that has been instrumental in keeping AVG Business by Avast in the minds of our channel partners and end users.”

Panda Security’s GDPR Preparation Guide Helps Ease the Transition to the New Regulation

There’s a new challenge that lies ahead for businesses that have operations within the European Union. The new General Data Protection Regulation came into effect on 25 May, 2016, and will begin to be enforced 25 May, 2018.

With the focus on protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons and their right to the protection of personal data, the regulation establishes obligations and advantages both for private entities and public administrations.

Panda Security’s “Preparation Guide to the New European General Data Protection Regulation” introduces the new legislation to businesses before its application in 2018. Disregarding the application of the GDPR could lead to costly administration fines of up to 20,000,000 euros.

Panda’s objective is to address the need to adapt data security practices and thereby give its clients a competitive advantage.

How will the GDPR affect businesses?

One of the main points of the white paper is that taking action only when an infringement has already occurred is insufficient as a strategy, since such a failure can cause irreversible damage to interested parties and can be very difficult to compensate.

Here are some sanctions and other potential problems stemming from non-compliance with the GDPR:

  • Direct or indirect economic repercussions. These could result from security incidents coming from outside the company or from a company’s own employees and collaborators.
  • PR damages. Damages to your reputation could result from security incidents not properly being reported to the public.
  • The loss of current or potential clients may occur when the company is unable to demonstrate that it is in compliance with the regulation.
  • The risk of data-processing limits or bans imposed by data protection audits, which could affect the normal functioning of a company.
  • The possible suspension of your service for your clients, which could induce them to leave your service or even take legal action.
  • Reparations that interested parties will have the right to claim in case of infringement.
  • Costly administration fines that could reach up to 20,000,000€ or 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.

Panda Security, a partner in compliance with the new law

For organizations dealing with data, prevention is the core element of the regulation. We underscore the importance of working with vision and anticipation as a competitive advantage in business strategy.

Businesses that have put their trust in Adaptive Defense are already well on their way to complying with the GDPR. It offers:

  • Prevention: Adaptive Defense features an internal audit system to verify the security status of the IT infrastructure at any given time, even before the solution is deployed. In the implementation of the action plan for compliance with the GDPR, it proves to be an invaluable tool.
  • Protection of personal data processed on a business’s systems, stopping, for example, any untrusted process from running.
  • Risk reduction, key activity indicators, and endpoint status, which helps to establish security protocols.
  • Tools to satisfy the requirement to notify authorities of security incidents within the first 72 hours after a breach·
  • Control mechanisms and data management for the DPO, who will be notified in real time not only of security incidents, but also whether or not these incidents involve compromised personal data files.

 

The post Panda Security’s GDPR Preparation Guide Helps Ease the Transition to the New Regulation appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.

AVG Business at MSPWorld 2017 Conference in New Orleans

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.

Steamboat Natchez

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.

Sticky Attacks: When the operating system turns against you

Cyber-attackers are always finding new ways of bypassing the protection systems installed on computers in order to avoid detection and steal user data. In that respect, Black Hat hackers have always turned to malware-based attacks (phishing, network worms, or the dreaded Trojans with ransomware as the most dangerous example) to reach their goals: break into companies to steal credentials and huge amounts of other data in exchange for a ransom… At least, until now.

PandaLabs has recently detected a quite clever attack targeting a company in Hungary. What makes it so special? Well, the attack does not use any malware as such, but scripts and other tools belonging to the operating system itself in order to bypass scanners. This is just another example of the increased self-confidence and professionalization we have been observing among cyber-crooks in recent months.

Analysis of a malware-less attack

First, and as has become the norm in the latest security incidents analyzed at the lab, the attack starts with the attackers launching a brute-force attack against a server with the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) enabled. Once they get the computer’s login credentials, they have complete access to it.

Then, the first thing that the attackers do is run the sethc.exe file with the parameter 211 from the computer’s Command Prompt window (CMD). This turns on the system’s “Sticky Keys” feature. We are sure you have seen this message before:

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Next, a program called “Traffic Spirit” is downloaded and run. “Traffic Spirit” is a traffic generator application which in this case is used to make extra money out of the compromised computers.

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Traffic Spirit website

Then, a self-extracting file is launched that uncompresses the following files in the %Windows%cmdacoBin folder:

  • registery.reg
  • SCracker.bat
  • sys.bat

The attackers then proceed to run the Windows registry editor (Regedit.exe) to add the following key contained in the registery.reg file:

This key aims at ensuring that every time the Sticky Keys feature is used (sethc.exe), a file called SCracker.bat gets run. This is a batch file that implements a very simple authentication system. Running the file displays the following window:

The user name and password are obtained from two variables included in the sys.bat file:

This way, the attacker installs a backdoor on the affected machine. With this backdoor, the attacker will be able to connect to the targeted computer without having to enter the login credentials, enable the Sticky Keys feature (for example, by pressing the SHIFT key five times), and enter the relevant user name and password to open a command shell:

The command shell shortcuts will allow the attacker to access certain directories, change the console color, and make use of other typical command-line commands.

However, the attack doesn’t stop here. In their attempt to make as much profit as possible from the targeted company, the attacker installs a bitcoin miner to take advantage of every compromised computer for free money. Bitcoin mining software aims to use the victims’ computer resources to generate the virtual currency without them realizing. A cheap and very effective way to monetize computer infections.

How does the Sticky Keys feature aid cyber-crooks?

If an attacker can actually access a targeted computer via an RDP connection, what do they need a backdoor for? The answer to this question is quite simple: By installing a backdoor on the affected machine, even if the victim realizes that their system has been compromised and changes the Remote Desktop credentials, all the attacker has to do is  press the SHIFT key five times to enable Sticky Keys and run the backdoor to be able to access the system again. And remember, all of this without running malware on the affected computer.

Adaptive Defense 360, Panda Security’s advanced cyber-security solution, was capable of stopping this targeted attack thanks to the continuous monitoring of the company’s IT network, saving the organization from serious financial and reputational harm. Protect your corporate network with the security solution that best adapts to your needs.

 

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AVG Business by Avast speaking at Cloud Security Expo 2017

Two presentation sessions will showcase how IT Service Providers can add value and help small and medium businesses minimise the latest cyber threats.

AVG Business by Avast will be presenting during London’s premier annual business technology event, Cloud Security Expo. With Gartner predicting 8.4 billion more devices will join the Internet of Things this year, how small to medium businesses (SMBs) manage the risk to their security as these devices enter the modern workplace presents one of their greatest challenges. At the same time, this is also an opportunity for managed service providers to build new programmes that offer the value and support their clients require and extend new revenue lines for their own business.

PRESENTATION 1: Add a Million pounds to your valuation – or 10 million

  • WHAT: This presentation is about helping IT Services providers understand their value and how to apply their expertise to the managed security opportunity. Hear how to build programmes that drive recurring revenue whether that is 1 million or 10 million pounds.
  • WHO: Patrick McKay, Sales Manager, AVG Business for Avast
  • WHEN: Wednesday, 15th March 12:15 – 12:55
  • WHERE: Security Service Providers and Security Innovation Theatre

PRESENTATION 2: How to protect your business from – and minimize – cyber threats

  • WHAT: This presentation will discuss how small and medium businesses worldwide are under increasing pressure to secure themselves and their customers’ data against a variety of cyber threats. This is compounded by several factors, such as the pace of technology adoption, the trend toward a virtual non-collocated workforce, and compliance with complex new legislation. The latest solutions deployed and managed from the Cloud offer across-the-board protection and low intrusion, but provide limited defence in-depth. Traditional security measures that operate completely inside four walls can still play a role in an overall security plan, but do not provide the necessary coverage. Find out more about these challenges facing small and medium businesses and the emerging product trends designed to solve them.
  • WHO: Greg Mosher, VP of Engineering SMB, AVG Business for Avast
  • WHEN: Thursday, 16th March 10.45-11.10
  • WHERE: Security Service Providers and Security Innovation Theatre

AVG Business by Avast will also be showcasing its flagship products at Stand 1130 at the show. AVG Managed Workplace is the complete managed IT solution which provides unmatched ease of use, security and control of the entire IT infrastructure including all devices, applications and networks from a single pane with end-to-end visibility and remote monitoring and management.

AVG CloudCare is a SaaS endpoint protection suite that enables Managed Service Providers and resellers to remotely support their clients and deploy a robust portfolio of cloud security solutions for multiple clients also through a single pane of glass. It combines an uncomplicated cloud-based IT management capability with AVG’s award-winning AVG AntiVirus and AVG Content Filtering at an affordable price.

Six security lessons for small business from 2016

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?

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.”

Seven security predictions for small business in 2017

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:

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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

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

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.

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Searching for celebrity news on Google can be dangerous for your computer

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Something as apparently inoffensive as employees keeping up with the lives of ‘celebs’ on the Internet could be far more dangerous than you think for your company’s IT systems. Whether you like it or not, some employees take advantage of dead time (and not-so-dead time) to look for all the latest gossip and news on the Web.

There may not be anything too risky about reading reputable newspapers online to see the latest news or check out your team’s results (although there have been cases of malware-laden ads in online newspapers). However, gossip columns and other celebrity stories have become a serious threat for the security of computers and mobile devices.

Cyber-criminals are well aware of the interest generated by the lives of the stars, which is why they have come up with specific strategies to bait users into downloading malicious programs on their computers when they access this content.

Cyber-criminals are well-aware of the interest generated by the lives of the stars.

The first step that the average user takes when looking for information about celebs is to ask Google. Yet some searches are more risky than others. Some famous people and related events offer more potential for attackers, as was the case recently with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie after their separation became public.

New film or music releases are also a popular weapon for criminals whose aim is to infect users’ computers and devices looking for passwords and other confidential information. Whenever a new story breaks, searches related to those involved increase dramatically and it becomes easier to infect users with malware hidden on malicious websites with related stories.

New film or music releases are also a popular weapon for criminals.

In order to minimize the threat, apart from having an efficient policy for controlling the way your employees use your company’s devices, the most effective measure is awareness. Firstly, your company’s workers should learn to distinguish between trusted pages and those that could potentially be used by criminals to infiltrate your systems. They should also avoid any links to illegal downloads, whether direct or via ‘torrent’ (highly in demand when a new film or song is released).

Of course, you can get an additional guarantee of protection against malware that exploits users’ fascination with celebrity news by having a security solution to protect all your devices, such as Panda Security’s corporate solutions.

The post Searching for celebrity news on Google can be dangerous for your computer appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.

Avast and AVG combine to better protect your business

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.