Tag Archives: free app

Find reliable, secure Wi-Fi hotspots with new Wi-Fi Finder app

Avast Wi-Fi Finder for Android finds secure Wi-Fi connections, wherever you are.

Everyone loves saving their data by using free Wi-Fi hotspots, but that can be risky if the hotspot is unsecure. Hackers can eavesdrop on what you’re doing, see your messages, watch the sites you navigate to, and even steal usernames and passwords. Wi-Fi FInder mapWi-Fi Finder list view

How to find safe Wi-Fi hotspots

New Avast Wi-Fi Finder is an Android app that can help you find reliable, fast, and secure Wi-Fi connections, wherever you are.  With the mobile app’s user-friendly map interface, it’s easy to find hotspots recommended by people around the world. Avast Wi-Fi Finder helps you select a secure Wi-Fi connection without the worry of going over your data plan or the frustration of slow data connections. Avast Wi-Fi Finder is free for Avast Mobile Security users. Download Avast Wi-Fi Finder from the Google Play Store. For iOS, download Wi-Fi Finder from iTunes.

“Many of us have found ourselves in situations when traveling or working remotely in which we’re unable to find reliable and secure Wi-Fi,” said Gagan Singh, president of mobile at Avast. “With the Avast Wi-Fi Finder, consumers are now able to find a safe and fast Wi-Fi connection whether you’re at the gym, hotel, airport, bus station, library or café.”

The Avast Wi-Fi Finder helps you:

  • Connect to the fastest, most secure hotspots
  • Obtain speed without compromising privacy
  • Navigate a collection of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots, recommended and crowdsourced by nearby users

Here’s how Avast found all those safe Wi-Fi hotspots

In August 2015, Avast launched a product crowdsourcing program that allowed Avast Mobile Security users to help Avast harvest nearby available Wi-Fi spots. By enlisting our 230 million users, our team collected Wi-Fi hotspot data from volunteers and evaluated each hotspot’s security level before launching Avast Wi-Fi Finder.


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Find free, safe Wi-Fi hotspots with Avast’s new Wi-Fi Finder app

Avast Wi-Fi Finder helps you automatically connect to the nearest free Wi-Fi in your range

Avast Wi-Fi Finder helps you automatically connect to the nearest free Wi-Fi

Avast Wi-Fi Finder saves your data and roaming fees by locating safe and reliable connections.

Install Avast Wi-Fi Finder now on your Android device.

Everyone loves free Wi-Fi. You can surf the web, check your email or newsfeed, make Skype video calls across the world, or stream games, movies, and music – without eating up your data plan. That’s a great deal! Or is it?

The problem with free Wi-Fi hotspots is they can’t be trusted to be safe and keep your data secure. Cybercrooks can eavesdrop on your conversations and even break in to steal personal information.

When you need to find safe Wi-Fi, use Avast Wi-Fi Finder

Our new mobile app, Avast Wi-Fi Finder, lets you instantly search for available networks on the map or browse through a list. Wherever you are in the world, you can always find a safe connection, because after a successful beta test, we launched the app with nearly 800,000 networks in our database. The more people who use Avast Wi-Fi Finder, the bigger and better that database will become.

Avast Wi-Fi Finder also tests the speed of the network and performs our unique Wi-Fi security check. In case a vulnerability is found, you can easily protect yourself with the integrated app Avast SecureLine VPN (a small fee applies).

Android users: Learn more about Avast Wi-Fi Finder or visit the Google Play Store to download Avast Wi-Fi Finder. You can thank us by leaving +1s and 5-star ratings on the Play Store with a review to help the next person.


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“Good Samaritans” return lost phones from Avast experiment

Twenty Android mobile phones were intentionally lost in The Lost Phones social experiment that Avast security analysts ran for 5 months.

The story is about how Avast Anti-Theft was able to track the phones and follow the journey that some of them took after being found. But four of those phones were returned to Avast because of good Samaritans who didn’t feel it was right to keep them.

Quiana W. returned a lost phone to Avast

Quiana W. returned a lost phone to Avast

We spoke to two of them; Quiana W., who found a phone on a park bench in Harlem, New York City and to Michael D. who found one in a public restroom in San Francisco. We asked what they thought when they first spotted the phones.

Quiana: I wanted to check it to see if it was on and see if I would be able to contact someone to return their phone. I know what it feels like to lose things, wallet or a phone, so I was just trying to pay it forward. It doesn’t necessarily have to happen back to me in this way, but it was just something that kind of took my heart.

Michael: My initial reaction was to leave the phone where it was. It seemed a little suspicious – how could someone not hear the phone drop onto the floor? I also thought that someone might mistake me for a thief if I walked out with the phone. But then, partially out of boredom and partially out of honesty, I decided to play detective and find the phone’s owner.

Lost_Phones

Michael D. found a lost phone in a public restroom

Why is your phone so important?

Quiana: Everything revolves around technology. The most valuable piece of information on my phone is probably my contacts, because I try not to keep too much private stuff, or stuff that is sensitive, but I guess my contacts or things I may discuss with people via text messages are most important to me.

Michael: My own phone is important to me because it keeps me in contact with family and friends. The most valuable data on my phone is the contact list. Then the old messages saved to memory.

Why did you return the phone?

Quiana: I lost my phone a couple of months ago and I didn’t even know I lost it. I was in a car and my cousin kept asking me why I was calling her? So, I’m like, Wait a minute, I don’t have my phone! Where is my phone?

I dropped my phone in a parking lot of the grocery store that we were just at, so I went back to get it. So, I kinda would feel lost (without my phone), I would feel definitely lost.

Michael: I returned the phone because I don’t take things that aren’t mine.

What would you fear about losing your phone?

Quiana: The amount of money I would have to pay to get it back.

Michael also thought about what would happen if he lost his own phone. If that happened, he would be more concerned about losing the device itself rather than the data on his device.

Protect your data and the device it’s on

Even though four honest people returned a lost phone to Avast, 15 stolen phones are still out there. We were able to track 11 phones immediately because they stayed online for more than 24 hours after losing them, we were able to track 7 phones for several months, and 4 phones are still online and being used.

“More than 3 million phones are lost each year,” said Gagan Singh, president of mobile at Avast. “Fortunately with Avast Anti-Theft, users have the means to track and recover a lost phone – or remotely wipe the data on it if it’s not recoverable.

You have a better chance of getting your phone back if you install  Avast Anti-Theft. Get it for free from the Google Play Store.


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How the Avast ‘Lost Phone’ experiment worked

We trust our free app Avast Anti-Theft to track down lost phones, but we wanted to put it to the test in a real-world situation. So five months ago, we bought 20 Android smartphones and installed three security apps on all the phones: Our free Avast Anti-Theft app, Lookout Mobile Security, and Clean Master. Each phone was marked with contact information on where to return the device if found. After all was prepared, Avast security analysts traveled to New York City and San Francisco to randomly “lose” them in public places.

Here’s a video that shows what happened.

Over the months, the analysts used the Avast Anti-Theft app to track the lost devices and observed the following:

  • 15 phones were wiped clean using the factory reset feature
  • 11 phones stayed online for more than 24 hours after losing them
  • 7 phones we were able to track for several months
  • 4 phones were returned
  • 4 phones are currently online and used
  • 2 phones ended up abroad
  • 1 phone was never factory data reset

The majority of lost devices were wiped clean using the factory reset feature, but only the Avast Anti-Theft app survived the factory reset.

You can track your missing mobile phones and tablets with Avast Anti-Theft. Get it for free from the Google Play Store.


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Free Avast Cleanup app cleans and optimizes Android phones and tablets

Avast Cleanup is a free app for Android

Avast Cleanup is a free app for Android

After a while, your phones and tablets accumulate obsolete files and superfluous data, system caches, gallery thumbnails, and programs. This ‘junk’ slows down your device and eats up precious storage space.

Avast Cleanup identifies and cleans unwanted files from your Android device so it will run like a champ again.

Our new free app, Avast Cleanup & Boost for Android, cleans away all the unwanted files and programs so that your device is running smoothly and quickly with storage space to spare. But don’t take our word for it.

Longtime Avast customer, Thomas M. from North Lanarkshire, Scotland wrote us to tell how pleased he is with Cleanup’s performance. Thomas has used Avast for years, and uses Avast Free Antivirus to protect his home computers.

Thomas M.

Thomas M.

“Having installed Avast Free Antivirus 2015 on two of my PCs and a laptop, which for me is the best yet, I came across the new Avast Cleanup app which I installed on my phone and both my tablets.

I had been having a few performance issues with at least one of my tablets and my phone. After installation and running the application, both run great. The app freed up a nice amount of space and discarded lots of clutter left behind by old apps, etc.

The interface, as well as being intuitive, looks great too. I especially like the spiral animation whilst cleaning is in action. So slick!

I also like the option to store/back-up deleted items to cloud storage (if required), in this case Dropbox being the choice offered.

Nice work, Avast, once again on offering another quality fully functional free product.”

It’s our pleasure, Thomas. Thanks for taking the time to write to us.

Avast Cleanup gets rid of junk files on Thomas M.'s tablets and phone.

Avast Cleanup gets rid of junk files on Thomas M.’s tablets and phone.

How to run a Cleanup scan

Cleanup can disable or remove certain files and programs to optimize your system. Follow these steps and get started now:

  • Install Avast Cleanup & Boost for Android for free from the Google Play store or from the Avast Cleanup website when accessed with your mobile device
  • When the application is running, you can run the basic cleaning by tapping the Safe clean button. The configuration window will appear automatically the first time you run the application.
  • Select Start cleaning to start this process right away or select Configure. The Configure option redirects you to Settings where you can choose the type of files to be deleted.

Learn more about how to use Avast Cleanup on the FAQ.


 

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Avast highlights Battery Saver users for their positive impact on the environment

Today is Earth Day. It’s a day that people, organizations, corporations, and governments around the world demonstrate their commitment to protect the Earth and help advance a sustainable future. Every action, no matter how small, counts –  from eating less meat to recycling or composting to reducing your energy footprint; it all contributes to a cleaner, greener world now and in the future.

Avast users do their part to save the Earth

Since our minds are on all things green this Earth Day, we want to highlight a particular bunch of Avast customers. These Android users simply came to Avast to find a way to save some of their smartphone’s battery power. Little did they realize when they installed Avast Battery Saver on their Android device that together they were making a difference that even we were surprised about.

In the first month that Avast Battery Saver was available, 200,000 customers downloaded and actively used it on their Android phone or tablet. This infographic shows how that cumulative use added up to real energy savings.

Do your part for Earth Day, and save up to 20% battery power everyday! Install Avast Battery Saver for free from Google Play.

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Install Avast Battery Saver for free from Google Play.

5 ways to thwart the thief who stole your Android

Avast Anti-Theft is free

Remote recovery options help you keep control of your device, even when it’s lost.

Avast Anti-Theft is a free app designed for Android smart phones and tablets. It’s main purpose is to help you locate your lost or stolen mobile device, allowing you to track it on a map and control it remotely. You recover your phone by controlling it remotely with SMS commands or via the internet by logging in to your My Avast account.

If your phone is lost or stolen, here are some things you can control remotely:

  1. 1. Locate your device on a map – Whether you misplaced your phone, left on the bus, or a thief grabbed it and ran, the GPS on your phone can be enabled so you can receive continuous GPS location updates.

Avast Anti-Theft user Ducky Boy wrote about his experience finding his phone that he dropped on the highway while riding his motorcycle using the GPS feature. Read about it in On the road with avast! Mobile Security.

  1. 2. SIM card change notification – Thieves usually change the SIM card after stealing a phone. Anti-Theft recognizes when this happens and notifies you of the new number and geo-location so you can maintain contact with your phone.

Partier and Avast user Andreas lost his phone during a particularly fun party. The next morning he remembered he had installed Avast Anti-Theft. Here’s how he got his phone back, Don’t be sorry for party rocking – install Avast Anti-Theft!

  1. 3. Activate the remote siren – Scare the wits out of the thief by activating an extremely loud siren with an SMS command. We guarantee that everyone will hear it. When the thief tries to turn it down, it goes to maximum volume.

Our Avast Communications team decided to try out the siren just to see how loud it really got. Believe me, it was loud. And annoying. We quickly learned How to turn off Avast Mobile Security’s Anti-Theft Siren.

  1. 4. Call/SMS forwarding – We took a page from the spy handbook with this feature! You can instruct your phone to call you, with screen blacked out, so you can silently listen in on the thief and obtain details of calls made and received as well as copies of text messages.
  1. 5. Remote Memory Wipe – If all hope is gone, you can still protect your privacy by remotely triggering a full, permanent wipe of all phone data (contacts, call log, text messages, browser history, apps, email accounts), including reliable, physical wipe of memory cards (limited functionality on older versions).

This step is super important even if you didn’t lose your phone. We did an experiment where we bought 20 used phones from eBay and found all kinds of personal stuff including nude photos, private messages, even financial documents! Here are the details about what we found, Tens of thousands of Americans sell themselves online every day

Anti-theftPrepare yourself before disaster strikes

Hopefully, you will never need to use Avast Anti-Theft, but it’s best to be prepared just in case something bad happens. You can install Avast Anti-Theft for free from the Google Play Store along with Avast Mobile Security.

Now that you have Avast Anti-Theft  on your phone, there are a few things you need to set up. Learn what you need to do here, How to set up your smartphone for remote control.