Tag Archives: Tips

Avast

14 easy tips to protect your smartphones and tablets – Part I

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A few precautions can make a huge difference in the safety of your phone and the important things you saved on it.

Protect your smartphone

Follow our tips to secure your phone and the data on it.

We talk a lot about protection and privacy here in our blog. It’s a bit obvious as our “life” is in our devices nowadays: Photos of our last trip or our loved ones, videos of our children playing and growing up, contacts both professional and personal. All our precious and irreplaceable data is stored in these little machines. Take a minute of your time and follow us in this easy tour to protect them and save a lot of time and headaches.

1. Set your lockscreen

You wouldn’t leave your home door unlocked, would you? Same goes for your phone with all your private data. Set a password or PIN to prevent direct and easy access to your phone. Gestures and face recognition are less secure, but are better than nothing.

2. Hide your passwords from nosy people

You will argue that people around you can look over your shoulder and see what PIN or password you’re typing or gesture you make. Generally, we’re not worried about trustworthy people around us, but what about strangers in a public place like a bus or train? Open your phone settings and hide your passwords by unchecking the option: Settings > Security > Make passwords visible.

3. Protect your apps with a PIN

Not all apps are equal when it comes to security and privacy. Probably the weather app or calculator won’t keep your personal info. However, your messages and banking apps will thank you if you help them to keep their data private. You can imagine what might happen if your kids to open a specific app while they’re playing in your devices. Use Avast Mobile Security to set a PIN to block access to your apps. As an extra security measure, it will be good that your lockscreen and Avast PINs are different ones.

4. Disable installation of apps from unknown sources

If you do not use other app stores besides Google Play, then uncheck the option “Unknown sources” in your phone’s Security Settings page.  Even the Google Play Store sometimes allows malware to get by. It’s well known that most Android malware are fake apps disguised as legitimate apps, so double check the publisher. Be cautious of downloading from fake sites disguised as official ones – check the URL. Avoid completely pirated and cracked sources.

5. Set Avast Mobile Security to scan any app before installing

If you really need to use legal third party stores, like Amazon or F-Droid, please be careful: Keep Avast Mobile Security always on. You know that Avast scans any installed and running app. But do you know that you can set it to scan any app that is about to be installed? After you’ve installed Avast, when you’re about to install a new app, the phone will ask you if you want Avast or the default installer to handle the installation by default. Use Avast, it will scan and then release the app to the default installation process.

6. Disable USB Debugging

This tip is for advanced users. If you have enabled Developer options into your device (and you will know exactly if you did as you’re an advanced user!), please, turn USB debugging off. You will protect your device from outside abuse (via adb connections) if you do so. You don’t need it to be on all the time.

7. Install and set Avast Anti-Theft

This is an old tip, but it’s so important that it should be on all smartphone safety tips lists. Just note that installing is not enough. You need to properly configure Avast Anti-Theft (don’t worry, there is an easy wizard for it) step-by-step. It’s good to check if your location services are properly set also, otherwise, it will be difficult to track it. In other words, go to Settings > Location Access and set High accuracy mode.

We’ll talk about the other 7 tips in next days, so come back to the Avast blog.

AVG

How To Boost Your Home Wi-Fi Signal (Part 2)

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Is your Wi-Fi network still going slow even after our first bunch of tips? Are you even experiencing occasional drop-outs and disconnects?

In part two of our Wi-Fi optimization series, we’ll show you how to boost the signal strength of your Wi-Fi network even further. If you missed part one, go check it out!

Set up a wireless repeater

If your property has thick walls or is so large that your router cannot simply broadcast a good signal from one end to the other, it’s probably wise to get a wireless repeater:

Repeater

 

These look very similar to a router and pick up your Wi-Fi signal and rebroadcast it with renewed strength. The repeater connects to your wireless router as a regular client, getting an IP address over DHCP much like your regular laptop or PC.

  • Position: I suggest following our first tip of part 1 of this guide to determine weak spots of your wireless router. Place the repeater close to this spot but make sure that it’s able to pick up a good signal (80% or more) from your main router. Otherwise it won’t be able to repeat a good quality signal.
  • Hardware: When choosing a repeater, don’t be confused by the different names – some companies tend to name their repeaters as ‘Range extenders’ while others call them ‘Wi-Fi expanders’ or something similar. They are all the same. Simply make sure to pick one that rebroadcasts your 802.11n or ac signal and make sure that it’s compatible.
  • Set up: Every manufacturer has different setup procedures but in general all that is needed is your network name and password.

 

Tip: Check out these resources for a general overview or this huge guide on how to use your router as a universal wireless repeater.

 

Optimize the Wi-Fi settings

There are many complicated settings on your router which can help you optimize the signal in your home. Unfortunately, every manufacturer offers different options under a different name, so we’ll just give a handful of hints that explain where to look and what to look for. Also there are some settings that you should check to see if they are set at their default values:

  • 5 Ghz Wireless Mode: If your router and adapter uses it, I’d recommend setting up a 5 Ghz Wi-Fi network instead of the regular 2.4 Ghz. Devices that support this mode are known as ‘Dual-band’.

Since most Wi-Fi routers communicate at a frequency of 2.4 Ghz, using the less common 5 Ghz mode might give you a better throughput.

 5GHz settings

To enable a 5 GHz connection, go to your router configuration page (normally shown on the device) and find your wireless settings. If you can see an option for  a 5 GHz connection, enable it!

 

  • RTS Threshold: RTS stands for ‘Request to send’ and is send by the client to the access point – it essentially asks for permission to send the next data packet. The lower the threshold, the more stable your Wi-Fi network, since it essentially asks more often when sending packages. However, if you don’t have problems with your Wi-Fi you should make sure that the RTS Threshold is set to the maximum allowed:

RTS Threshold

To do this, go to your router configuration and try to find the ‘RTS Threshold value’ in the wireless settings and set it to 2347.  Lower this value only if you are experiencing problems with your network (drop outs etc).

  • Fragmentation Threshold: This value is used to set the maximum size of packet a client can send. Smaller packets improve reliability, but they will decrease performance. Unless you’re facing problems with an unreliable network, reducing the fragmentation threshold is not recommended. Make sure it is set to the default settings (usually 2346).
  • Enable Multimedia/Gaming settings: Some wireless adapters can either be configured either for regular use or for gaming/multimedia. If you’re streaming video or playing games, enabling this will make sure that network packets for these are prioritised! In other words: If you’re watching a video file over your network, the video will get most of the traffic.

Advanced Settings

 

Benchmark and diagnose your Wi-Fi

This tip is not an optimization technique per se but it’s a great way to determine if our tips so far have had a positive effect on your network. Free ‘QCheck’ is a great tool that will show you the response time, throughput and streaming performance of your wireless setup. You can easily get it from this website after you filled out a short form.

QCheck

Enter your IP address under ‘Endpoint 1’ and another IP address in your network under ‘Endpoint 2’ to test the speed. This will give you important information when trying to optimize your Wi-Fi with our tips.

 

Replace your antenna!

Some router manufacturers sell external antennae that are much stronger than the router’s built-in antenna. If your signal is weak in places (and all our other tips have failed), then you’ll need to check if your manufacturer sells either omnidirectional or directional antennae:

  • Omnidirectional: Sends out a signal into all directions. By default, most built-in antennas are omnidirectional. If an omnidirectional antenna is your choice, make sure to look out for a longer one with ‘high gain’.

Antenna

 

  • Directional antenna: This kind of antenna sends a good wireless signal in a certain direction instead of spreading it in all directions, improving the performance in the target area. It’s like pointing a flashlight in a certain direction instead of using your regular ceiling lamps!

To connect a new antenna, you’ll usually use the SMA connector or MMCX. For more on wireless antennae, I can highly recommend the ‘Do-It-Yourself Wireless Antenna Update’ website by BinaryWolf. You’ll find great how-to guides and hardware recommendations that’ll help you pick the best antenna and the right setup!

 

That’s it! Using these tips and tricks will definitely improve your Wi-Fi performance and experience –  if you’ve got another tip that you use to boost your wireless network let us know!

Panda Security

Tools to change and remember your passwords, this will help you!

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Every time you sign up to a Web service, social networking site or online platform you face the same problem: What password should I use? Your passwords should be easy to remember but strong at the same time. And not only that, sometimes you are even requested to mix upper and lower case letters, numbers, or even non-alphanumeric characters (punctuation) to make your password harder to guess by an attacker.

In fact, all these requests aim at forcing users to use a character combination strong enough to prevent it from being cracked by a hacker. However, users frequently prefer the convenience of using the same password for everything (with some variations depending on whether they need numbers or letters), which poses an important security risk.

password tools

First, avoid using passwords that are easy to figure out. It is true that memorizing more complex passwords can be more difficult, but it obviously can be done.

Better still, you don’t even need to do that! There are many applications out there that can give you a hand with managing your passwords.

That’s the case of Dashlane, a free app available for PC, Android and iOS that allows users to check the security of their passwords and store them in one place.

keyboard password

This way it is the app that remembers all passwords for you, while you only have to remember the master password that enables you to use Dashlane and its password repository.

Another excellent option, apart from memorizing all of your passwords or managing them through apps such as Dashlane, is to opt for the greater security level provided by suites such as Panda Global Protection 2015 or Panda Gold Protection 2015, which include a password manager that enables you to access all the Web services that you use by just remembering one master password. Additionally, both security suites increase computer protection with features such as file encryption and PC tuneup.

password

In any event, there are other aspects that must be taken into consideration when creating a password. Most of them are just common sense. Never write down passwords on a piece of paper; don’t use the same password over and over again; and don’t use passwords that are easy to guess, like your date of birth or your kid’s or pet’s names. Also, it is essential that you change your passwords regularly.

Why so much fuss about passwords? Well, it wouldn’t be the first time that the leak of data belonging to millions of user accounts compromises the security of popular services such as Gmail or Dropbox, for example. So, if you don’t want to be the victim of identity and data theft, we strongly recommend that you take the appropriate security measures and manage all your passwords as effectively as possible. As the saying goes, better safe than sorry!

The post Tools to change and remember your passwords, this will help you! appeared first on MediaCenter Panda Security.

Panda Security

Can they spy on you through your smartphone microphone?

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Smartphone spy App
Smartphone users are highly sensitive about privacy, not least because so much personal data is stored in just a few square centimeters. We shudder at the thought of what happened to Jennifer Lawrence and company, and that it may happen to us; someone spying on our most intimate data.

Yet that’s not all we should be wary of: There are some spy programs that can even remotely activate the microphone on your device and record you. One of the most infamous of these is StealthGenie, a spyware app that behaves like a Trojan and supports iOS, Android and Blackberry. It can geolocate the device, listen to conversations, capture messages and images and even activate the microphone, tracking all your actions throughout the day.

A company video claimed that the app had more than 100,000 satisfied customers, though it looks like the game is now up. Last October the company’s CEO was arrested in the USA for promoting and selling this phone monitoring app..

It is paradoxical at least that this arrest should have occurred in the United States, where it has been revealed, thanks to Edward Snowden, that the government has been spying on the phones of so many users around the world. Such revelations from the CIA’s ex security analyst revealed that the NSA was using all types of systems to spy on smartphones, even using apps such as Angry Birds. And you thought killing a few pigs from your cell phone wouldn’t have any consequences!

A simple search will return a host of apps that promise to enable you to spy on your neighbor’s phone. So next time you need to visit the bathroom, perhaps it’s best not to take your phone with you.

smartphone spy

Researchers at Stanford University have been analyzing these apps and the ease with which our phone mikes can be turned against us. For this purpose they have developed their own app, Gyrophone, which turns the phone gyroscope into a means for capturing acoustic signals between 80 and 250 Hz (e.g. the human voice). This demonstrates how easy it is to spy on users.

By using this app, they have shown that it is possible to identify both the person speaking as well as what they are saying by measuring the acoustic signals in the vicinity of the phone. The researchers have already demonstrated this on Android devices and are now working on iPhone.

Other universities are also concerned about smartphone spying. Researchers at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto have analyzed the Italian ‘Hacking team’ spyware. They have worked out how it manages to store all user information, take screen grabs, record audio conversations, use the GPS tracker or activate the microphone when users are connected to a public Wi-Fi network.

The researchers have also uncovered the existence of 350 servers in 40 countries around the world storing data from this tool. Are governments around the world using these tools to monitor our every move?

So if you thought that tapping phones in hotel rooms, with a group of police or high-tech criminals monitoring all conversations belonged only in spy movies, you were wrong. Be aware that your smartphone, which you always keep within arm’s length so as not to feel lonely, is potentially a tool for spying on every sound you make. All you can do is be more careful with your phone security and pray that your life is so boring that nobody wants to spy on you.

More | 10 Reasons to install an Antivirus on your phone or Android Tablet

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Panda Security

5 tips to avoid a ‘nightmare before Christmas’

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Christmas-nightmare

  • If you’re going away, don’t post details on social networks about where you are or when you’re returning. It’s better not to share this kind of information with others on your Facebook or Instagram account.
  • If you order a taxi for the company’s Christmas party, remember that all the apps on your phone require certain permissions. Sometimes, these can be abusive and reveal more information than you would like.
  • Protect your computer and your Android devices with antivirus software. At Christmas we use these devices more than ever, sending WhatsApp or email greetings, etc. If you want to download a free antivirus, choose the one that best meets your needs and stay safe online this Christmas.
  • Both on your phone and your computer you should only keep installed the applications you really use. We all like to download and try out apps and programs that look interesting, but after some time many of them accumulate without being used. All of these will slow down your system, so get rid of those you don’t use to improve performance.
  • Use your common sense. No one should ask you to send confidential data via email, so when somebody does ask you, you should be suspicious and, obviously, not send any details.

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Panda Security

6 tips for shopping online safely at Christmas

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christmas-online-shoppingMany of us now prefer to shop online: you can avoid the queues, it’s easier to compare goods and prices…

No doubt Christmas is one of the times of the year when most online transactions take place. That’s why we want to offer you some tips for shopping online safely.

6 tips for shopping online safely at Christmas

1. Use a secure WiFi or Internet connection

It’s convenient (and cheaper) to use public WiFi connections that are not password-protected.

When you connect from your house or from the office, you know who is responsible for the network and who else could be connected, but on a public network, anyone else could be connected.

For this reason, it is far better if you are going to make transactions online -such as Christmas shopping- to do so from a secure Internet connection.

2. Keep your computer up-to-date and protected

Bank details are some of the most sensitive data that you can transfer across the Internet and they are essential when making such transactions. If this Christmas you intend to buy any presents online, make sure your computer is up-to-date and properly protected.

How? Keep your operating system updated and use the best antivirus. Take a look, and choose the one that best adapts to your needs.

3. Buy from well-known sites with a good reputation

One of the first things you should do when shopping online is check that the URL of the website coincides with the website where you think you are and that it begins with HTTPS.

Buying only from reputable online stores will help prevent you from falling victim to data or identity theft.

4. Check the privacy and refunds policies

Check their privacy policy. It should be in a visible place and up-to-date.

Can you return the goods? And what if you want to change something, say, for another size? These are also important things to consider when choosing places to shop online.

5. Don’t follow links in emails and ads

At this time of year it’s not unusual to receive thousands of ads for unbeatable offers. Though it’s worth stopping to think if they aren’t just too good to be true. 

Such adverts and email campaigns with offers and fantastic discounts are often used as a tool by cyber-criminals. Avoid phishing scams and don’t fall into the trap.

6. Keep an eye on your credit card transactions

It is also important that after making purchases online you check that all the transactions in your statement are the ones you have made yourself.

If you see anything suspicious, get in touch with your bank.

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Panda Security

5 Tips for secure browsing on International Computer Security Day

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Next Sunday, November 30, is International Computer Security Day. As we do not want you to get caught off guard, we give you 5 tips for secure browsing every day of the year.

International Computer Security Day

5 Tips for secure browsing

Increase the security of your passwords

Passwords are, in most cases, the only barrier between cyber-crooks and your personal data. Increase the security of your passwords for accessing all the online services you use.

And remember: Don’t use the same password for all of your services!

Keep your computer’s operating system updated

Viruses and malware exploit security vulnerabilities in outdated versions. If you want to avoid this, you need the latest security patches.

Windows, for example, simplifies the task with automatic updates so that you don’t have to worry about it.

Do not connect to unknown Wi-Fi networks

It is normal when abroad or when you have used up all of your data to look for open Wi-Fi networks to connect and browse the Internet free of charge. We all do it but that does not mean that it is secure.

Take precautions and follow these tips for connecting to a public Wi-Fi network.

Shop on well known websites with a good reputation

When shopping online, make sure that the URL of the website that appears in the browser address coincides with the website you think you are browsing, and that the address starts with HTTPS. Shopping on trusted websites with a good reputation will prevent you from falling victim to data or identity theft.

In addition, it is important to check that the privacy policy is in a visible place and is up-to-date. Knowing how to return what you buy is another important aspect to consider.

Use the best antivirus

A good antivirus does a whole lot more than keep your computer virus-free. It protects your identify, your business and also neutralizes online fraud attempts when shopping online.

Do you know which one best suits your needs? Panda has the best antivirus for you.

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Panda Security

Two-step verification boosts Gmail security

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two-step-verification-gmail

 

It’s not difficult to make your email account more secure. Often, all you need is to spend a little time looking into the security options available.

Last week we looked at how to make your Facebook account more secure and today we’re doing the same with one of the most popular webmail services: Gmail.

Below you can see a step-by-step guide to activating two-step verification in your Google webmail account.

How to improve security in Gmail with two-step verification

Go to your inbox and click ‘Terms and Privacy‘

gmail-privacy

There you will see the option‘2-Step Verification’

gmail-2-step-verification

gmail-start

From here you can activate 2-Step Verification.  First, you have to enter the phone number to which the verification code will be sent.

gmail-mobile-code

The code will be sent immediately to your phone. Once you have received it you can enter it in Gmail.

gmail-code

Next, Gmail tells you that on trusted devices you will only be asked to enter the code once.

gmail-trust-computer

After this step, you only have to activate 2-step verification.

gmail-confirm

To complete the process, bear in mind that you have to confirm this account on all the devices on which you access Gmail (smartphones, tablets, etc).

As you can see, this is a simple process that helps prevent unauthorized access to your Gmail account, as when anyone tries to access the account, only you can verify that they have permission.

More | How to increase the privacy of your Gmail account

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Panda Security

10 Tips to Avoid Viruses on Halloween

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avoid-halloween-viruses

Halloween is one of the most celebrated holidays, and cybercriminals always want to be part of it.

As we get closer to Halloween, hackers take advantage of the most popular Hollywood titles to launch so-called BlackHat SEO attacks, i.e. false Google and other search engine results with keywords related to popular topics of the time to trick users into clicking on their links.

Another popular form for hackers that we see distributed during these days is spam. They use typical Halloween characters to trick users and bring them to where they want. This way, in addition to obtaining personal data and revenue through clicks achieved, they redirect the user to other websites selling fraudulent or prohibited products.

As always, education, common sense and being forewarned is our best advice. We must be aware that they will try to deceive us with practical jokes, introducing real malware to our equipment which will lead us to a lot of headaches.

10 Tips to Avoid Viruses on Halloween

  1. Do not open emails or messages received from social networks that can come from unknown sources
  2. Do not click a link you get by email, unless they’re from reliable sources. It is suggested to type the URL directly into the browser bar. This rule applies to messages received through any email client, such as those that come via Facebook , Twitter, other social networking, instant messaging programs, etc.
  3. If you click on one of these links, it is important to look at the landing page. If you don’t recognize it, close your browser
  4. Do not download attachments that come from unknown sources. During this time we must pay special attention to the files that come with issues or Halloween-related names
  5. If you do not see anything strange on the page, but it requests a download, be wary and do not accept.
  6. If, however, you begin to download and install any type of executable file and the PC starts to launch messages, there is probably a copy of malware
  7. Do not buy online from sites that do not have a solid reputation, and much less on pages where transactions are not made ​​securely. To verify that a page is secure, look for the security certificate that is represented by a small yellow lock at the bar of the browser or in the lower right corner
  8. Do not use shared computers to perform transactions that require you to enter passwords or personal data
  9. Make sure you have an installed and updated antivirus
  10. Keep up with all the security news 

What about you? Have you ever been infect on Halloween?

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